Water and Food Scarcity in Africa
Environmental Causes
It is important to note that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) suffer from water scarcity. Global warming has exacerbated this problem, which has impacted the ability of residents to engage in agriculture. Moreover, in North Africa, the figure per person of water is 500 m3 (Altaeb, 2023, p. 18). While groundwater is one way for most people to get water, it is also used for agriculture and business. Thus, the use of water for growing plants is expensive for Africa.
Political Factors
Russia’s war in Ukraine has worsened the overall situation of African states. Since Ukraine and Russia exported wheat to Africa, they were responsible for 30 percent of the world’s exports (Altaeb, 2023, p.19). Other sovereigns, such as Egypt, cannot cover the agricultural needs of the world and Africa in general. This leads to the fact that, in addition to water problems, North Africa faces food shortages.
Implications
As a result, food and water shortages have exacerbated the existing crisis. Many products have disappeared from stores, and poverty levels have increased significantly. In addition, many conflicts in Africa and internal problems such as corruption are worsening the living standards of people (Altaeb, 2023). Despite all these problems, Africans need to learn how to plan water allocation and channel it to the most needed areas to survive.
Moreover, they must anticipate future challenges and look for solutions now (Altaeb, 2023). In addition to water scarcity, there is a problem of politicizing water resources. That is, in most African countries, the state is the owner of water resources and controls their use and distribution. This approach leads to increased pressure on domestic water sources for the sake of business interests.
Threat of Corruption
African states face problems of corruption and lack of transparency in their activities. An example is the close relationship between the authorities and the lobbying interests of oil and gas owners, who use harmful practices to extract natural resources (Altaeb, 2023). They pollute the environment and water, making them unfit for consumption. The government does not respond to this challenge, so Africa’s environmental issues are almost impossible to solve or improve.
Potential Solutions
It is crucial to emphasize that investments in water technologies can help address the issue. For example, implementing wastewater treatment policies to reuse water will solve the water problem for the country in the short term. Moreover, African states should develop new technologies to find alternative ways to conserve water resources. To accomplish this, they need to unify and develop common policies and governmental actions to develop environmental programs (Altaeb, 2023). Water governance is essential to African policymakers’ creation of conditions for efficient water distribution.
For this purpose, it is required to invest in water-saving irrigation technologies, such as drip irrigation, or to stimulate the development of supported entrepreneurship and innovation. In Morocco, for example, two hundred thousand agricultural producers and entrepreneurs reported receiving financial incentives to adopt climate-smart agricultural methods and practices (Altaeb, 2023). Therefore, in Africa, governments should also seek ways to save water resources and implement policies for their sustainable development.
Can the Future of Water Be Green?
Challenges of Promoting Green Jobs
In the modern world, there are different narratives about nature conservation. After the global crisis of 2008, the international community has been actively raising the issue of creating green jobs (Barsoum, 2023, p. 23). In 2013, the International Labor Organization defined green jobs as positions for environmental restoration in traditional sectors. They are needed to identify the main problems on the ground and eliminate them at the earliest stages (Barsoum, 2023, p. 24). Even though many international organizations support this initiative and have issued resolutions on this issue, green jobs are not being created at the required pace. They are most needed in renewable energy industries, but green policies barely work in this sector.
Green Job-Related Labor and Environmental Policies
It is crucial to emphasize that green jobs are closely related to environmental policy. Green jobs are not a way to reduce conventional jobs but to expand them. For example, vehicle drivers will do the same job but use vehicles that run on fossil fuels.
Moreover, agriculture is an example of the active implementation of the green jobs policy. Agriculture increases the use of natural resources and is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions through livestock production (Barsoum, 2023). Accordingly, green jobs will help tap into the industry through remote sensing. Together with invertebrates, green job policies can enhance water quality and quantity in Africa.
Additionally, the green jobs policy implies decent jobs. Green jobs must meet general labor standards and norms, including comfortable working conditions, respect for gender, and decent wages (Barsoum, 2023). Therefore, green jobs are a way of solving problems that will only get worse in the future. However, their effective implementation requires government officials to support policies to address the issue and direct investments for its advancement. As a result, this will enhance the environment and preserve natural resources for future generations.
Important Terms
Water Scarcity
Water scarcity is the lack of acceptable water resources in a certain area, which means water is being depleted faster than replenished. Unpredictable rainfall patterns are associated with temperature change, which increases the risk of floods and droughts and exacerbates physical water scarcity. In addition, the lack of clean water could lead to a situation where 5 billion people will be left without water by 2030 (Ungureanu et al., 2020, p. 9056). Water scarcity raises serious concerns about humanity’s sustainable future and the preservation of important functions of local ecosystems.
Greenwash Country
Greenwash country is the practice of misrepresenting information about the environmental friendliness of an item or product. This is necessary to explain the environmental activities of people or organizations to maintain their image (Nguyen et al., 2019). However, the information is false and does not comply with the basic principles of environmental protection. This practice can be used by a certain company that produces products that pollute the environment, or even by a state that does not follow the rules of sustainable development.
Green Job
Green jobs are workplaces that help reduce the negative impact on the environment and contribute to the transition to environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable businesses and economies (Rutkowska & Sulich, 2020). Green jobs policy can be practiced at the level of states or at the level of individual companies that employ individuals.
Water Technology
Water technology means applying engineering principles to solve problems related to water purification, management, and conservation. It can be implemented at the state level through public funding and at the level of individual companies and people (Rutkowska & Sulich, 2020). This is possible through the introduction of new innovative technologies in production.
References
Altaeb, M. (2023). The future of water in Mena is at stake. The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, 47, 18-21.
Barsoum, G. (2023). Could the future of work be green? Two plot twists. The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, 47, 22-26.
Nguyen, T. T. H., Yang, Z., Nguyen, N., Johnson, L. W., & Cao, T. K. (2019). Greenwash and green purchase intention: The mediating role of green skepticism. Sustainability, 11(9), 2653-2657. Web.
Rutkowska, M., & Sulich, A. (2020). Green jobs on the background of Industry 4.0. Procedia Computer Science, 176, 1231-1240. Web.
Ungureanu, N., Vlăduț, V., & Voicu, G. (2020). Water scarcity and wastewater reuse in crop irrigation. Sustainability, 12(21), 9055-9059. Web.