J: Hello everyone and thank you for tuning into another episode of our podcast. My name is Gabrijel Berčuk and today we will be talking about river droughts which seem to be more common than ever, and we will be joined by a meteorologist (“Hello everybody! I am Leon Marković and I study the effects of climate change on rivers.”), a biologist (“Thank you for having me. My name is Darijan Ozimec and I specialise in the field of aquatic ecosystems.”), an environmental activist (“Hi all! Nino Lehki here with some facts about how it might alter our lives.”) and an engineer who works at a hydroelectric plant (“Good morning! I am Ivan Nevečerel.”). So, for starters, what exactly river drought is?
M: Droughts are long, dry periods that can occur anywhere in the world. It is a disaster which is caused by a lack of water.
B: They’re also a hazard to livestock and crops and they make people more susceptible to illnesses. Despite all this, humans are endangering them by causing tremendous droughts.
J: Why are rivers so important to us?
B: Rivers have an incredible impact on their environment. They carve out caves, caverns, valleys, and fill lakes, swamps, etc. with freshwater which is crucial for nearby organisms, including, of course, humans. They, along with the other ecosystems mentioned, are incredibly biodiverse, housing a wide range of species. Despite all this, humans are endangering them at a tremendous rate. As a result of decades of exploiting rivers with dams, diversions and pollution, freshwater biodiversity is in a state of crisis.
En: I’d also like to mention that water is very important in creating energy and helping us develop as a society because it allows us to move away from the so-called “unclean” energy sources, which have much more severe negative effects on the planet and the atmosphere. It’s well known that droughts cause less hydroelectric energy production. Of course, we have to keep in mind that hydropower changes the landscape and rivers too, reducing river flows, and affecting fish, birds and other wildlife.
J: And what about the frequency of droughts lately?
Ec: Well droughts have been a more common occurrence than usually, causing a lot of concerns among environmental activists, which is why we have been calling out to everyone for help in our fight against climate change. It is estimated that there are around 55 million people globally affected by it. On top of that, water scarcity impacts about 40% of the world population and around 700 million people are at risk of being forced to leave their homes by 2030 because of droughts.
M: That’s right. Climate change is causing a rise in air temperatures, which means that the air can hold more evaporated water. As a result, rain is much less common in some places, causing droughts. But it can also have the opposite effect in other locations, causing floods. This means that climate change causes both an increase in flood and drought frequency. This is why we must act immediately. Be it through protests, events, or simply changing one’s mindset, I believe everyone should start thinking sustainably.
J: Thank you all very much for participating in this podcast and for sharing your knowledge. Also thank you, the listeners, for listening and hopefully learning something valuable. Tune in next week to hear all about the solutions to water scarcity. Have a nice day.
*Journalist (J), meteorologist (M), biologist (B), ambientalist (Ec), engineer (En)
P1: Hi to all of you, what are you doing here? Oh I know I know, you want to listen to us talking about a really serious problem related to the status of waters in Europe, that is, water scarcity related to food (the theme of this episode). Is the food system a cause or a consequence of water scarcity?
P2: We are four people from Italy, who want to look into this problem. Let’s go!! I’m Rosa, I’m Giovanna, I’m Alberto, I’m Paolo.
P3: All of us know that water is a crucial part of our life. We need it to survive and it’s necessary to all aspects of life. But what is water scarcity? My friend will tell you after the music.
P4: Davvero una bella canzone, non credi? Ok, ma ora devo spiegare in modo molto semplice cos’è la scarsità d’acqua.
P2: It’s a lack of water in different places that causes problems in all aspects of our life.
P4: We’re going to discuss the relationship between the food system and water scarcity.
P2: Urban areas are putting pressure on water sources but the growth of water-intensive sectors such as agriculture is also responsible.
P3: Do you know that we eat water? yeah sure, it’s a strange thing to say, do you know how much water is necessary to produce one kg of meat? You won’t believe what we’ll tell you.
P1: I don’t know, about 50 l of water?
P2: No ahahaha, about 15 thousand.
P1: Oh wow that’s too much water, I couldn’t even imagine that.
P2: Oh sorry friends, wait just a few seconds to listen to our beautiful song.
P3: Hi we’re back. Are you still in shock? Ahahah, I think so, but LET’S GO back to what we were talking about.
P4: We were talking about how much water is needed to produce meat. Paolo let’s tell our friends another strange thing.
P2: Sure. What do you think of vegetables? And fruit? Most people think that agriculture is the only problem that accounts for water scarcity, but it’s not. In fact, to produce one kilogram of vegetables we need about three hundred litres of water and to produce fruit we need about one thousand litres.
P1: It’s not that much compared to meat.
P3: There is minus 77 percent of water in the river Po, in Italy now; and salt water prevails over fresh water. At the point where the Po flows into the sea, the salt water takes over so that the freshwater decreases.
P4: The small amount of fresh water is the reason for the absence of plankton, an aquatic organism that serves as food for mussels. If the mussels do not have food, they die, so they cannot be caught.
P2: Sea salt burns entire rice fields and not only rice, but also Foggia radicchio plants, which you can’t cultivate because the water is salty. Salt water is not a good way of irrigation of the total majority of cultivated crops, but of course, depends on the grade of salinity and crop.
