Resource Security: Water, Food and Energy

What is Resource Security?

Resource security means having reliable access to sufficient water, food and energy to meet a population's needs at an affordable price, now and in the future. All three resources are increasingly under pressure due to population growth, rising consumption (especially in emerging economies) and climate change.

Water Security

Global Water Stress

Although 71% of Earth's surface is water, only ~3% is fresh water, and much of this is locked in ice or groundwater. The globally available renewable freshwater supply is unevenly distributed:

• Water-rich: Canada, Brazil, Russia, Iceland
• Water-scarce: Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, parts of South and Central Asia

Water stress occurs when annual freshwater withdrawal exceeds 20% of available supply. Water scarcity is above 40%. Currently, around 2.2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water.

Causes of Water Insecurity

1. Physical water scarcity: insufficient rainfall or river flow — e.g., Yemen, Saudi Arabia
2. Economic water scarcity: water exists but infrastructure is lacking to access it — common in sub-Saharan Africa
3. Over-extraction: aquifers (underground water stores) being depleted faster than recharged — e.g., the Ogallala Aquifer (US Great Plains), the North China Plain
4. Pollution: industrial waste, agricultural runoff contaminating water supplies
5. Climate change: changing rainfall patterns, glacier melt disrupting river flow

UK Water Management

The UK faces a paradox: wet in the north/west (Scotland, Wales); population concentrated in the drier south/east (SE England approaches water stress). Strategies:

• Reservoirs: Wales exports water to SE England via Elan Valley reservoirs (built 1890s–1904, originally for Birmingham); Llyn Celyn reservoir supplies parts of NW England
• Water transfer: National Water Grid debate — transferring surplus water from the north/west to the south/east
• Demand management: metered water; leak reduction; water-efficient appliances

Welsh water example: Wales produces more water than it uses and exports water to England — the Elan Valley reservoirs supply Midlands cities including Birmingham. A major debate exists about water transfer pricing and whether Wales is fairly compensated.

Food Security

Global Hunger

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. Despite producing enough food globally to feed everyone, around 733 million people are chronically hungry (2023 FAO data) — concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Causes of Food Insecurity

1. Physical: drought, flooding, soil degradation, pest and disease
2. Economic: poverty → people cannot afford food even when available
3. Political: conflict disrupts food production and distribution; government failures
4. Population growth: global population ~8 billion → 10 billion by 2050
5. Biofuel: land diverted from food crops to grow fuel crops (maize, sugar cane) in the US, Brazil
6. Climate change: disrupting growing seasons, increasing extreme weather (drought, floods)
7. Food waste: ~30% of food produced globally is lost or wasted before being consumed

Improving Food Security

• Green Revolution: development of high-yield variety (HYV) seeds, irrigation and fertilisers; dramatically increased crop yields in South and SE Asia (India, Philippines) from the 1960s
• GM crops (genetically modified): drought-resistant, pest-resistant crops → potential to boost yields in harsh conditions — but controversial (Monsanto/Bayer dominance; biodiversity concerns)
• Sustainable farming: agro-forestry, organic farming, reduced food miles, urban farming
• Reducing food waste: improved storage, supply chain efficiency, consumer education
• Food aid and international programmes: World Food Programme (UN); but food aid can undercut local farmers

Energy Security

Global Energy Mix

Primary energy sources:

• Fossil fuels (~80% of global energy): coal, oil, natural gas. Finite; major contributor to climate change
• Renewables: solar, wind, HEP, geothermal, tidal, wave. Growing rapidly
• Nuclear: low carbon; produces radioactive waste; risk of accidents

Energy poverty: approximately 775 million people lack access to electricity (2022) — concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia.

UK Energy Mix and Security

The UK's energy mix has changed dramatically:

• 2000: ~75% fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil)
• 2024: ~42% renewables (wind largest single source — UK is world leader in offshore wind), ~25% gas, ~15% nuclear, ~5% coal (coal power to be phased out entirely)

UK energy security challenges:

• North Sea oil and gas depleting: UK production of North Sea oil peaked in 1999 and has declined steadily
• Dependence on gas imports: vulnerability to global gas price shocks (as seen during 2021–22 energy crisis)
• Intermittency of renewables: wind and solar don't produce when calm/dark → need energy storage (batteries, pumped hydro) or backup capacity

UK energy management:

• Offshore wind expansion: Hornsea (East Yorkshire) — world's largest offshore wind farm
• Smart grids and demand management
• Interconnectors: electricity cables linking UK to France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway → import renewable power
• Nuclear: Hinkley Point C (Somerset) — new nuclear power station under construction (expected ~2030); will provide 7% of UK electricity when operational

Global Resource Management Challenges

All three resources are interconnected — the "water-food-energy nexus":

• Producing food requires water (irrigation) and energy (machinery, transport)
• Producing energy (HEP, biofuels) requires water and land
• Providing clean water requires energy (pumping, treatment)

Managing one affects the others. Sustainable resource management requires integrated, global thinking.

WJEC Exam Tips

• Know definitions of water, food and energy security precisely
• For extended answers on resource management: structure as problem → UK scale → global scale → evaluate approaches
• Water-food-energy nexus is a synoptic concept — shows you can connect themes (AO3)
• Welsh water examples (Elan Valley, Llyn Celyn) will gain WJEC credit for local knowledge