PATERSON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Seminar: Water Management Crisis

Pre Assessment  

    Student:

Teacher:

School:

Score:

Date:

Administered by:

             

 

Seminar:  Water  Crisis  Management  Pre  Assessment  Please  read  the  following  excerpt  from  Rahman’s  article:  ‘Coca-­‐Cola  plant  ‘has  dried  up  our  farms’,  and  answer  questions  1-­‐4.  

Coca-Cola plant 'has dried up our farms' say Indian villagers Shaikh Azizur Rahman April 1, 2010  "Coca-­‐Cola  has  located  many  of  its  bottling  plants  in  India's  drought-­‐prone  areas  which  they  should  never  have  done,"  said  Mr.  Srivastava.  "It  is  exactly  in  these  areas  where  the  communities  have  seen  their  access  to  water  -­‐  a  fundamental  human  right  -­‐  significantly  hampered  by  the  arrival  of  Coca-­‐Cola."  Mahesh  Yogi,  a  farmer  turned  activist,  called  the  situation  in  Kala  Dera  a  "disaster".  "In  a  region  mostly  dependent  on  groundwater,  the  plant  has  brought  disaster  for  10,000  families  in  a  five-­‐kilometer  radius  of  the  plant.  Coca-­‐Cola  is  looting  our  natural  resources,  resources  that  belong  to  the  public,"  said  Mr.  Yogi,  a  member  of  the  Jan  Sangharsh  Samiti,  a  local  group  that  advocates  for  the  closure  of  the  Kala  Dera  plant.  

However,  Hindustan  Coca-­‐Cola  Beverages  Pvt  Ltd  (HCBPL),  Coca-­‐Cola's  Indian  subsidiary,  said  the  accusations  were  baseless  because  the  plant  used  only  a  tiny  fraction  of  the  available  water  -­‐  about  one  per  cent  -­‐  for  its  operations.  "Kala  Dera  plant  has  improved  its  water-­‐use  ratios  by  more  than  25  per  cent  in  the  past  five  years.  We  are  continuously  focusing  on  reducing  and  recycling  the  water  used  for  our  bottling  operations,"  said  an  HCBPL  spokesman.  

It  is  not  only  in  Kala  Dera  where  Coca-­‐Cola  is  accused  of  sucking  the  land  dry.  Identical  community  campaigns  have  targeted  plants  belonging  to  Coca-­‐Cola  and  its  rival  Pepsi  across  the  country  in  recent  years.  A  Kerala  state  government-­‐instituted  committee  said  last  week  that  HCBPL  was  responsible  for  depleting  groundwater  and  dumping  toxic  waste  around  its  bottling  plant  in  Palakkad  between  1999  and  2004,  before  it  was  forced  to  close  down  by  protesting  activists  and  locals.  It  recommended  that  the  soft  drinks  giant  be  asked  to  pay  compensation  of  US$47  million  (Dh173m)  for  the  environmental  damage.  

A  statement  by  HCBPL  disputed  the  committee's  claims.  "It  is  unfortunate  that  the  committee  in  Kerala  was  appointed  on  the  unproven  assumption  that  damage  was  caused,  and  that  it  was  caused  by  Hindustan  Coca-­‐Cola  Beverages,"  it  said.  Last  month,  also  in  Kerala,  PepsiCo  came  under  fire  over  exploitation  of  groundwater.  A  Kerala  Assembly  panel  called  on  the  company's  plant  in  Puducheri  to  cut  down  its  use  of  water  by  60  per  cent.  

 

PepsiCo  also  refuted  the  panel's  findings,  and  a  spokesman  said:  "The  charges  against  the  plant  are  not  true.  It  is  a  model  plant  and  is  one  of  the  most  water  efficient  units  in  the  PepsiCo  system."  Mr.  Srivastava,  the  India  Resource  Centre  director,  accused  Coca-­‐Cola  of  operating  with  "complete  arrogance  and  impunity"  in  India  and  said  its  operations  did  not  respect  the  rights  of  local  communities,  farmers  and  the  environment.  

