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LastUpdated:Wednesday,20October2004,07:48GMT08:48UK
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Map:Theworld'swaterhotspots
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Fromdisappearinglakesanddwindlingriverstomilitary threatsoversharedresources,waterisacausefordeep concerninmanypartsoftheworld.Clickonthemapto readaboutsomeoftheworld'swaterhotspots.

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OgallalaAquifer NinetyfivepercentoftheUnitedStates'freshwateris underground.Onecrucialsourceisahugeunderground reservoir,the800mileOgallalaaquiferwhichstretchesfrom TexastoSouthDakotaandprovidesanestimatedthirdofall USirrigationwater. Theaquiferwasformedovermillionsofyears,buthassince beencutofffromitsoriginalnaturalsourcesandisbeing steadilydepleted.Insomeareasitslevelisdroppingby threetofivefeet(90150cm)ayear.Estimatesforits remaininglifespanvaryindifferentareas,rangingfrom60to 250years. ManyfarmersintheTexanHighPlains,whichrely particularlyontheundergroundsource,arenowturning awayfromirrigatedagricultureastheybecomeawareofthe hazardsofoverpumping.
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MexicoCity MexicoCityissinkingbecauseoftheamountofwaterbeing pumpedoutfrombeneathitsfoundations. Oneofthelargestandmostpopulouscitiesintheworld,it wasoncealushlandoflakes. Thecitydraws80%ofitswaterfromaquifersbelowit,and hassunkanestimatedninemetresintothesoft,drainedlake bedsincethe1900s. Italreadybuysinathirdofitswaterfromsurrounding areas,andanestimatedmillionpeoplearedependenton watertrucks.

Althoughworkisbeingdoneonitsrustingpipesystem,27% ofthecity'swaterisstillwastedthroughleaks.
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Spain ThebattletoprovidewaterforSpain'sparchedsouthern coasthasgeneratedmajorcontroversyinrecentyears. A4.2billioneuroplantodivertwaterfromtheRiverEbroto supplytheareaaroundValencia,AlmeriaandMurciawas abandonedbytheincomingSocialistgovernmentin2004. Tensofthousandshadprotestedagainsttheproject,which wascriticisedbyenvironmentalistsconcernedthatitwould encouragemisuseofwaterandthattheEbro'sfragiledelta wouldsuffer. Workhadalreadybegunanddeveloperswereplanningnew touristdevelopmentsandgolfcourseswhentheprojectwas scrapped. Thenewgovernmentplanstobuildseveraldesalination plantsinsteadtoprovidewaterfortheneardesertregion.
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Chad LakeChad,onceahugelakestraddlingthebordersofChad, Niger,NigeriaandCameroon,hasshrunkby95%sincethe mid1960s. Theregion'sclimatehaschangedduringthattime,withthe monsoonrainswhichpreviouslyreplenishedthelakenow greatlyreduced. Localweatherchanges,ratherthanglobalwarming,are blamed,buthumanactivitiessuchasovergrazingandcrop irrigationarethoughttohavemadethesituationworse. Ninemillionfarmers,fishermen,andherdersintheregion nowfacewatershortages,cropfailure,livestockdeaths, collapsedfisheries,soilsalinityandincreasingpoverty. ThereareplanstodivertwaterfromatributarytotheCongo toreplenishthelake,andalsotoestablishbetter managementoftheremainingwater. OilhasrecentlybeenfoundintheChadiansectorofthelake, raisinghopesofalongertermsolutiontotheregion's economicproblems.
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RiverNile TheNileisvitallyimportanttothesurvivalof160million peoplein10countrieswhosharethebasininwhichitflows. ToEgyptinparticular,theriverisamatteroflifeanddeath asthecountryhasalmostnoothersourceofwater. A1929treatybetweenBritainandEgyptsaidnoworkwould bedoneontheriverthatwouldreducethevolumeofwater reachingEgypt. Buttensionshavebeenrisingasneighbouringcountries questionthetreatyTanzania,forexample,isbuildinga pipelinetoextractdrinkingwaterandEthiopiaisplanningto usethewaterforirrigation.

Cairohassaidinthepastthatitwasreadytouseforceto protectitsaccesstothe7,000kmlongriver.Talkstookplace in2004,butanagreementisyettoemerge.

