Global Water Security


Book Description

This book highlights the relationship between the water sector and various other sectors in order to establish an improved understanding of the importance of water resources as an essential cross-cutting vector of socio-economic development. The book is both policy and practice oriented and is not constrained by existing definitions on water security. It includes actual experiences of policy, management, development and governance decisions taken within the water sector, and examples on how these have affected the energy and agricultural sectors as well as impacted the environment, and vice versa, as appropriate. It also discusses trade-offs, short and long-term implications, lessons learnt, and the way forward. The book includes case studies on cities, countries and regions such as Australia, China, Singapore, Central Asia, Morocco, Southern Africa, France, Latin America, Brazil and California.




Water Markets


Book Description

Exploring water scarcity issues in light of the growing crisis in global water management, this book examines the applicability of water markets. It provides an overview and understanding of the presence of water markets across the globe, analysing the ways in which different countries and regions are grappling with water scarcity.




Global Water Funding


Book Description

Is safe and sustainable water and sanitation for all an unaffordable pipedream? This book surveys the worldwide development of water and sewage services and the challenges in meeting Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) along with climate change, population growth and urbanisation. It explores the reasons why current SDG6 progress is failing, including weak policy implementation, staff shortages and inadequate funding, as well as the limited impact of aid funding. The author contends that despite a series of innovations, debt finance remains too small to address needs of developing economies. Therefore, instead of advocating new funding, this book proposes addressing the funding gap through technological innovation and more efficient management and procurement through a series of examples that have challenged traditional assumptions. After four decades of good intentions, SDG6 is making a difference in monitoring shortfalls for the first time, allowing for more effective responses. This book outlines the role of innovation in hardware development, procurement and installation, and discusses how network management and operations can most effectively address funding gaps. The potential for savings is considerable, if effectively replicated. New approaches are driving forward affordable resilience, including nature-based solutions such as upstream habitat enhancement to retain water and improve downstream water quality; the circular economy, including water, nutrient, energy and heat recovery from wastewater; and demand management. This book will be of great value to scholars, policy makers and practitioners interested in the global finance of sustainable water and sanitation.




Standing up to Climate Change


Book Description

In Iran, climate change combined with low adaptation capacity has an unparalleled impact on eco-systems as well as human livelihoods. The Roodasht region, in the lower part of the Zayandeh Rud basin in Central Iran, is severely affected by water scarcity, desertification and land degradation. This book describes the effects this has on the environment and society, analyzes the degree of vulnerability and suggests possible ways to improve land and water management. This book provides comprehensive and interdisciplinary insights into the environmental and social situation in the region, as well as possible solutions to deal with the current challenges. Written by German and Iranian scientists, NGO staff and government officials and bridging the gap between research and practical implementation, the book not only enhances our understanding of climate change and desertification, but also raises public awareness and promotes knowledge transfer between disciplines.




A Question of Power


Book Description

An acclaimed author and celebrated journalist breaks down the history of electricity and the impact of global energy use on the world and the environment.​ Global demand for power is doubling every two decades, but electricity remains one of the most difficult forms of energy to supply and do so reliably. Today, some three billion people live in places where per-capita electricity use is less than what's used by an average American refrigerator. How we close the colossal gap between the electricity rich and the electricity poor will determine our success in addressing issues like women's rights, inequality, and climate change. In A Question of Power, veteran journalist Robert Bryce tells the human story of electricity, the world's most important form of energy. Through onsite reporting from India, Iceland, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, New York, and Colorado, he shows how our cities, our money--our very lives--depend on reliable flows of electricity. He highlights the factors needed for successful electrification and explains why so many people are still stuck in the dark. With vivid writing and incisive analysis, he powerfully debunks the notion that our energy needs can be met solely with renewables and demonstrates why--if we are serious about addressing climate change--nuclear energy must play a much bigger role. Electricity has fueled a new epoch in the history of civilization. A Question of Power explains how that happened and what it means for our future.




The United Nations world water development report, 2017


Book Description

The United Nations World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) is hosted and led by UNESCO. WWAP brings together the work of 31 UN-Water Members and 38 Partners to publish The United Nations World Water Development Report, (WWDR) series. The annual World Water Development Reports focus on strategic water issues. UN-Water Members and Partners, all experts in their respective fields, contribute the latest findings on a specific theme. The 2017 edition of the World Water Development Report focuses on 'Wastewater' and seeks to inform decision-makers, inside and outside the water community, about the importance of managing wastewater as an undervalued and sustainable source of water, energy, nutrients and other recoverable by-products, rather than something to be disposed of or a nuisance to be ignored. The report's title - Wastewater: The Untapped Resource - reflects the critical role that wastewater is poised to play in the context of a circular economy, whereby economic development is balanced with the protection of natural resources and environmental sustainability, and where a cleaner and more sustainable economy has a positive effect on the water quality. Improved wastewater management is not only critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), but also to other goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.




