Worldfocus has selected four multimedia pieces from the Tibetan Plateau in Peril series that address climate change in Tibet, where glacial melting threatens to diminish the water supply for all of Asia — leading to potentially disastrous consequences for almost half the world’s population.

The plateau feeds most of the major river systems from China to Pakistan, including the Yellow, Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Brahmaputra, Ganges and Indus. But the rapid retreat of its glaciers has jeopardized what glaciologist Lonnie Thompson has termed Asia’s “fresh water bank account.”

Rivers and lakes have depleting water levels, pastures are becoming drier, deserts are expanding and weather patterns are becoming more unpredictable. The Tibetan Plateau’s ecosystem are moving toward an environmental catastrophe that will have continental implications far beyond Tibet.

Watch Origins of Rivers: Omens of a Crisis:

An ancient Chinese proverb: When you drink the water, think about its source. Signs of water scarcity in the Yellow River watershed can be seen all the way back to its origin in Qinghai, where glaciers melt on the slopes of the sacred Tibetan mountain Anyemaqen.

The warming climate has endangered the human habitat in this area of the Tibetan Plateau. And hundreds of millions of people at lower altitudes in northern China are threatened by the Yellow River’s demise.

Read more about the Tibetan Plateau by Michael Zhao in the Far Eastern Economic Review and World Policy Journal, and watch Less Blessed: Anyemaqen, Glaciers and the Yellow River:

The next piece is a bleak visual tour of some of the world’s highest glaciers in the Himalayas: at the foot of Mt. Everest, in eastern Qinghai province and in the Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang province.

See what these giant ice sheets looked like decades ago and how much they have thinned down. The alarming images document lakes expanding due to accelerated glacial meltdown and also lakes shrinking due to desertification at lower altitudes.

Watch On Thinner Ice: Disappearing Glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau (Part I):

In the fall of 2007 and again in 2008, David Breashears traveled to the Chinese face of Mt. Everest, a mountain he has climbed five times. His goal was not to scale the peak but to see series of ledges and outcroppings on Everest’s western side.

Breashears brought photos taken in a 1921 expedition to survey Everest. Returning to the exact same locations, Breashears recreated the photos — pixel for pixel.

Watch On Thinner Ice: Everest’s Vanishing Glaciers:

Worldfocus partner IRIN ventures high up into the Himalayas in the country of Nepal, where villagers are struggling with severe drought as rising temperatures melt away the glaciers that supply their fresh water.

The dry capital of China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Yinchuan.

China is seeing the consequences of excessive water usage and grazing as millions of acres of fertile farmland transform into desert.

The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China has been particularly hard-hit, and is now a vast arid space subject to drought and frequent dust storms. In response, China has relocated some of its farmers.

Sean Gallagher of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting is a British photographer currently based in China. He visits the town of Hongsibao, a dry town that many “ecological refugees” call home.

China: Environmental Refugees

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is a small province lying in Loess highlands of north-central China. Dry and desert-like, it is China’s poorest province and is the least visited by outsiders.

I am here this week to visit the isolated town of Hongsibao, which lies 150km south of the province’s capital Yinchuan, completely surrounded by dry and arid land. Ten years ago, this town didn’t exist.

At a cost of more than 2 billion Chinese Renminbi, the town has been constructed, literally on top of the desert. Officially titled the “Hongsibao Development Zone Poverty Reduction Project,” some 200,000 people have been relocated from local mountainous areas, suffering as a result of the harsh, dry climate of Ningxia province.

“We’ve already been here three years”, says Mrs Li a young storeowner in the center of town. “We moved from Guyuan in the mountains, in southern Ningxia. Some people left the mountain area but some people didn’t want to move. I think life now is much better than before in the mountains because I only had a field, but now I have a small business to earn some money.”

Even though construction has been taking place for 10 years, the town is still clearly developing and for some, isn’t providing the opportunities promised. “I thought there would be more business here”, says Mr Gao, a taxi driver in Hongsibao who voluntarily moved to the area from neighbouring Shanxi province. “I came here to earn some money but I found that it’s not so good. I want to sell my car and go back home.”

As the wind rattles across the wide boulevards that criss-cross the town, dust and sand is readily picked up from the surrounding deserts and blankets the town during the spring. “In March, the winds start to blow”, sighs Mrs Ma who owns a small Muslim restaurant in the centre of town. “When the wind is blowing, you can’t really see anything. It is the same every year.”

