1 - Background, trends, and concepts

Summary

The sage's transformation of the World arises from solving the problem of water. If water is united, the human heart will be corrected. If water is pure and clean, the heart of the people will readily be unified and desirous of cleanliness. Even when the citizenry's heart is changed, their conduct will not be depraved. So the sage's government. … consists of talking to people and persuading them, family by family. The pivot (of work) is water.

– Lao Tze, ca. sixth century BCE

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, AND WATER MANAGEMENT

Water is likely to be the most pressing environmental concern of this century. As global populations continue to grow exponentially, and as environmental change shifts the location of the flow, timing, quality, and quantity of water, the ability of nations and states to peacefully manage and resolve conflicts over distributed water resources will increasingly be at the heart of both stable and secure international relations and of political stability within many countries. There are 263 watersheds and untold aquifers that cross or underlie the political boundaries of two or more countries (Figure 1.1). These international surface basins cover 45.3 percent of the land surface of the Earth, affect about 40 percent of the world's population, and account for approximately 60 percent of global river flow (Wolf et al., 1999).