Water Crisis Myth or Reality? Marcelino Botin Water Forum 2004

Increased demands on finite global sources of fresh water have led many international and national agencies to define a Global Water Crisis that merits drastic, immediate, large-scale action. This book challenges this pessimism, concluding that, while there are serious global water issues to be considered, the concept of a global crisis is largely a myth. The authors present a discussion of when and where severe regional and local water problems occur, and make suggestions about how they may be dealt with in a deliberate, non-crisis manner. Emphasis is on both hard technical and soft socio-political solutions. Recent breakthroughs in desalination technologies, the eco-sanitation revolution, international trade in agricultural products, methods of governance and negotiation in water allocation, and pricing and devolution of property rights are presented as indications that the idea of a global water crisis of monumental proportions is largely exaggerated. Arising from the Santander Workshop, sponsored by the Marcelino Botin Foundation, Harvard University and Complutense University of Madrid, Water Crisis: Myth or Reality? presents the optimistic revelation that water issues may often successfully be resolved at a regional and local level. It will inform professionals already working in the field and will be of interest to graduate students.Rogers, Peter P. is the author of 'Water Crisis Myth or Reality? Marcelino Botin Water Forum 2004', published 2005 under ISBN 9780415364386 and ISBN 0415364388.