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Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is defined as any change or disturbance to the environment perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.
This total available water resource gives an idea of whether a country tend to experience physical water scarcity. [32] This metric has a drawback because it is an average. Precipitation delivers water unevenly across the planet each year. So annual renewable water resources vary from year to year.
Water conservation makes it possible to avoid water scarcity. It covers all the policies, strategies and activities to reach these aims. Population, household size and growth and affluence all affect how much water is used. Climate change and other factors have increased pressure on natural water resources.
The depletion of resources has been an issue since the beginning of the 19th century amidst the First Industrial Revolution.The extraction of both renewable and non-renewable resources increased drastically, much further than thought possible pre-industrialization, due to the technological advancements and economic development that lead to an increased demand for natural resources.
Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. These resources can be either freshwater from natural sources, or water produced artificially from other sources, such as from reclaimed water or desalinated water (). 97% of the water on Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh ...
Water resource treaties encompass many types of water like surface water, groundwater, watercourses, and dams. [19] [20] When a water resource can be shared equally, like a river acting as a border between nations, there tends to be less conflict than upstream/downstream water resource sharing agreements. [21]
Water resources, such as lakes and aquifers, are usually renewable resources which naturally recharge (the term fossil water is sometimes used to describe aquifers which do not recharge). Overexploitation occurs if a water resource, such as the Ogallala Aquifer , is mined or extracted at a rate that exceeds the recharge rate, that is, at a rate ...
Water pollution also reduces the ecosystem services such as drinking water provided by the water resource. Sources of water pollution are either point sources or non-point sources. [33] Point sources have one identifiable cause, such as a storm drain, a wastewater treatment plant, or an oil spill. Non-point sources are more diffuse.