The 'art of strategy' as a framework to understanding the human-water relationship

Human development and population growth has occurred concurrently with exploitation of water resources. The world expert opinion is that we (humanity) have reached a limit in easily exploitable water. But momentums of human development mean that we will double our population within 100 years, we will industrialise (or its modern equivalent) to unprecedented levels and we will be living more and more in cities. These momentums cannot be sustained, under our present water resource access and usage patterns, without significant disruption to human well being and the global ecology. It is proposed that humanity‟s needs and values have driven the way we view water and what we know about it, and therefore controlled the way we interact with it. This has led to a number of consequences such as civilisation failure in the past, current shortages and the looming water crisis. Understanding of the complex nature of the total human–water interaction is fundamental to determining our future with water. The objectives of the research, therefore, were to review the mythical and historical background of human interaction with water through an examination of the temporal and spatial patterns of water resource value and use, from the two broad stages of human development (constructivist and empirical). This was with a view to gaining new insight into the human–water relationship and gaining propositional understanding of current and future water systems development and management