Thirsty planet: strategies for sustainable water management

Abstract

* CONTENTS (final as published, A heads only) * Glossary * List of Figures and Tables * Introduction * 1: Riding the Water Cycle: Water Cycle Dynamics and Freshwater Ecosystems * Water Cycle Mechanics * The Value of the Water Cycle and Freshwater Ecosystems * Conclusion * 2: Spiraling Towards a Crisis: Water Use and Growing Shortages * Water's Role in Human Civilization * A Global Water Crisis? * Supply Side Solutions: Stretching the Water Cycle * Conclusion * 3: To Feed the World: Food Supply and the Water Cycle * Status and Trends in Global Food Production * Green Revolution Technologies and Their Repercussions * How to Keep Food Growing and Water Flowing * Conclusion * 4: A Thirsty Planet: Water Supply and Sanitation in a Water-short world * Water Paucity and Plenty: The Great Divide * Sources of Scarcity * Improving Our Performance * Conclusion * 5: When it Rains, it Pours: Water Management for Flood Damage Reduction * The Nature and History of Floods * The Flood Control Concept * Shifts Towards a Holistic Approach to Flood Management * Conclusion * 6: Arteries of Commerce: Inland Waterways and the Water Cycle * Building the Water Highways * Effects of Inland Waterway Construction and Operation on the Water Cycle * Navigating Gently * Conclusion * 7: A Warmer World: The Interrelationships Between Global Warming and the Water Cycle * The Nature of the Greenhouse Effect * Effects of Global Warming on the Water Cycle, Aquatic Ecosystems and People * Pseudo Solutions * New Generation * Conclusion * 8: When the Water Cycle Breaks Down: The Potential for Restoration * Freshwater Ecosystems on the Brink * Protection * Restoration * Conclusion * 9: Avenues of Governance: Institutional Options for Protecting the Water Cycle * Binding Agreements: Treaties * Non-binding Agreements * Free Trade and Market Forces * Conclusion * Index