New Water Management Strategies Needed for the 21st Century

ABSTRACT

Past failures in interregional transfer of water management strategies have revealed the need to develop new ones, effective enough to meet various forms of water inadequacy and based on fundamental interrelations between land and water. A point of departure is the recognition that man is forced to manipulate his environment to reach self-reliance for rapidly growing populations. It is therefore necessary to strike a balance between the benefits intended and the unavoidable feedbacks on the resource base without endangering its long-term productivity. An important component is the concept of environmentally sound management of land and water resources. The article particularly stresses the differences between zones with different climates, based on a three-dimensional problem matrix.