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Water is a critical natural resource for both natural ecosystems and human subsistence. Some of the most immediate pressures on land that lead to degradation include diversion of surface waters and the removal of groundwater reserves to meet agricultural, industrial and domestic demands. This layer displays the areas of concern for water use related issues derived from the convergence of global evidence of human-environment interactions that can have consequences on land degradation. It highlights areas where the total water withdrawal (by the agriculture, industrial and domestic sectors)
Freshwater, in sufficient quantity and quality, is essential for all aspects of life and fundamental to sustainable development. Yet water-related ecosystems are threatened by human activities. Eutrophication is a common threat: the excessive growth of algae resulting in oxygen depletion. It can be occasional or frequent. To monitor this process, one can use the trophic state index. It refers to the degree at which organic matter accumulates in the lake and may be used to infer its particular state, or quality. A five year baseline (2006- 2010), per lake, has been produced. The maps depicts
Freshwater, in sufficient quantity and quality, is essential for all aspects of life and fundamental to sustainable development. Turbidity is an indicator of water clarity, quantifying the haziness of the water and acting as an indicator of underwater light availability. Light penetration may or may not be sufficient to support the growth of aquatic plants and adversely affect fish and shellfish populations. This parameter may be used to infer a particular state, or quality, of a freshwater body (lake, wetland or river). Mangroves, for instance, are known to reduce the turbidity of waters. A
Dam-induced impoundment of water in hydropower reservoirs usually causes enlarged water surfaces compared to the waterbody extent prior to dam construction (with the exception of reservoirs constrained by geomorphologic features, i.e. canyons). The annual gross water loss from reservoirs is determined by the reservoir surface area, annual evaporation and a shared use allocation factor in the case of multi-purpose reservoirs. Consequently, an enlarged reservoir surface area leads to a significant increase of water losses, depending on location’s climate regime and shared uses of reservoir water