Having spoken to many people in the town, it appears that the general feelings towards relocation have been positive. People speak of the improvements in their lives, especially those moved from the poorer mountainous areas. Hongsibao still clearly faces many challenges however, in both it’s development and tackling of it’s harsh and unforgiving location.

To read more, see the original post.

The views expressed by contributing bloggers do not reflect the views of Worldfocus or its partners.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user XM&&LL under a Creative Commons license.

Competition for natural resources often lies at the heart of human conflict, from oil and water in the Middle East to contested coltan in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In today’s economic environment, the demand for some resources may be declining, but the importance of who controls natural resources like oil and water — and how they control — is of pressing importance as supplies of these resources dwindle.

This proves particularly true for developing countries, where the right decisions can lead to a strong infrastructure and international influence, and the wrong decisions can lead to social strife, war or environmental destruction.

Worldfocus.org’s weekly radio show explored the state of natural resource use, opportunities and dangers for resource-rich developing countries and the role played by the U.S. in this global issue. Worldfocus anchor Martin Savidge hosted a panel of guests.

Dave Burdick is the green editor of The Huffington Post. He follows energy, environment and green lifestyle stories. He has also been a reporter, a stand-up comedian and a copywriter for the United States’ only accredited, Buddhist-inspired university.

Michael Cohen is a professor of international affairs and director of the graduate program in international affairs at the New School University. From 1972 to 1999, he worked at the World Bank and was responsible for much of its urban policy development. He has worked in over 55 countries, published several books on urban development and has advised governments, U.N. Habitat, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions around the world.

Alf Hornborg is an anthropologist and professor of human ecology at the University of Lund, Sweden. His research has largely focused on cultural and political dimensions of human-environmental relations in past and present societies. He is the author of “The Power of the Machine” (2001) and lead editor of “Rethinking Environmental History” (2007) and “The World System and the Earth System” (2007).

See some related Worldfocus signature stories:

• Haitians destroy environment in struggle to survive
• Controversy surrounds water forum in Turkey
• Brazil emerges as an oil giant
• Brazil pioneers energy independence with ethanol

See our interactive map: The world according to energy.

Associated photo courtesy of Flickr user AdamCohn under a Creative Commons license.

Credits:
Host: Martin Savidge
Producers: Lisa Biagiotti, Bijan Rezvani and Katie Combs

The forum opened to the sounds of protest, as activists voiced their opposition to the privatization of water, chanting slogans like ”water is people; it’s life. It’s not for sale.” Police broke up protests with tear gas.

The water issue is a sensitive one in Turkey, where the government is building a massive hydroelectric dam on the historic Tigris River in the southeastern part of that country.  It says the dam will provide much-needed power and irrigation — but activists claim it could cause irreparable harm to the environment and the people who live there.

The “Istanbul Calling” blog summarizes the dam debate in Turkey:

The Ilisu dam project in southeast Turkey has been one of the country’s most controversial energy and infrastructure plans for years. The proposed dam, which would be Turkey’s 2nd largest, would lead to the displacement of tens of thousands — mostly Kurdish villagers — and the flooding of Hasankeyf, a unique, historic town on the Tigris River. The Turkish government claims the dam is an important part of a larger plan to bring economic development to the struggling region, but locals believe the damage caused by the project will outweigh any of its benefits.

Turkish pop star Tarkan has campaigned to stop the construction of the Ilisu Dam and also composed an environmentally-themed song, “Uyan” (Wake Up), featuring a dry Turkish landscape as seen in the YouTube video below. Read a translation of the lyrics at the “TreeHugger” blog.

Blogger “CitizenReporter” takes issue with the Water Forum’s corporate attendees, arguing that it will be difficult to see water as a human right given the heavy presence of self-interested water companies:

Looking around at what organizations and individuals are attending, one could argue that the concerns about protecting access to water, quality and affordability especially, is definitely on the agenda.  But as with the previous 4 meetings, the big name water companies like RWE and Suez will also be there, corporations that have been busy buying up water systems throughout the world for more than a decade.  Naturally if any discussions are going to take place, it makes sense that all stakeholders in the water management world are a part of them. Yet the record of many of these players call into question any serious claim of wanting water as a human right and an essential resource for life, to be protected and respected. The spirit of viewing water as a commodity is very much still out there.

