Global Challenges

Global Challenges - SQA Key definitions : 

• Energy security - A measure of the availability of Energy and an individual's ability to access it without compromising the environment’s future ability to produce more.

• Food security - A measure of the availability of food and an individual's ability to access it without compromising the environment’s future ability to produce more.

• Water security - A measure of the availability of Water and an individual's ability to access it without compromising the environment’s future ability to supply more.

Population Growth

Over human history, we have exploited natural resources for our own benefit, getting the food and water, shelter and energy resources we need to survive. 

For tens of thousands of years, the impact we have had as a species was limited due to our small numbers, as well as our limited technological understanding. However, since the mid-18th century, the Human population has increased massively and technological development has allowed us as a species to exploit the environment at a rate never before seen. 

Demand for Global Resources : Food

This increase in global population has put huge pressure on food production. At present, the Earth does have enough food resources to sustain the Human population, but these resources are not evenly distributed, and people across the planet do not have equal access to it.

There is also a significant difference between access to food and access to suitable nutrition. 

As of 2019, 633 million people (8.9% of the global population) are classed as being undernourished (they do not have access to the minimum amount of nutrients or foods essential for health and growth), with 45% of childhood deaths worldwide being caused by hunger and hunger-related causes. 

However, this undernourished group is not spread evenly around the globe, but is concentrated in certain regions :

Also, the number of people globally who are classed as undernourished is currently on the rise, with a 36% increase in the number of people undernourished since 2014 :

Food Security : Causes of Undernourishment

The top four causes of undernourishment globally are :

• Poverty 

• Food Shortages (Seasonal Hunger)

• War and Conflict

• Climate Change

Food Security : Poverty

Nearly half of the world's population currently lives in poverty, which is defined as an income of less than US $2 per day, including one billion children. Of those living in poverty, over 800 million people live in extreme poverty, surviving on less than US $1.25 a day.

Undernourishment and Poverty are well correlated with each other; this means that poverty and undernourishment show a positive corellation globally :

Food Security : Seasonal Hunger

Seasonal hunger is a repetitive cycle of predictable undernourishment that occurs between harvest seasons, when the previous year’s food stocks are running low or have run out, food prices are high, and income is scarce. 

The graph below shows how the percentage of households in Malawi who are food insecure vary across a year (based on data from 1982-2012) :-

Food Security : Conflict and War

Conflict and Wars have devastating impacts on food systems, as they negatively affect almost every aspect of a food system, from production, harvesting, processing, and transport to input supply, financing, marketing, and consumption. 

As with Poverty, regions experiencing high levels of Conflict are a good indicator of high levels of undernourishment  :

Food Security : Climate Change

Too little - or too much - rainfall can destroy harvests or reduce the amount of animal pasture available. These fluctuations are made worse by changes to established weather systems for example El Niño and the Monsoon. 

Extreme climate patterns also tend to affect the poorest regions of the world the most. The World Bank estimates that climate change has the power to push more than 100 million people into poverty over the next decade.

Demand for Global Resources : Water

In Scotland, we take access to fresh, clean drinking water for granted; it is literally available 'on tap'. However, for others around the world, access to safe drinking water is a daily struggle. 

One in four people on Earth do not have access to safe drinking water, but as seen previously with food, this average varies greatly from country to country. 

For example, in MEDCs such as Europe, Japan and the U.S. have almost 100% coverage of their population with safe access to water. In countries with the lowest incomes, however, such as Chad, the Central African Republic or Sierra Leone, less than 10% of the population have access to safe water. 

In the diagram below, regions that do not have access to safe drinking water are concentrated in Central Africa, South-East Asia and parts of South America : 

As the global population grows, the agricultural, industrial and domestic demands for water have increased substantially : 

Water Stress is a measure of how sustainable the use of water is in a country, by comparing the volume of water extraction for use to the volume of water replenished through precipitation (rain, snow etc.) 

The videos below shows an introduction to the topic of Water Scarcity & Stress:-

As can be seen below, several countries across the Middle East, North Africa & South Asia have extremely high levels of water stress. 

Many, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Syria, Pakistan & Libya have withdrawal rates well in excess of 100 percent this means they are either extracting unsustainably from existing aquifer sources, or producing a large volume of water from desalinisation (making fresh water from sea water) : 

Demand for Global Resources : Energy

As the World's population has increased drastically over the last few centuries, so has our requirement for energy. We use energy in every aspect of our lives; for heating and lighting our homes, transporting ourselves and products, farming and manufacturing, communications and entertainment. 

The traditional methods of energy generation in the form of biomass (burning plant material) simply cannot provide the energy required by modern life, so we have found new (and usually unsustainable) methods to provide our energy : 

Energy Security : Economics 

Access to energy sources as with all other resources, is not shared equitably around the world, with certain countries dominating energy production and supply. 

An example of this are the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). OPEC countries hold ~80% of the World's proven Crude Oil reserves, and work together to control oil prices globally by managing supply in a 'cartel' arrangement. 

The video below show a news arcticle explaining the function of the OPEC arrangement : 

Energy Security : Society

In order to provide sufficient energy for a country, sometimes very difficult social decisions must be made. An example of this can be seen in many locations around the world where settlements have had to be abandoned and submerged to make way for Hydro-Electric reservoirs. 

For example in China, the Three-Gorges Dam project led to the displacement of over 1.24 million residents as 13 cities, 140 towns and 1350 villages were either flooded or partially flooded by the reservoir behind the dam : 

The same can be seen within Scotland as well, with villages being submerged beneath the water when reservoirs have been built. 

Over the Autumn of 2021, after a period of drought in Scotland, the reservoir at Glendevon in Perthshire's water level dropped so much that previously submerged buildings began to emerge from the water :