"Water  shortages  are  commonplace  in  India  already,  and  numerous  studies  point  towards  an  even  more  difficult  water  situation  with  climate  change,  inefficient  farming  practices,  as  well  as  rampant  industrial  pollution  and  extraction,"  he  said.  "Whether  they  like  it  or  not,  Coca-­‐Cola  will  have  to  accept  that  communities,  farmers  and  livestock  have  precedence  over  water."  For  Mr.  Nayak,  however,  who  now  works  on  a  day-­‐to-­‐day  basis,  the  damage  has  already  been  done.  

1. According to the above excerpt, where has Coca Cola located many of their bottling plants? a. In the center of India. b. New Delhi c. In India’s drought-prone areas. d. In India’s richest communities.

 2. According to the above excerpt, why does Mahesh Yogi call the situation in Kala

Dera a disaster? a. Coca Cola is accused of sucking the land dry. b. Coca Cola is looting India’s natural resources that belong to the public. c. In a region mostly dependent on groundwater, the plant has brought disaster

for 10,000 families in a five-kilometer radius of the plant. d. All of the above.

 3. According the above excerpt, who is Coca Cola’s Indian subsidiary?

a. Kala Dera b. Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages c. Jan Sanharsh Samiti d. Pepsi

 4. According to the above excerpt, why did Mr. Srivastava accuse Coca Cola of

operating with “complete arrogance and impunity”? a. Coca Cola would not share their profits with the community. b. Coca Cola increased their prices by 25%. c. Its’ operations did not respect the rights of local communities, farmers and th

environment. d. Many of their bottling plants would not hire Indians.

       

   

 Please  use  the  above  chart  to  answer  questions  5-­‐6.    

5. According to the above chart, what country has the highest amount of irrigated agriculture of total agricultural land? a. Israel b. Lebanon c. Syria d. Jordan

 6. According to the above chart what is the percentage of irrigated agriculture for the

occupied Palestinian Territories? a. 19% b. 10% c. 21% d. 11%

         

 Please  answer  questions  7-­‐8  according  to  the  map  above.    

7. According the map above, which of the following countries does NOT draw water from the Jordon River system? a. Egypt b. Jordan c. Syria d. Lebanon

8. According to the above map, what percentage of rain that falls on the West Bank flow underground to Israel via the mountain aquifer? a. 75% b. 25% c. 50% d. 80%

 

SRI LANKA: Lack of safe drinking water leading to upsurge in health problems FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 30, 2010 ALRC-CWS-15-11-2010 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Fifteenth session, Agenda Item 3

A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization with general consultative status

SRI LANKA: Lack of safe drinking water leading to upsurge in health problems

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) joins the UN Independent Expert on human rights, water and sanitation, Ms. Catarina de Albuquerque, in welcoming the landmark resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 28 July 2010 that recognized water and sanitation as a human right. Every year, nearly 1.8 million people die from diarrhea diseases, including cholera, according to the WHO. Of that number, almost 90 percent are children under five years old. Up to 88 percent of water-borne diseases arise from unsafe water supplies and inadequate sanitation and hygiene. The ALRC is gravely concerned by increasing reports of serious health problems resulting from unsafe drinking water in Sri Lanka, pointing to the failure of the government to protect and fulfill the right to access to safe drinking water for the country's population. Out of the 25 districts in the country, more than 15 districts are seriously affected, at present. Some two thirds of the country is considered a dry zone, where people face difficulties to access safe drinking water. According to the 2008 national census, pipe-borne water coverage in Sri Lanka is around 34%, with the rest of the population depending on local sources such as wells, hand pump tube wells, small scale rural water supply schemes, rain water harvesting tanks and surface water bodies: irrigation tanks, canals, streams and springs1. Although the National Water Supply and Drainage Board has been established to manage and deliver water resources to the public, it is evidently not functioning effectively in the majority of the country as yet. It is believed that contamination of water sources, by industry and through agricultural waste and fertilizers, is the main cause of the growing water-related health problems being reported in the country. A lack of properly functioning State monitoring mechanisms for the usage of fertilizers combined with the use by farmers of toxic fertilizers in coconut plantations and rice paddies is creating a wide-ranging problem with possibly serious long term consequences.

Please answer questions 9-12 based on the excerpt above.

