Scientists have proved the futility of dams
The construction of dams, according to scientists, it is not possible to cope with water shortages, but rather, only re-creates a deficit, especially for the population living downstream of the river.
Ted Veldkamp from Amsterdam’s free University said that almost a quarter of the population experiences a shortage of water due to human intervention in the device of the rivers. Primarily this is due to dams that retain water for irrigation and produce power, says New Scientist.
To study the effects of dams on population Veldkamp and his colleagues conducted a detailed study in which he divided the whole globe into squares with an area of 50 kilometers. The researchers then conducted an analysis of water scarcity in the period from 1971 to 2010 to identify the winners and losers from construction of dams.
As a result, scientists have found that people living upstream of the river, got a lot of advantages, while those who live downstream, began to receive less water. Thus, according to Veldkamp, the world spent $2 trillion on the construction of dams, but 23% of the population began to receive less water, while it appeared only in 20%.
Among these the main “problem” rivers scientists call the yellow river in arid Northern China, the southern part of the Ganges in Bangladesh, the Euphrates, the Turkish dams on which the cause of drought in Iraq, as well as the Colorado river where the American dam has reduced the amount of water in Mexico.