Blue Gold

Water is one of the world’s greatest and most precious natural resources, yet most of the time it is entirely hidden. The map of “blue gold” [pdf] was released mid 2008 and is the result of nearly a decade of talks between neighbouring governments, mediated by UNESCO. With the increasing demand for water around the globe, ‘blue gold’ seems like a fitting name for these underground aquifers which store vast amounts of water. The hope is that it will help pave the way to an international law to govern how water is shared around the world.

These Aquifers are underground layers of rocks or sediments from which water can be extracted - normally by drilling boreholes or digging wells. According to the New Scientist:

“They [Aquifers] hold 100 times the volume of freshwater that flows down rivers and streams around the world at any time. What the UNESCO map reveals is just how many aquifers cross international borders. So far, the organisation has identified 273 trans-boundary aquifers: 68 in the Americas, 38 in Africa, 155 in Eastern and Western Europe and 12 in Asia.

This week the UN officially declared that access to clean water and sanitation is a ‘fundamental human right’, according to the BBC.

The resolution that was passed “… urges the international community to scale up efforts to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable water and sanitation for all.”

Richard Taylor, a hydrogeologist at the University College of London in the UK,  says:

I do not think that [by pinpointing where aquifers lie] the map in itself has the potential to provoke water conflicts. It would be very difficult for even a very skilled person to say from this map that 40% of a particular aquifer ‘belongs’ to one country and 60% to its neighbour. (via the New Scientist)

It is likely the need for water will result in using maps like this to tap into a country’s aquifer; however, there are a number of factors defining a nation’s right to groundwater. 

The New Scientist notes that

Where an aquifer lies relative to an international border is one variable, but others that could be considered include: which nation’s geography contributes most to the aquifer’s recharge, the size of the respective populations, and the amount of water removed to irrigate crops.

The UNs decree that access to clean water and sanitation is a fundamental human right is a big step towards social and environmental justice. But frankly, this is going to be hard. I hope that with proper mitigation, maps of groundwater can help countries and world agencies better manage water supply and distribution without sucking it dry.