P1: Also the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) says: “ “According to the report, 3.2 billion people live in agricultural areas with very high water shortages, of whom 1.2 billion people live in severely water-constrained agricultural areas. Many of these areas are found in developing countries, with serious implications for food security…
P4: …These challenges have been made more serious by climate change, which has led to droughts and less predictable access to water for agriculture and food production in many parts of the world. Climate crises must be addressed now before tipping points for rainfed agriculture caused by heat stress and water scarcity are reached.”
P3: Let’s try to choose food that requires less water! We should insist that our politicians invest in water reuse systems. For example in Emilia Romagna water that is treated in wastewater plants is reused in agriculture. But overall in Italy, only 2% of wastewater is reused.
P2: What else can we do? – Eat less red meat, or less meat in general, and prefer legumes and other vegetables as sources of protein.
P1: Encourage politicians to create systems where water is first purified from earthy materials and then through the roots of the trees, to keep alive the natural springs that guarantee fresh water…
P3: We think we also have to avoid, or at least reduce, food waste
And in your opinion, is the food system a cause or a consequence of water scarcity?
Student 1: Introduction
Student 2: The Earth might seem like it has abundant water, but in fact less than 1 percent is available for human use. The rest is either salt water found in oceans, fresh water frozen in the polar ice caps, or too inaccessible for practical usage. While population and demand on freshwater resources are increasing, supply will always remain constant. And although it’s true that the water cycle continuously returns water to Earth, it is not always returned to the same place, or in the same quantity and quality. Water plays a big role in supporting our communities. Without water there would be no local business or industry. Fire-fighting, municipal parks, and public swimming pools all need lots of water. An array of pipes, canals, and pumping stations managed by our public water systems are needed to bring a reliable supply of water to our taps each day.
Student 3: Where does all this water come from? It starts out as rain or snow and flows into our local lakes, rivers, and streams or into underground aquifers. You can learn more about water in your country, including how it is being protected and where your local drinking water comes from. The most amount of water in a household is used to flush the contents of the toilet – about 30 percent. of the total amount of water consumed per day. Tanks that can hold 3 or 6 liters of water are currently being produced. The savings are obvious. If such a tank is not installed, you can save money by placing a simple brick or a filled plastic bottle in the tank – the volume of the tank will decrease and less water will be consumed.
Student 4: In order to save water in the bathroom, you need to give up the pleasure of taking a bath often. One person uses about 200 liters of water while taking a bath, and about 60 liters when taking a shower. Bathing, if it is acceptable to someone, is not possible every day. In this way, the skin will not dry out. Now you can buy shower heads with aerators too – they make the water current more fluffy and help reduce the use of water up to 25-30%.. The current becomes “fluffy” and the user does not feel any discomfort due to the weakening of the water current. Also, when brushing your teeth, or soaping your hands or body, hitting the shampoo head, you should turn off the water when you don’t need it. And we have to be careful how we use pollutants that contaminate household wastewaters, such as surfactants or tensioactives, which are the main component of cleaning detergents. Finally, antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals in wastewater can be very dangerous for the environment as well.
Claudiu: Welcome to the podcast on water scarcity. Today, we have a very important topic to discuss. According to a report by the World Wildlife Fund, by 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population could be facing water shortages. It is high time we took actions to combat water scarcity. So, what do you think the solutions could be? Joining me today are Marc Raul, Gavrilescu Alonso, and Balint Mustafa.
Mustafa: To begin with, one of the solutions to tackle water scarcity is setting water quotas and establishing upstream banks. By setting water quotas, we can regulate the amount of water being used and prevent excessive water usage. On the other hand, upstream banks help to store water in upstream areas, which can be used during times of scarcity.
Claudiu: That’s an interesting point, Mustafa. Another effective solution is establishing a modified tax and price policy framework to promote investments or the growth of demand approach management, and to create financial tools to internalize external costs and foresee returns from water savings. This approach encourages investments in water management and creates financial tools to save water.
Mustafa: Education and awareness initiatives also play a crucial role in solving the water crisis. It is important to educate people about water conservation and sustainable water use. By creating awareness, we can reduce water usage and promote efficient water management practices.
Claudiu: Absolutely, and we should also consider the impact of any new project before proceeding with it. Creating a requirement for any project involving the construction of new water resources to consider the costs, needs, advantages, and alternative solutions, as well as their effects on the economy, the environment, and society is crucial.
Mustafa: It is also important to consider the impact of climate change on water availability. We need to take steps to address climate change and reduce its impact on water availability. This could involve measures such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and implementing climate adaptation strategies.
Claudiu: These are all excellent points. In conclusion, it is evident that there are several solutions available to tackle water scarcity. We need to take collective action and implement these solutions to ensure that we have a sustainable and secure water supply for future generations. Thank you for listening to our podcast. Please, tune in next week, when we will go deeper into other topics regarding water.
Croazia: Ivan Nevečerel, Darijan Ozimec, Leon Marković, Nino Lehki, Gabrijel Berčuk
Italia: Alberto Ratta, Giovanna Papa, Paolo Lettieri, Rosa Arcuri
Lituania: Nojus Kirvaitis, Gediminas Volkavicius, Dominykas Savickas
Romania: Claudiu Daniel Simon, Raul Andrei Marc, Stelian Alonso Gavrilescu, Mustafa Taner Balint
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