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Book Description Contents
Book Description

The quality and availability of fresh water are of critical importance to human and ecosystem health. Given its central role in the functioning of all living systems, water is arguably the most important of all natural resources.

Produced biennially, The World's Water provides a comprehensive examination of issues surrounding freshwater resources and their use. It offers analysis of the most significant trends worldwide along with the most current data available on a variety of water-related topics. This 2000-2001 edition features overview chapters on:

  • water as a human right
  • water and food
  • desalination
  • stocks and flows of fresh water
  • international watersheds and water-related conflicts
  • water reclamation/recycling
  • the removal of dams
It also includes brief reports on issues such as arsenic in ground water in Bangladesh, the collection of fog as a source of water in remote regions, the role of nongovernmental organizations in meeting basic water needs, and an update on water and the internet. Following the overview chapters are more than thirty charts and tables that offer data on topics including: water use by country, agricultural water use, salinization, endangered aquatic species, major rivers in China, dam capacity, desalination capacity, and more.

The World's Water is the most comprehensive and up-to-date source of information and analysis on freshwater resources and the political, economic, scientific, and technological issues associated with them. It is an essential reference for water resource professionals in government agencies and nongovernmental organizations, researchers, students, and anyone concerned with water and its use.

Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction
 
Chapter 1. The Human Right to Water
-Is There a Human Right to Water?
-Existing Human Rights Laws, Covenants, and Declarations
-Defining and Meeting a Human Right to Water
-Conclusions
-References
 
Chapter 2. How Much Water Is There and Whose Is It? The World's Stocks and Flows of Water and International River Basins
-How Much Water Is There? The Basic Hydrologic Cycle
-International River Basins: A New Assessment
-The Geopolitics of International River Basins
-Summary
-References
 
Chapter 3. Pictures of the Future: A Review of Global Water Resources Projections
-Data Constraints
-Forty Years of Water Scenarios and Projections
-Analysis and Conclusions
-References
 
Chapter 4. Water for Food: How Much Will Be Needed?
-Feeding the World Today
-Feeding the World in the Future: Pieces of the Puzzle
-How Much Water Will Be Needed to Grow Food?
-Conclusions
-References
 
Chapter 5. Desalination: Straw into Gold or Gold into Water
-History of Desalination and Current Status
-Desalination Techniques
-Other Aspects of Desalination
-The Tampa Bay Desalination Plant
-Summary
-References
 
Chapter 6. The Removal of Dams: A New Dimension to an Old Debate
-Economics of Dam Removal
-Dam Removal Case Studies: Some Completed Removals
-Some Proposed Dam Removals or Decommissionings
-Conclusion
-References
 
Chapter 7. Water Reclamation and Reuse: Waste Not, Want Not
-Wastewater Uses
-Direct and Indirect Potable Water Reuse
-Health Issues
-Wastewater Reuse in Namibia
-Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse in Japan
-Wastewater Costs
-Summary
-References
 
Water Briefs
Data Section
Index

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