Water Governance and Sustainable Development

Is fresh water a truly renewable resource? This paper argues that freshwater for human use is threatened by climate change, fossil water extraction and globalization processes that will exacerbate problems of access to potable water as a human right and challenge water governance on local, regional, national and global scales. Using concept maps to examine the structure of the world water system, we argue that an emerging global water crisis can only be addressed by understanding the multiple linkages that tie individuals, institutions and issues to paradigms of water management that threaten the sustainability of fresh water use. By deconstructing the global water crisis into interlocking systems of issues and influence, we identify core questions in maintaining water as a sustainable resource