Responding to the global challenges of ‘Too Much, Too Little and Too Dirty’ Water: Towards a Safer and More Just Water Future

Abstract

The world water crisis is manifest through ‘Too Much, Too Little and Too Dirty’ water at multiple scales from the local to the global. Understanding the key drivers and consequences of this water crisis, and who bears the biggest costs, is necessary to develop appropriate responses, at scale and over time. Using four framings: one, water stocks and limits; two, water rights and responsibilities; three, water values and prices; and four, green and grey water infrastructure, we review the challenges and possible responses. Using a water justice lens, we highlight the transitional and transformational pathways towards a safer and more just water future.

Keywords

• world water crisis
• justice
• floods
• droughts
• WASH
• infrastructure