Global estimates of water withdrawals and availability under current and future “business-as-usual” conditions

The report assesses global water withdrawals and availability, indicating severe water stress in many regions, with potential increases in stress by 2025 under a business-as-usual scenario.

(Generated with the help of GPT-4)

Quick Facts
Report location: source
Language: English
Publisher:

Hydrological Sciences Journal

Authors: Bernhard Lehner, Frank Kaspar, Stefan Siebert, Thomas Henrichs, Thomas Rösch, Joseph Alcamo Petra Döll
Time horizon: 2025
Geographic focus: Global

Methods

The research methodology involved the use of the WaterGAP 2 model, which comprises a Global Hydrology model and a Global Water Use model. The model calculates water use and availability on a river basin scale, considering domestic, industrial, and agricultural sectors.

(Generated with the help of GPT-4)

Key Insights

The research uses the WaterGAP 2 model to analyze current and future water withdrawals and availability on a global scale. It identifies areas of severe water stress, where withdrawals exceed 40% of availability, affecting about 24% of the world's river basin area. The business-as-usual scenario for 2025 predicts that water withdrawals will stabilize or decrease in 41% of the basins due to saturation of water needs and improved water-use efficiency. However, in other areas, withdrawals are expected to grow due to population and economic growth, despite improvements in efficiency. The study also includes an uncertainty analysis, highlighting geographic variability in the reliability of estimates.

(Generated with the help of GPT-4)

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Last modified: 2024/06/04 15:23 by elizabethherfel