6.3 Political Implications of the Global Water Crisis
57
purely military roots into a more comprehensive concept encompassing all waterrelated aspects of human security (Newton 2014). In view of the concept’s inclusive
nature the World Economic Forum describes it as the “gossamer that links together
the web of food, energy, climate, economic growth, and human security challenges
the world economy faces over the next two decades” (WEF 2011). Some sources
underline the original (national) security aspects of the term. Others, on the other
hand, focus on the economic aspects of water security (Sadoff et al. 2015). Against
all these variations the most commonly used formulation of water security, however,
remains the one developed by UN-Water that reads as follows:
[Water security is t]he capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate
quantities of acceptable quality of water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and
socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and
water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and stability
(UN-Water 2013).
6.3.2 Assessments of Global Water Security
When it comes to the assessment of water security, the starting point is the water
endowment of a country (basin, region, etc.). This comprises the absolute level of
its freshwater availability, the fragility and strength of its freshwater ecosystems and
the variability of its hydrology (UN-Water 2013). Large natural hydrological variations (droughts, floods, inter-annual and intra-annual rainfall)—that characterise
e.g. monsoonal river basins—require major investments in physical infrastructure
and complex governance regimes and mechanisms. On the other hand, a more “simple” hydrology—i.e. lower rainfall/river flow variability typical of temperate river
basins—usually demands proportionately less efforts to secure the management of
water domestically and internationally (see Sect. 2.4). Besides natural hydrological
conditions the actual availability of water is influenced by human interventions in
equal measure. These interventions include not only water use and pollution in a
given basin, but the export and import of water as a commodity or in contained other
commodities (virtual water). Yet, the empirics of water management worldwide show
that far too often water insecurity is caused not by the lack of water, but the political
or economic capacity of a country to sustainably use its available resources (Fischer
et al. 2015).
Despite the vagueness of the concept and the ensuing methodological challenges
water security assessments are regularly carried out by international organisations,
policy institutions, governments etc. at various scales. A comprehensive global picture is provided by the World Water Development Reports, the annual publications of the UN World Water Assessment Programme administered by UNESCO.
Such reports paint a picture of growing water insecurity worldwide. The 2012 issue
describes in great detail the growing uncertainties with regards to the natural hydrological cycle and the concomitant management difficulties (WWAP 2012). These
findings are reinstated in subsequent thematic reports in the context of water and
57
purely military roots into a more comprehensive concept encompassing all waterrelated aspects of human security (Newton 2014). In view of the concept’s inclusive
nature the World Economic Forum describes it as the “gossamer that links together
the web of food, energy, climate, economic growth, and human security challenges
the world economy faces over the next two decades” (WEF 2011). Some sources
underline the original (national) security aspects of the term. Others, on the other
hand, focus on the economic aspects of water security (Sadoff et al. 2015). Against
all these variations the most commonly used formulation of water security, however,
remains the one developed by UN-Water that reads as follows:
[Water security is t]he capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate
quantities of acceptable quality of water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and
socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and
water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and stability
(UN-Water 2013).
6.3.2 Assessments of Global Water Security
When it comes to the assessment of water security, the starting point is the water
endowment of a country (basin, region, etc.). This comprises the absolute level of
its freshwater availability, the fragility and strength of its freshwater ecosystems and
the variability of its hydrology (UN-Water 2013). Large natural hydrological variations (droughts, floods, inter-annual and intra-annual rainfall)—that characterise
e.g. monsoonal river basins—require major investments in physical infrastructure
and complex governance regimes and mechanisms. On the other hand, a more “simple” hydrology—i.e. lower rainfall/river flow variability typical of temperate river
basins—usually demands proportionately less efforts to secure the management of
water domestically and internationally (see Sect. 2.4). Besides natural hydrological
conditions the actual availability of water is influenced by human interventions in
equal measure. These interventions include not only water use and pollution in a
given basin, but the export and import of water as a commodity or in contained other
commodities (virtual water). Yet, the empirics of water management worldwide show
that far too often water insecurity is caused not by the lack of water, but the political
or economic capacity of a country to sustainably use its available resources (Fischer
et al. 2015).
Despite the vagueness of the concept and the ensuing methodological challenges
water security assessments are regularly carried out by international organisations,
policy institutions, governments etc. at various scales. A comprehensive global picture is provided by the World Water Development Reports, the annual publications of the UN World Water Assessment Programme administered by UNESCO.
Such reports paint a picture of growing water insecurity worldwide. The 2012 issue
describes in great detail the growing uncertainties with regards to the natural hydrological cycle and the concomitant management difficulties (WWAP 2012). These
findings are reinstated in subsequent thematic reports in the context of water and