Global resource use: water, food and energy security
OCR J383 Paper 2 tests global resource management with case-study and evaluate questions. You need to understand why demand for water, food and energy is rising AND why access is unevenly distributed between HICs and LICs.
Key concepts
Resource security: the ability of a country to guarantee a stable supply of a resource to meet its population's needs.
- Water security: reliable access to sufficient clean water.
- Food security: reliable access to sufficient nutritious food.
- Energy security: reliable access to affordable energy for domestic, industrial and transport needs.
Water
Global demand and supply patterns
- 2.97 billion people face water insecurity for at least one month per year (2021 estimate).
- Global freshwater use has increased 6× in the 20th century (population growth + agriculture + industry).
- Agriculture accounts for ~70% of global freshwater withdrawals (primarily irrigation).
Why water is unevenly distributed
| High water availability | Low water availability |
|---|---|
| Amazon Basin, Congo Basin, SE Asia (high rainfall) | Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Sahel |
| Canada, Norway (large glaciers/rivers) | Australia's interior (aridity) |
- Physical factors: rainfall patterns, river systems, groundwater stores.
- Human factors: infrastructure (dams, pipelines), pollution, governance, affordability.
Water scarcity types
| Type | Cause |
|---|---|
| Physical scarcity | Not enough water in the environment (arid regions) |
| Economic scarcity | Water exists but cannot be accessed (lack of money/infrastructure) — common in sub-Saharan Africa |
Case study — Cape Town, South Africa: 2018 "Day Zero" near-crisis. Three-year drought + population growth + failing infrastructure → Cape Town's reservoirs fell to 13.5% capacity. Averted through emergency 50L/person/day water restrictions. Lesson: even a relatively wealthy city can face water crisis under climate + governance pressures.
Food
Demand trends
- Global food demand projected to increase 50–60% by 2050 (population growth + rising meat consumption in NEEs).
- Meat production is highly water- and land-intensive: 1 kg beef = 15,400 litres of water.
- Food waste: globally, 1/3 of food produced is lost or wasted (FAO, 2019).
Why food insecurity is uneven
- Sub-Saharan Africa: 282 million chronically food insecure (2023). Causes: drought, conflict, land degradation, poverty.
- HIC: food security generally high but increasing food bank use (UK: 3 million food bank parcels distributed 2023).
- Calorie gap: average daily intake 3,400 kcal in HICs vs ~2,100 kcal in LICs.
The food-water-energy nexus
- Nexus: water, food and energy are deeply interconnected — you cannot address one without affecting the others.
- Producing food requires water (irrigation) and energy (farming machinery, fertiliser production).
- Producing energy requires water (hydroelectric, thermal cooling) and land (biofuels).
- Managing water requires energy (pumping, desalination).
- A resource-secure future requires managing all three together.
Energy
Demand trends
- Global energy consumption increased 55% between 1990 and 2020.
- Fastest growth: China, India — rapid industrialisation and rising living standards.
- Slowest growth / decline: EU and USA — energy efficiency improvements.
Energy mix and security
| Energy source | Share of global primary energy (~2022) | Key issue |
|---|---|---|
| Oil | 31% | Geopolitically sensitive; finite |
| Coal | 27% | Largest GHG emitter; declining in HICs |
| Natural gas | 24% | "Bridge fuel"; still fossil |
| Renewables (all) | 14% | Growing rapidly; intermittent |
| Nuclear | 4% | Low-carbon; radioactive waste |
- Energy poverty: 760 million people lack access to electricity (mostly sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia).
- Energy mix in LICs: biomass (wood, charcoal) dominates → deforestation, indoor air pollution (4 million deaths/year from cooking fires — WHO).
Why energy access is uneven
- Physical: fossil fuel deposits are geographically concentrated (Middle East oil/gas, Australia coal).
- Economic: HIC can afford to import and transition to renewables; LIC cannot afford grid infrastructure.
- Political: energy is a tool of geopolitical power (Russia-Europe gas dependence, highlighted by Ukraine conflict 2022).
Sustainable resource management
- Water: drip irrigation (50–70% less water than flood irrigation); rainwater harvesting; desalination (expensive but growing).
- Food: reduce food waste; shift toward plant-based diets; precision farming (sensor-guided irrigation).
- Energy: renewable transition; energy efficiency; decentralised solar (especially for LIC rural access).
Common OCR exam mistakes
- Confusing physical and economic water scarcity — sub-Saharan Africa often has physical water AND economic scarcity; Middle East has physical scarcity.
- Forgetting the nexus link — water, food and energy cannot be managed independently; exam questions often explicitly ask about connections.
- Saying renewables immediately solve energy security — they address climate change but can create new security issues (e.g. cobalt for batteries, lithium for EVs — both concentrated in politically unstable regions).
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