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Can anyone help with an A2 edexcel water question?

Hi, i have been assigned a question for homework 'evaluate the potential for conflict over water supply'. How would i go about answering this? Can anybody help with writing an evaluation as it is my first A2 homework and i am struggling! Thanks
Original post by olivia543210
Hi, i have been assigned a question for homework 'evaluate the potential for conflict over water supply'. How would i go about answering this? Can anybody help with writing an evaluation as it is my first A2 homework and i am struggling! Thanks


Im only doing AS economics but you could possibly asses how they would distribute water because China has a bigger population but places like Fiji don't, so is it far for them to miss out even though in terms of GDP china contribute more to the world? or something like that

I dont think im big help but maybe i got the ball rollling?
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Avatar for Daxen
Daxen
9
Hey there! I studied this question in a lot of depth, as it was an essay I wrote as part of my application to university... so hopefully, I can help you.
For an Edexcel 15 marker, aim for three paragraphs, an intro and a conclusion.

Intro: Maybe start with outlining the fact that water is a finite resource, and the resources that we do have on earth are often distributed irregularly in comparison to areas of dense population. Outline the definition of 'water stress' and suggest that this could be a source of conflict. You might also want to say that sometimes, one river or water source is shared by several different nations or territories (e.g. the Mekong, the Nile, etc).

Maybe then, pick three out of these potential paragraphs below to construct a balanced essay.

Para 1: Water conflicts and existing political disputes. When two territories are in an existing political conflict, water stress and transboundary water sources can exacerbate the problem, and intensify political disputes and conflict further. Researching Israel and Palestine and their water issues may be a good place to start.

Para 2: Population growth. As the world's population exponentially grows, water will inevitably become more scarce because it is a finite resource with a limited supply. If the population grows too much, there will be a stage where there simply isn't enough water and thus you could argue that conflict would be inevitable. Alternatively, as population grows, pollution increases accordingly, and this is also putting stress on water supplies. Rapid population growth, and poor water quality, in China would be a great case study for this.

Para 3: Hydroengineering projects as a source of conflict. Often, in the instances where water resources are shared between territories, one nation may build a hydroengineering project such as a dam upstream, that reduces the flow of water to the other nations sharing the supply. This is a big source of conflict. If you're a National Geographic subscriber, the May 2015 issue has the PERFECT case study for this essay on the Mekong river. Alternatively, you could research case studies on Himalayan rivers (with a focus on Chinese dams), or the Nile river.

Para 4: The opposite side of the argument: ways of preventing water conflict. You could argue that because water is so essential to human life, there is never going to be full-blown wars surrounding water because our survival will depend on us co-operating about it. You could also explain that water-sharing rules and treaties exist to avoid water conflicts, and have successfully helped nations share water resources: a case study for a particular river would be the Colorado Compact, or in a more general sense, you could research the Berlin Rules or the Helsinki rules to view the international guidelines for sharing water.

Conclusion - up to you. Whatever you've decided by the time you've finished the essay.

This is a great question and you have quite a lot of freedom and choice to evaluate, and on what to discuss. If you include some of the above as starter points, you should easily get 15 providing you evaluate well. Don't forget that you have to "evaluate the potential" for water to become a source of conflict as the aim of your answer, and try and address this at the end of every paragraph. Good luck, and feel free to ask if you have any more questions :biggrin:

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