Reimagining water management

Abstract

When one reads any major national media anywhere in the world, it is very likely that there would be at least one article most days on extreme droughts and floods, heatwaves, wildfires, sea level rise, or on climate change. All these issues are directly related to water in one way or another. Furthermore, putting ‘water crisis’ into Google, on 31 May, would have brought 570 million results. While the discussions of global and national water crises have been a real growth industry in recent years and it may likely even accelerate in the coming years, the fact remains the world is not facing a water crisis because of actual physical scarcity of this natural resource but because of its poor management over the centuries. If water is properly managed, the world has enough water not only for now but also for 2100 when the global population will be higher than what it is currently, and economic activities will be much greater. Furthermore, we currently have the necessary knowledge, technology, management expertise and financing to manage water significantly better to avert future crises. Also, as knowledge and technology advance rapidly in the coming decades, the water profession will have many more ways in which to manage this resource immensely better. Thus, unlike the prevailing overwhelming pessimistic view, we are cautiously optimistic about the world’s water future. In this Editorial, we would like to share our views as to some of the challenges water management is facing and likely to face in the coming years, and how these could be resolved.