Sustainable Water Use in Australia Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sustainable Water Use in Australia - Assignment Example The South Western parts of Australia are the driest parts, which experience varying climatic conditions. In addition to the global climatic change, variability in rainfall in these regions poses a significant challenge towards achieving sustainability in the usage of water. The irrigation methods used by farmers consume a lot of water resulting in water deficits in towns. Due to the increased demand for Australia’s food exports, farmers tend to exploit the water resources to the fullest. Therefore, the fact that some parts of the continent have inadequate water resources makes it hard for the entire continent to achieve sustainability in water usage. In the attempts to ensure adequacy of water in all areas, some politicians in Australia have hindered the achievement of water use sustainability. The political climate, in this case, is created and facilitated by the actors (politicians) who want to protect their interests and stay in power (Filho 2012, p. 243). Â  Another signi ficant challenge to the sustainable use of water is population growth. Most people living in rural areas, as well as urban centres, use water for domestic and industrial purposes. Thus, the increase in population raises the demand for water from the scarce water resources such as rivers and lakes. Population growth is usually associated with environmental pollution and degradation. An increase in the number of people in a certain area without an equal increase in water provision results to over-exploitation of water resources.