'Water Security' depends on knowledge and restraint

Abstract

The term water security focuses attention on factors that cause insecurity. A list of threats to water security can be developed by describing the many ways in which people use or relate to water. These relationships could be biophysical, social, cultural, economic, environmental or political. If a particular connection is important then it probably contains within it dependencies and vulnerabilities that can become sources of insecurity under particular circumstances. The environmental legacy of the water management revolution that has occurred over the past 100 years is well known. Less often discussed are the onerous responsibilities that have been created. Some of the greatest dilemmas facing contemporary water managers stem from the enormous benefits gained from the achievements of their predecessors in the recent past. These have created dependencies that it will be difficult to maintain.