World Rivers Day is coming up in late September, so we're thinking about water around The Big Wild offices. As that cliche goes, "the next war won't be fought over oil, it'll be fought over water".

 

So where exactly are the world's water resources? Who has too much, and who doesn't have enough? To answer these questions, we turned to the excellent University of Sheffield resource Worldmapper. They revisualize maps of the Earth based on a particular factor, and create some great educational resources.

 

We explored the site, and found a handful of great maps for water resources. In each case you can click the map to view a larger version of it.

 

Water Resources

Territory size shows the proportion of all worldwide freshwater resources found there. Globally, only 43,600 cubic ams of freshwater is available as a resource each year.

 

 

Rainfall Volume

Territory size shows the proportion of worldwide precipitation falling on land that falls there.

 

Domestic Water Use

Territory size shows the proportion of all water used for domestic purposes that was used there. 325 billion cubic metres of water are so used around the world each year, and the average person uses 52 cubic metres per year.

 

Water Depletion

Territory size shows the proportion of all water used that is more than 10% of the renewable internal freshwater resources of that territory. Each territory is resized based on the volume of water used beyond 10%.

 

Biocapacity

Territory size shows the proportion of all biocapacity that is found there. Technically speaking this images isn't just about water, but we thought it was a good way to finish off this post.