Force Majeure in the Hydropower Industry


Book Description

This book aims to highlight the particular situation faced by certain hydropower companies by the fact that they cannot fulfil their contracts due to force majeure. The first part of this book will be an analysis of how water is used in electricity production. It is important to point out that all types of energy sources use water, to a different extent, of course, and that its spatial and temporal availability is very important. The focus will be on hydropower, presenting the current situation at the global level, and the effect of reducing the amounts of water in the river system. The second part is based on the presentation of the concept of force majeure and the ways of presenting and drafting it in a contract. Many disputes or the success of a contract depended heavily on the provisions of this article of the contract. Obviously, there are also situations in which the signatory parties abuse or are not protected by these provisions of force majeure. Starting from a few brief examples from the international level, we reach a wide discussion of the situation created in Romania, when the largest supplier of electricity produced on the basis of water terminates several contracts invoking force majeure. The manner in which the opinion of the parties involved is presented to the court is analyzed and presented in detail.




Blue Skies, Blue Seas


Book Description

While economic and social indicators in many Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries have improved over the past three decades, the region’s blue natural assets—clean air, healthy seas, and coastlines—have degraded virtually everywhere. Air pollution levels in the region’s cities are among the highest in the world. Per capita marine plastic pollution is among the highest in the world; coastal erosion rates are the second fastest in the world. These combined challenges threaten local communities, livelihoods, and economies. In fact, the economic cost of MENA’s deteriorating skies and seas is estimated at more than 3 percent of GDP per year. Blue Skies, Blue Seas: Air Pollution, Marine Plastics, and Coastal Erosion in the Middle East and North Africa reviews integrated solutions that the authors identify as the “four I’s†?: • Inform stakeholders about the sources of these challenges. • Provide incentives that improve environmental outcomes for the public and the private sector. • Strengthen institutions to lower air and plastic pollution and to mitigate uncontrolled development and erosion of coastlines. • Invest in abatement options and promote sustainable solutions. Restoring MENA’s blue skies and seas will benefit the health, livelihoods, and incomes of residents. There will inevitably be trade-offs, but choosing a path of green growth will create jobs, diversify economies, and make the region a better place for current and future generations. The actions of policy makers today will shape the trajectory of economies and communities for decades to come.




Routledge Handbook of Urban Water Governance


Book Description

This handbook provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview of urban water governance. Of the many growing challenges presented by rapid urbanization, water governance is a critical one and while urban water governance is now regarded as a critical field of research, the literature is fragmented. For the first time, this handbook brings together urban water governance research, containing interdisciplinary contributions from established and emerging scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. It addresses the key questions of how urban water governance works, how is it shaped, and what the impacts are. The handbook's structure offers a progressive entry into the complexity of urban water governance. Starting with technical dimensions, the handbook addresses supply and demand, wastewater, and sanitation. It then considers regulation and economic factors, examining water utilities and services. Political processes, and the actors involved, are addressed and the handbook finishes with a part focusing on governance and sustainability, where chapters address critically important topics such as access to water, water safety, and water security. This handbook is essential reading for students, scholars, and professionals interested in urban water governance, urban studies, and water resource management and sustainability more broadly.




Sustainable Solutions for Urban Water Security


Book Description

This book presents solutions to address water security in rapidly urbanizing cities, and explores the new paradigms of water security in changing contexts. Highlighting the latest developments in water research, changes in water policy, and current discourses on water security, the book also provides information and tools for local stakeholders, water managers, and policymakers to build the capacity for sustainable water governance. The book discusses a wide range of sustainable solutions and their implementation to ensure that the balance between water supply and demand remains sustainable in the long term, with a focus on local solutions to build capacity and developing policy awareness for a wide range of stakeholders. As the concept of urban water security in changing contexts is open to multiple interpretations, the authors set out various approaches. Providing an overview of the changing perspectives of urban water security in different contexts, the book is based on findings of the Asia-Pacific Network water security project at the United Nations University, Tokyo, as well as the authors' current research-based at Pokhara University, Nepal, Hosei University, Tokyo, Institute for the Global Environmental Strategies, Japan and the Australian National University, Australia. The book also includes the views of international authorities (such as water experts) on the subject. The solutions are complemented by analysis of case studies of various localized sustainable solutions at different scales. The book is a valuable resource for water professionals and policymakers around the globe, academics, teachers working in water-related areas, NGOs, think thanks, water research institutes, donor organizations, and international and local water utility services.