Open AccessStudy provides indicators on fresh water, ozone
Author(s) -
Showstack Randy
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2004eo190006
Subject(s) - arid , water scarcity , scarcity , per capita , water resources , fell , climate change , geography , population growth , population , natural resource economics , environmental science , water resource management , agricultural economics , agriculture , economics , ecology , demography , archaeology , cartography , sociology , microeconomics , biology
The availability of fresh water resources per capita fell by an average of 1.6% globally from 2001–2002, according to the World Bank's “Little Green Data Book 2004,” released on 28 April. The study notes that an even sharper decline of 2.6% in the water‐scarce regions of the Middle East and North Africa, and warns that some countries soon could cross a “water scarcity threshold” of 1,000 cubic meters per person. James Evans, acting director of the bank's environment department, said, “In the short term, population growth will be the main pressure on scarce water resources. In the long run, climate change may exacerbate the problems, causing irreversible impacts, especially in arid and semi‐arid zones.”