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Israel With5%oftheworld'spopulationtryingtosurviveon1%of itswater,thereisstrongcompetitionforwaterintheMiddle East. Aseriesofdryyearstogetherwithpopulationgrowthhas recentlyincreasedthepressure.BothIsraelandJordanrely ontheRiverJordanbutIsraelcontrolsitandhascut suppliesduringtimesofscarcity. TheleveloftheSeaofGalileehasdroppedinrecentyears, sparkingfearsthatIsrael'smainreservoirwillbecome salinated. ThePalestinianswhosewatersupplyisalsocontrolledby Israelsaysuppliesareintermittentandexpensive,andthat theundergroundaquiferwhichtheysharewithIsraelhas becomedepletedanddamagedthroughoveruse.Israeli settlersintheWestBankuseseveraltimesmorewaterthan theirPalestinianneighbours. Tohelpeasethecrisis,Israelhasagreedtobuywaterfrom Turkeyandisinvestigatingbuildingdesalinationplants.
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Iraq Drainageandirrigationschemescarriedoutbythe governmentofSaddamHusseininsouthernIraqhaveledto thelossofanestimated90%ofoneoftheworld'smost significantwetlands. Avastnetworkofcanalshasdivertedwaterfromthe20,000 squarekilometresofmarshlandbetweentheTigrisand Euphrates,inplacesleavingnothingbutsalty,crustedearth behind. Turkishdamsupstreamarealsothoughttohavereducedthe waterflowandcontributedtothewetlands'fate. MostoftheMarshArabsfled,facingbothpoliticalpersecution underSaddamHussein'sregimeandthelossofthe freshwaterwhichsustainedtheirwayoflife. SincetheUSledinvasionofIraq,localpeoplehave attemptedtorestorewaterflow,buttherearereportsthat thishasledtodiseaseasmuchofthewateriscontaminated. AUNprojecttorestoretheareawasannouncedinJuly2004.
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Turkey WaterrichbyMiddleEasternstandards,Turkeyhasinrecent yearsundertakenanambitiousprojecttosellwaterfromits Manavgatriveracrosstheregion. Itisstillvulnerabletoshortages,howeverjustafewweeks afterTurkeyagreedtosellwatertoIsrael,officialswere warningofawatercrisis. Turkeyhasspentbillionsofdollarsinthepastdecades buildingdamstoincreaseitswaterreservesandboostits hydroelectriccapabilities.

hydroelectriccapabilities. TwoparticularprojectstheIlisuandYusefelidams,have faceddelaysafterseveralWesterncompanieswithdrew fundingfollowingbadpublicityoverhumanrightsconcerns. Anotherproject,asystemof22damsontheTigrisand Euphratesrivers,hasprovokedcriticismfromdownstream neighboursIraqandSyria.

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AralSea TheAralSeainCentralAsiawasoncetheworld'sfourth biggestinlandsea,andoneoftheworld'smostfertile regions.Buteconomicmismanagementhasturnedthearea intoatoxicdesert. Thetworiversfeedingthesea,theAmuDaryaandtheSyr Darya,weredivertedinaSovietschemetogrowcotton. Between1962and1994,theleveloftheAralSeafellby16 metres. Thesurroundingregionnowhasoneofthehighestinfant mortalityratesintheworld,andanaemiaandcancers causedbychemicalsblowingoffthedriedseabedare common.
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China Chinaisundertakingtwohugeprojectstotacklefloodingin thesouthanddroughtinthenorth. TheThreeGorgesDamunderconstructionontheYangtze Riveraimstocontrolfloodwatersandgeneratepower. Thedamwillprovide10%ofthecountry'selectricitywhen finished.Morethan600,000havebeenmovedtomakeway forareservoirlongerthanLakeMichiganbehindthe$25bn dam. Inthenorth,allthreeriversfeedingChina'sNorthernPlain areseverelypolluted,damaginghealthandlimiting irrigation. ThelowerreachesoftheYellowRiver,whichfeedsChina's mostimportantfarmingregion,rundryforatleast200days everyyear. InthenorthChinaplain,30cubickilometresmorewateris beingpumpedtothesurfaceeachyearbyfarmersthanis replacedbytherain. Asgroundwaterisusedtoproduce40%ofthecountry's grain,expertswarnthatwatershortagescouldmakethe countrydependentongrainimports. Tocounterthis,workhasbegunonChina'sbiggestever constructionprojectamassiveschemetochannelbillionsof cubicmetresofwaterfromtheYangtzetothereplenishthe dwindlingYellowRiver.
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TheRiverGanges ThemostsacredHinduriver,theGanges,issufferingfrom depletion,pollutionandhasbeenthesourceofalong runningdisputebetweenIndiaandBangladesh.

TheGangotriglacierattheheadoftheRiverGangesis retreatingatarateof30metresperyearexpertsblame climatechange. DeforestationintheHimalayashascausedsubsoilstreams flowingintotherivertodryup. Downstream,IndiacontrolstheflowtoBangladeshwiththe FarakkaBarrage,10kmontheIndiansideoftheborder. Untilthelate1990s,Indiausedthebarragetodivertthe rivertoCalcuttatostopthecity'sportdryingupduringthe dryseason. ThisdeniedBangladeshifarmerswaterandsilt,andleftthe Sundarbanwetlandsandmangroveforestsattheriver'sdelta seriouslythreatened.Thetwocountrieshavenowsignedan agreementtosharethewatermoreequally. Waterquality,however,remainsahugeproblem,withhigh levelsofarsenicanduntreatedsewageintheriverwater.
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SouthernAustralia Australiaisthecontinentwiththeleastrainfall,apartfrom Antarctica. Itstwolargestrivers,theMurrayandtheDarling,havebeen extensivelydammedforpowerandirrigation,reducingflows totheseabythreequartersbutprovidingthreemillion peopleand40%ofAustralia'sfarmswithwater. SaltrisingtothesurfaceasthelowerreachesoftheMurray driedouthasdestroyedprimeagriculturalland.Wetlands haveshrunk,speciesnumbershavedroppedandthe AustralianNationalTrusthasdeclaredthewholeriveran "endangeredarea". Intheeast,theSnowyRiverwasdammedanddivertedto theMurraybasindecadesagotowaterthecountry'sdry interior.Buttheecologicalimpactonthedepletedriverwas sogreatthatsomeflowwasrestoredin2002. WaterextractionfromtheMurrayriverwascappedin1995 andprogrammestorepairsomeofthedestructionarenow underway.
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