Water Deficiency and Desertification

Abstract

In a historical perspective, societies seem to have forever struggled to manage their natural resources. Failure to do so effectively and sustainably, ultimately led to the demise of cultures and the displacement of populations (Hillel 1992), an occurrence known today as “environmental refugees”. At stake were largely the resources water and land, with close coupling between them. Water is becoming increasingly scarce (Falkenmark 1997). Not only are the demands placed on water by urban and industrial centers competing with its traditional users, the farmers, but these new type of users are often polluting the water to such an extent that it is not readily reusable. The situation is far from stabilized, with urbanization continuing at unprecedented levels and the effects of fossil energy dependence adding to greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere and to the vagaries of the weather. The working group on “Water Deficiency and Desertification”, with about 25 participants, discussed these issues based on three short introductions by the authors.