of water available is often more closely associated with development performance,
the implications of water scarcity are still important. Particularly in
Africa, but also in Asia and Latin America, growing water scarcity is primarily
a result of growing populations competing for the same amount of water,
rather than any change in the availability of the resource itself.
Economic development and related changes in consumption patterns
Where economic development results in rising personal incomes, peoples’
consumption patterns change. Dietary changes in particular have implications
for water demand. Specifically, a shift from grain to meat consumption
is associated with substantial increases in the amount of water consumed
per capita. Most changes in consumption as a result of rising standards of
living will have the effect of expanding individuals’ ‘water footprints’.
Technological developments
There are many areas in which technological change affects water and its
management. These can be beneficial, for example the development of water
saving technologies that reduce pressure on the resource. However, there are
many instances in which technological development has negative impacts on
water resources. This is particularly the case with respect to water quality;
many new chemical products and pharmaceuticals introduced into society
are disposed of and disseminated through the water cycle with unpredictable
consequences for human health.46 The development of new energy
sources such as oil shales poses significant threats to water quality in many
areas.
Urbanization and land use change
Flooding is a major water resource management challenge even in the
absence of climate change. The mounting costs of floods are due not only to
changes in intensity and frequency, but to population growth, urbanization
and land use changes that push populations and assets into vulnerable
areas. So urbanization and land use planning can also be drivers that influence
the way water impacts on society and society impacts on water.
Climate mitigation strategies
The idea that climate change mitigation strategies could themselves worsen
the impact of climate change in the water sector is paradoxical but true. Pressures
to expand hydroelectricity or to develop new sources of biofuels will