La pauvreté des ménages ruraux s'est aggravée sous l'effet de l'évolution mondiale au cours de ces deux dernières années : la hausse massive des prix des denrées alimentaires et des carburants a été suivie d'un effondrement de l'économie mondiale, tout cela dans un contexte d'incertitude croissante quant au climat.
L'eau est un bien précieux dans les régions semi-arides du Rajasthan, en Inde. En outre, le changement climatique exerce une pression supplémentaire sur les ressources rares. Des précipitations irrégulières, voire inexistantes, obligent un grand nombre de petits paysans à abandonner au moins temporairement leurs champs, afin de chercher du travail dans les villes.
L’université de Stellenbosch, en Afrique du Sud, a annoncé que ses chercheurs avaient mis au point un nouveau système de fi ltrage de l’eau. Elle faisait allusion à un fi ltre jetable de haute technologie qui ressemble à un sachet de thé et rend potable l’eau très polluée. Il s’agit d’un fi ltre à eau facile d’emploi
et respectueux de l’environnement qui s’installe dans le goulot d’une bouteille. Selon l’université, cette invention doit permettre aux communautés vulnérables, par exemple celles qui vivent à proximité de cours d’eau pollués, d’accéder facilement à l’eau potable.
Les ressources en eau et en terres s'amenuisent de plus en plus et répondent difficilement aux exigences alimentaires d'une population mondiale croissante. Dans les pays en développement des régions tropicales en particulier, la variabilité des conditions météorologiques associée à la productivité généralement basse de l'agriculture de subsistance représente une menace pour les sociétés rurales vulnérables ; l'accès à des équipements d'infrastructure et aux ressources naturelles devient de jour en jour plus difficile.
Developing countries, as a group, are the ones most threatened by the hydrological impacts of global climate change. Water is a critical resource in development, and it is affected by climate change in multiple, complex ways ? through changes in temperature and rising sea levels, changes in precipitation patterns, and melting snowfields and glaciers.
The Himalayan region is not only tectonically active and ecologically fragile but is it also one of the most economically underdeveloped and most densely populated mountain ecosystems on the planet. These natural as well as human characteristics render the Himalayan region highly vulnerable to the impacts of development, degradation and climate change and in particular the impact of melting of glaciers and changes in the patterns of precipitation.
The economy of the Amazon region relies heavily on water for transport and livelihoods. Important also for the regional water cycle, the Amazon ecosystems are threatened by climate change, although there is little knowledge about the likelihood of adverse events and potentially related vulnerabilities. Therefore research and building up capacities for collective action are cornerstones of adaptation to climate change. Since 2008, strategic policy approaches have emerged. The region has only started to prepare itself for the things to come.
The River Nile provides an invaluable source of livelihoods to over 160 million of people who dwell in its valley. The river valley is renowned for being a cradle of civilisation. As the populations grew and civilisation evolved, the demand for more water resources took a toll in the region. The more recent visible climate change effects have further compounded water management in the basin. Water and food security in the region is under threat, hence the need for robust transboundary water management. An effective institutional arrangement is a key factor in facilitating this process.
Water and soils are increasingly becoming a limiting resource for meeting the food requirements
of a growing world population. Integrated concepts for managing natural resources in a sustainable
and environmentally sound manner show encouraging impacts, if applied on a large scale and
over a long period like in Tigray, the northernmost regional state of Ethiopia.
Poverty in rural households have deepened in the past two years through world events: unprecedented rises in food and fuel prices were followed by global economic meltdown, all amidst growing climate uncertainty. Balancing water availability within and across growing seasons, water harvesting helps to buffer households against drought. Research on water harvesting in South Africa has focused on rural household livelihoods. Innovative results on appropriate water harvesting technologies and food security facilitation techniques are now being implemented in villages across South Africa.
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