Water resources management Monday 8.11

Hello,

The topic on Mondays lecture was water resources management, and the lecture was held by Dr Marko Keskinen from Aalto University's Water & Development research group. I was surprised to know that only about 1% world's water is available for use. I also didn't know that a much as 70-90 % goes to agriculture. Due to population growth, water consumption has doubled since 1960, and the amount of water has stayed the same. First task the lecturer gave us was to evaluate which is the most critical area concerning water scarcity. Our group was thinking Asia and Saharan Africa. It was also pointed out in our group that water scarcity could be solved in many places if there was enough money for the technology. In many megacities, water resources management is especially challenging.
It was pointed out in the lecture that climate change has a big effect on water resources, since it impacts the hydrological cycle. The second task given to us was to think which of the mentioned factors is the most important. Our group was thinking population growth, because of that the water consumption is constantly increasing.
In the end it was pointed out that a more comprehensive view is needed in water management -> Many decicions are actually political, not techlological. I think a great sentence presented was "Water doesn't always flow downstream, it flows where the money and power are"
I think the lecture gave very interesting and important aspects on water resources management. An expert's viewpoints with high motivation are always a pleasure to listen to.