Safeguarding water

Despite having these wonderful Cycles of nature by which water and essential nutrients are recycled, thereby ensuring the life of plants, animals and humans, there are many global differences in the availability of water. Compare, for instance, the deserts of the world, with very little water, and the tropical rainforests with usually abundant water supply. So although the supply of water on the planet is constant, it can vary greatly across the surface of the earth.

Fortunately, the natural vegetation and farming practices have generally been very skilful in adapting to these different hydrological conditions.There are, however, increasing numbers of examples in which the actions of human beings have led to interference with the water cycle. Examples include abstaction and routing of drinking water, irrigation which has led to dwindling supplies of water and salinisation of the land in some arid areas; acid rain, caused by industrial pollution of the atmosphere; water pollution from various causes, such as excessive fertilisation of soils; and climate change which is leading to the melting of glaciers and ice sheets and to sea level rise.

There is increasingly a human influence on the world's water supply as world population continues to rise greatly and so does its need for water. The ever increasing world population brings with it increasing demands on the water, particularly on the fresh water which is in very limited supply. Humans need to do a better job of understanding the likely cause of their actions on this precious Cycle.