To grasp water scarcity, researchers probe links between human and natural systems
Understanding the fine-level interactions between nature and people is essential ∈ determining whether a region will suffer water scarcity ∈ the future. That's a key finding of a study titled "Finding Water Scarcity Amid Abundance Using Human-Natural System Models," to be published next week ∈ Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Up to 2 billion people around the world face water shortages now and ∈ the future, said the study's lead author, William Jaeger, an economist ∈Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences. Emerging scarcities are tied to factors such as growing populations, rising standards of living and climate change.
"Recent droughts across the West have underscored the vulnerability of even highly developed economies to water scarcity," Jaeger said. "And climate change will only heighten the need to anticipate water shortages worldwide." It's a daunting task, he said, because the interactions between natural water supply and human water demands are complex, and involve "linkages and feedbacks" that are difficult to anticipate.
Available at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171023182655.htm. Accessed on: November, 2nd 2017.Adapted.
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