Blogger Chris Brown argues that water should be privatized, and that the free market could solve the water issue:

In a free market, no shortages would exist. In fact, it is very unlikely any of the earth’s resources would be used up. This is because the (futures) price would rise almost to infinity as supply decreased, which (again) would encourage higher prices, lower consumption, a natural rationing, innovation and competition, and an increase in the availability of substitutes.

The “Bellum” blog writes that the water problem has always been a source of conflict, pointing out that it is difficult to both serve all human interests and build the infrastructure needed to provide safe water:

[A]s demand for water increases, so does the likelihood of conflict. Descending on Istanbul, in addition to the diplomats and scientists, are the requisite protesters, including the UN’s own water czar. The protesters oppose the “privatization” of water, arguing that access to it is a “human right” and chanting, “Water for life, not for profit!”

For all the talk of good governance, improved technique, best practices, and so forth, the Water Problem has always been with us. If water is a human right, as the Istanbul protesters declare, will God build the infrastructure? If water is a commodity that should be privatized and sold to take advantage of market efficiencies, are we comfortable letting people die if they cannot pay the proper price? As the answer to both is “No,” we muddle through the discourse…

For more on water use worldwide, see our map of global resources: The world according to energy.

For more Worldfocus coverage of Turkey, visit our extended coverage page: Turkey between East and West.

Rumor and superstition surrounds water in Liberia.

Liberia’s water supply was crippled during the country’s civil war when the main water treatment plant was destroyed. A 2006 report found that the majority of Liberian rely on untreated wells, rivers, ponds, creeks and swamps for drinking water.

But the water supply, already crippled by war, has been further harmed by widespread superstition and rumors.

Myles Estey is a journalist based in Monrovia, Liberia. He writes at “Esteyonage” about a recent scare there, when people became worried that the water would turn into blood.

Blood water

Last night, two things startled me. The first was Nigerian-manned tanks rolling past my house as I stayed up late typing - tanks are rarely a sign of a good thing. The second came waking at 3:45, only to see the bridge outside my house full of with people, and people filing under my balcony.

The bridge, most people say, should not be crossed by foot anytime after 11, and certainly not past midnight. A little surprising then that a line of people streamed across the bridge, under some of the only streetlamps in the country, and that many seemed to be women and children, not typical Also strange that most of them carried the 5-gallon water jugs that people collect their water from local wells in (running water remains rare). I struggled to come up with a reason for any of this, before drifting back to sleep, listening to the wind and a light rain that started.

This hazy memory remained lay buried until speaking with some reporters. It became clear that a ‘crisis’ gripped the city yesterday. A ‘report’ circulated, claiming that all the city’s water supplies would turn to blood by morning, though other variations claimed the water would become bitter, or perhaps dry up. People acted quickly, with reports of long lines all night at wells becoming especially feisty as dawn approached.

Origins of the report seem mixed. Truth FM definitely aired the first story about it during the day, but they were responding to already widespread knowledge, and callers comments. It spread ‘virally’, in 2.0 terminology, though without any more technology than word of mouth/cell phone. Brothers called sisters called cousins called friends called coworkers all through the night, with virtually everyone aware of the problem by dawn. Many residents stocked up with water.

“People here just believe anything,” a local journalist said of the situation. “They believe in powers and forces that don’t actually exist, just because someone told them so.”

To read more, see the original post.

The views expressed by contributing bloggers do not reflect the views of Worldfocus or its partners.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user MikeBlyth under a Creative Commons license.

Threshers in Pingyao, China.

China has declared a drought emergency and plans to provide nearly $13 billion in relief money, primarily to aid suffering wheat-growing regions outside Beijing in northern China.

More than 4 million people face water shortages in the worst drought in 50 years.

China has begun diverting water from major rivers and used artificial rainmaking to try to stem the effects of the drought, which poses a threat to rural farmers and their crops.

“Mark’s China Blog” writes that China is drying up:

The other day, a few of my friends and I were trying to remember the last time it rained in Xi’an. We couldn’t. We figured it had to have been in November or October. [...]Just from living in Xi’an though, I can tell you that it hasn’t been raining at all.

