The Importance of Rivers and Seasfor Humans

THE IMPORTANCE OF RIVERS AND SEAS FOR HUMANS
Rivers and seas have been essential to human development, and still are today. The
majority of the world’s population lives on the coasts or next to rivers.
Humans, like plants and animals, need fresh water to live. This water comes mainly
from rivers. For this reason, most cities are located next to a river. For example, Toledo
– the Tajo; Seville- the Guadalquivir; Zaragoza – the Ebro; Rome- the Tiber; Paris- the
Seine.
1. Ecological importance of water
Water regulates the temperature of the Earth
Oceans absorb a lot of solar energy, without getting too hot, and they then release it
slowly without getting too cold. That is why the coastal climate is temperate.
Water forms landscapes. Water transforms the landscape by eroding the rocks that form
the Earth’s crust.
Water and living things. Water is essential for life ant it creates ideal living conditions
on our planet. It is very stable and it contains substances that organisms need to live.
Water is also the main component of living things.
2. Human uses of water
We use water: to satisfy the basic needs like feeding or hygiene; to improve our quality
of life (washing, cleaning, and eliminating waste…) to generate wealth (agriculture,
industry or transport) or for recreational activities.
To cover all those needs we need a huge quantity of water. This is why:
- We should only use the necessary amount of it. Ways to save water at home can
be:
+ Take a shower
+ Keep close the tap while we clean our teeth or soap ourselves.
+ Don’t use the loo as a wastepaper basket.
+ Install save water mechanisms within the cistern and the taps.
- We should not waste water or pollute it.
- We should always treat or purify it and reuse whenever possible.
Using the seas
- Fishing: In addition to fishing boats, today, there are marine farms which breed
fish or shellfish.
- Energy: In coastal areas, waves and tides are used to produce electrical energy.
Wind farms are also installed on coasts to use wind energy for the same purpose.
- Mining: In ancient times, salt was extracted from artificial ponds on the coast.
Salt was so valuable some towns used it as a method of payment (this is where
the word ‘salary’ comes from, the payment a person receives for doing a job). In
Spain, there are salt flats in Torrevieja (Murcia).
- Leisure and sports: today, the tourism is becoming increasingly important: beach
tourism, holiday cruises, sailing and scuba diving.
Risk and problems related to water
Water scarcity and extreme excess of water are both dangerous. A long absence of
water can cause people and animals to die and the disappearance of vegetation.
However, a sudden excess of water can cause damage to people and crops.
- Flood disasters
Serious floods are often caused by summer or autumn storms, or when heavy rainfalls in
the mountains, or there is a rapid melting of snow. These rains last a very short period
of time in mountain areas, but fall very quickly because of the steep incline, and they
can destroy homes, infrastructure and crops. Flood disasters also occur because of
extreme weather phenomena such as hurricanes or tornadoes. In the summer months in
Southeast Asia, monsoons occur. The summer rains last for months and cause slow,
continuous flooding that covers crops and cities.
- Water scarcity
Water scarcity occurs when there is very little precipitation or when humans extract
more rainwater than the amount that has fallen, which seriously alters the level of water
in rivers and lakes.
Today, there are extreme cases, such the Aral Sea, in Asia, which one of the largest
lakes in the world and is now almost completely dry. Lake Chad in Africa, on the edge
of the Sahara Desert, is a similar case: in the 1960s it was 25000 km² and today it is less
than 1000 km².
In the coastal areas of the Spanish Mediterranean, the enormous demand for water used
for intensive agriculture, tourism and golf courses has caused the depletion of
underground aquifers that feed rivers and wells. This has serious consequences for the
population.

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