PS336, Global Environmental Politics
Fall Semester 2005
Week 15-16 Outlines
Monday, November 21 - Water, Rivers, and Dams
I. The Situation with Water
97 % of the waters of the planet are in the oceans
3 % is Fresh Water
of this 99% is locked up in polar ice, glaciers and in deep, inaccessible aquifers
Thus, only .003% of the planet's water is available for humans, most is difficult to reach
II. A few observations about annual runoff
Humans expropriate 54% of all available freshwater from rivers, lakes, streams, and shallow aquifers. The human intake is expected to rise to 70% within 25 years.
3/4 of this comes from surface waters;
1/4 from aquifers (signs of being depleted in some areas)
Of human water use, 69% is by agriculture, 23% by industry, and 8% municipal use (drinking, bathing, etc.)
III. Global demand for water is rising
Demand for water is doubling about every 21 years
More than 2 billion people lack access to clean water or sanitation
Areas of particular shortage
Middle East
North Africa
Northern China (50 cities face acute water shortages)
Western and Southern India
Sub-sahara Africa
Parts of Mexico
BBC, "Water Scarcity a Looming Crisis"
IV. Looking ahead, within a decade
By 2025 Egypt's water supply per person will shrink by 30%, Nigeria by 40% , and Kenya by 50%
Amount of water available per person will drop by 80% in North Africa and the Middle East
V. The Prevalence of International River Systems
Globally there are 214 river or lake basins that are shared by two or more states
Africa 57
Europe 48
Asia 40
South America 38
North and Central America 33
In 44 countries--80% of total area is within international river basins
Major shared systems
Danube 11 (map)
Niger 10 (map)
Nile 9
Zaire 9
Zambezi 8
Rhine 8
Amazon 7 (map)
Lake Chad 6 (map) (is now 1/10 its original size)
Mekong 6 (map)
Those involving United States (map)
Colorado River
Rio Grande
Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River
VI. Conflict over River Systems
A. Tigris/Euphrates Rivers (map)
Currently, 88 million people live in basin, expected to increase to 177 million by 2020
B. Nile River (map)
Sources-- Blue Nile (begins in Ethiopia, and runs though the Sudan)
85% of the water of the Nile
White Nile (begins in equatorial forests of central Africa)
Headwaters in Lake Victoria in Tanzania
Egypt 63 million people (growing at 2.2% a year)
Sudan 28 million (growing at 2.7% a year)
Ethiopia 55 million (growing at 3.0% a year)
C. Jordan River (map)
Israel gets between 50 and 75% of the Jordan River flow, primarily through the National Water Carrier(a huge canal and pipeline that transports water to the south)--can move 11 billion cubic feet annually from the Sea of Galilee to Rosh Haayin near Tel Aviv
D. Amu Darya and Syr Darya and the Shrinking Aral Sea (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan) (map)
Diversion of these rivers has led to the dramatic shrinkage of the Aral Sea
The Aral Sea has lost 3/4 of its volume since 1960s
VII. The Helsinki Rules on Sharing River Systems (1966)
Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses (1997)
1. To inform and consult with water-sharing neighbors before taking action that may affect them
2. To exchange hydrological data regularly
3. To avoid causing substantial harm to other water users
4. To allocate water from a shared river basin reasonably and equitably
Factors to be taken into account:
Population
Need
Historical allocation
5. Prevent, reduce, and control pollution
6. Prevent introduction of new or alien species
Another fundamental tenant of international water law
Water within one catchment area should not be diverted outside the area--regardless of the political boundaries--until all need of those within the catchment area are satisfied.
Benzene Spill in China (China map)
Monday, November 28 - Trade and the Environment
I. The World Trade Organization (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade or GATT until 1994)
Seeks to eliminate barriers to trade
Imported goods are to be treated in the same way as like or competing domestic goods
Allows countries to restrict imports if necessary to protect the health of its citizens or the environment within its borders
Prohibits trade restrictions that target goods on the basis of how they were produced
Allows some trade restrictions linked to international environmental treaties
II. The Tuna-Dolphin Case
Use of purse seine nets for catching tuna, beginning in 1957, led to the death of hundreds of thousands of dolphins annually
US Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972) required US tuna fleet to drastically reduce the dolphin kill to 20,000
As a result,
-foreign tuna fleets increased their sales in the US market
-some US boats were reflagged and operated from foreign ports
In 1988 the MMPA was revised---tuna sold in the US must be caught in a manner that limited the dolphin kill to numbers comparable to what the US fleet is allowed
Lax enforcement by the Reagan and Bush administrations led NGO's (Earth Island Institute and the Marine Mammal Fund) to file a court case over the law's enforcement, which they won.
In 1992 Congress adopts the International Dolphin Conservation Act which outlaws imports of any tuna caught during encirclement of dolphins
Thus the US bans imports of tuna from Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Vanuatu, and Venezuela
Complaint was brought by Mexico against theUS law restricting imports of tuna not
caught by dolphin-safe methods
Panel decides against the United States on these grounds
-US was regulating a process rather than a product
-US was trying to regulate activities outside of its territorial jurisdiction
-US was applying a unilaterally enacted act
In 1995 Panama Declaration adopted among 12 nations that harvest tuna
III. Sea Turtle Case
US law requires TEDs (turtle excluder devices)
(since 1988 under Endangered Species Act)
US enforces law by an embargo on shrimp imports from countries not requiring
TEDs (1996)
India, Malaysia, and Pakistan challenge US law in WTO
WTO position:
-allows countries to use trade measures to protect global resources
-US law unacceptable because it was applied "nation by nation" rather than
"shipment by shipment"
IV. Other Cases
Hormone Treated Beef Case
Mad Cow Disease
Austrian Tropical Timber Case
Ontario Returnable Bottle Case (and tax on nonrefillable containers)
(also Danish one)
US Ban on Wooden Packing Crates
US exports of genetically modified food
Wednesday, April 27 - Conclusions -
"Alternative Perspectives on the Emerging Global Order: From the End of History to the End of Nature"
Order #1: Democratization and Human Rights
Key book, Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man (1992)
Order #2: Economic Globalization
Key book, Thomas Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree (1999)
Order #3: The Clash of Civilizations
Key book, Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (1996)
Order #4: The Rise of Anarchy
Key book, Robert Kaplan, The Ends of the Earth: A Journey to the Frontiers of Anarchy (1996)
Order #5: The Deepening Environmental Predicatment
Key book, Bill McKibben, The End of Nature (1989)
Millennium Ecological Assessment
"Tipping Points to Catastrophe"
new diseases
alien species
algal blooms
coral reef collapse
fishing stocks
climate change
Friday, December 2 - Film: "Journey to Planet Earth" (PBS 2005)