9. Based on the above excerpt how many people die every year from diarrhea-related diseases such as cholera? a. 1 million b. 1.8 million c. 1.5 million d. 1 billion

 10. According to the above excerpt, where does up to 88% of water-borne diseases

arise from? a. Unsafe water supplies b. Inadequate sanitation c. Inadequate hygiene d. All of the above.

 11. According to the above excerpt, who and what is NOT contaminating the water

sources? a. Industry b. Agricultural waste c. Local farming d. Fertilizers and toxic fertilizers.

 12. According to the above excerpt, what landmark resolution was adopted by the

General Assembly on July 28, 2010? a. The recognition of water and sanitation as a human right. b. The recognition of difficulties to access of safe drinking water. c. The recognition of serious heath problems related to unsafe drinking water. d. The recognition of the contamination of the public water supply by industries.

                                 

   

 

Please answer questions 13 and 14 based on the above bar graph.  

13. According to the above bar graph, what African country had the largest amount of water availability in 1990? a. Caper Verde b. Cote d’ Ivoire c. Niger d. Benin

 14. According to the above bar graph, what African country will experience the most

water scarcity by 2025? a. Ethiopia b. Somalia c. Kenya d. Burundi

   

 Please answer question 15 based on the map above. 15. According the map above, which of the following states is likely to experience

water shortage before 2013? a. Texas b. New York c. Washington d. Nevada

Please answer questions 16-18 based on the above excerpt 16. According to the above excerpt, what gave birth to conflict between Pakistan and

India? a. The acute water shortage. b. The unjustifiable partition of Punjab in 1947. c. The occupation of Kashmir. d. The Indus Water Treaty.

 17. According to the above excerpt, the Indus Water Treaty gave India exclusive use

of what three rivers? a. Indus, Jhelum, Chenab b. Sutlej, Beas, Ravi c. Indus, Chambal, Chenab d. Nile, Ganges, Jumna

 

18. According to the above excerpt, what did Pakistan do to compensate for the loss of its’ tributaries? a. Pakistan built dams on the Indus and Chenab Rivers. b. Pakistan built dams on the Indus and Jhelum Rivers. c. Pakistan built dams on the Sutlej and Beas Rivers. d. Pakistan built dams on the Ravi and Ganges Rivers.

   Please answer the following question in at least 3-5 sentences.    19.   How is the concept of natural Human Rights connected to the availability access

and usage of water around the world?

Answer the following essay question in at least (3) paragraphs. 20. Describe at least (2) global conflicts that have resulted from control of water

access?

 

Scoring    

Multiple  Choice   #1-­‐18   2pts  each  Short  Answer   #19   4pts  Essay   #20   6pts  

Seminar: Water Management Crisis Pre-Assessment/ Answer key and Standards

1. C. CCRA.R.1 2. D. CCRA.R.1 3. B. CCRA.R1 4. C. CCRA.R.3 5. A. RH.9-10.7 6. B. RH.9-10.7 7. A. CCRA.R.7 8. D. CCRA.R.7 9. B. RH.9-10.1 10. D. RH.9-10.1 11. C. RH.9-10.8 12. A. RI.9-10.6 13. A. RH.9-10.7 14. C. RH.9-10.7 15. D. RH.9-10.1 16. B. RI.9-10.1 17. B. RI.9-10.1 18. B. RI.9-10.3

19.Water is a public good, not a commodity. Having access to water as well as sanitation is a basic human right because it is a fundamental human need. When people do not have access to or cannot afford water, it is a violation of human rights. Privatization of government services limits who has access by increasing prices to exclude poor people. (WHST.9-10.2f)

20. Students can choose to discuss any global conflict regarding water management, water crisis and water distribution. Possible conflicts to discuss include but are not limited to:

• Water crisis in Haiti • Water crisis in Tanzania • Indian farmers in water battles with Coca Cola • Water conflict between India and Pakistan • Water conflict between Israel and Palestine • Water conflict between Jordan and Syria • Water crisis in Lebanon • Water crisis in Sri Lanka • Water crisis between Sudan and South Sudan • Water wars in Cochabamba, Bolivia

(WHST.9-10.2b)