Living in a large city, this isn’t that big of a deal. It is surely a bigger deal for farmers living out in the countryside who depend upon falling rain for survival.

This drying of China is nothing new. Northern and Northwest China are currently being crushed by a massive wave of desertification. The Gobi and Taklamakan deserts in China’s Northwest frontier are spreading to other parts of the country very quickly.

North China’s desertification, droughts, and, general, drying out is a very serious problem. Combining these phenomena with the melting glaciers in the Himalayas and their falling water tables and it’s hard to see where China is going to get its water in the future.

A blogger at “Global Voices Online” translates a Chinese blog post from “bandanjilin,” describing how the drought combined with the economic crisis may have disastrous consequences:

Although local government tried very hard to fight against the drought, if the weather continues like this, it will affect the summer harvest. With the financial crisis, we can imagine how hard the life of rural peasants will become. In the past years, the weather has been good, and the peasants can be self-sufficient in food supply. Extra labors can earn cash income to improve life. Now that the rain stops, their lives will be much harder. I am the son of a farmer, and I have two years farmer experience. I know how hard a farmer life is. Among all the occupation, farmer is the hardest.

Blogger “Bezdomny” argues that Beijing’s wasteful water use comes at the expense of rural areas:

When I lived in Taiyuan, I had mains water supply only three times a day. The rest of the time my water came from a tank on the roof — but not for the washing machine, that was mains-only, which meant I had to be really organised about doing laundry. And my in laws in a village in Beijing’s Yanqing county get their water from a tap in the courtyard. And their mains supply is frequently cut off — especially, but by no means exclusively, over winter nights. Therefore (and because Yanqing is Beijing’s coldest county) they store water in a large vat in the kitchen. Isn’t it about time city Beijingers were made to understand the Damoclean sword that is the severe scarcity of water this city faces? Especially in a time of severe drought?

[...]Let me just state yet again that one of my biggest worries about Beijing’s future is water. And I think far too little emphasis is placed on rural China (especially in expat circles). And therefore this drought really worries me.

Map of the drought-affected regions. Photo: ReliefWeb

Blogger “Ying Jia” writes about China’s water usage in relation to its growth:

The wasteful ways of the nation also bear an enormous responsibility. China’s agricultural sector uses 66 percent of China’s total water consumption, mostly for irrigation purposes, but about half of the water is wasted due to leaky pipes. The World Resources Institute found that Chinese industries generally use 10-20 percent more water than their counterparts in developed countries to spur growth. This inefficiency has long term dire consequences for severe water shortages. As the quality of life has improved since China’s reform and opening, rapid urbanization has led to larger consumption of water, where city dwellers take lengthy showers, use washing machines and dishwashers and purchase homes with lawns that need to be watered. This is the very cost of China’s economic boom.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user televiseus under a Creative Commons license.

Worldfocus contributor Samuel Loewenberg travels to the east African country of Tanzania to look at the impact of river blindness on one village, where the only source of water is also a breeding ground for disease.

Watch an interview with Peter Coy of Business Week magazine about the effects of the price plunge.

On Dec. 17, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Companies (OPEC) is scheduled to meet to assess the international oil market situation. OPEC slashed oil production by 1.5 million barrels per day on Oct. 24, attempting to stabilize free-falling oil prices.

With resources dwindling, energy dominates many political and economic debates. Our Interactive map illustrates worldwide distribution and consumption of natural resources like oil, natural gas, biofuels and water. It answers some fundamental questions about global energy:

Which countries use the most resources?
Which countries produce the most?
What countries are exploring the use of biofuels?

For instance, each day the U.S. produces 7.46 million barrels of oil — more in volume than that of the Empire State Building — but this production provides for only 30 percent of America’s oil consumption.

So, where does the rest come from? North American neighbors Mexico and Canada are also top oil producers, shipping much of their oil to the U.S. A “click” around the world shows that the greatest producer of oil is Saudi Arabia — another major source of American oil.

Click on Japan and you’ll see that it’s a top consumer of oil, natural gas and freshwater, but does not have significant reserves for these resources. Which neighboring countries have the resources Japan needs? Which countries may be competing for these resources?

The map is interactive, which means you can click on its countries and resources. Use the arrows or click and drag to move around the globe, or click on the home icon to return to the full world map. For more information about the icons and coloring, visit the “key” located in the lower left-hand corner.