A Need to See Connections and Interactions

Abstract

This paper characterizes present challenges in water management worldwide and explores interdependencies between present technologies in water supply, sanitation, organic waste management, agriculture, and food production. The purpose of this discussion is to increase the sensitivity of readers to the connections between actions planned or already taken in different sectors that are usually only marginally considered by the scientific water community. A related purpose is to show how present problems may be turned into opportunities provided that actions in water management, sanitation provision, solid waste management, agriculture and food production are seen and approached as highly interdependent. An overriding premise of the discussions is that the scientific community of water scientists has a crucial role to play in future actions towards securing not only access to water and decent sanitation to everybody but also in global struggle to deliver enough food for a growing world population.

Keywords:

• Water management
• water availability
• sanitation
• organic waste
• agriculture
• water reuse
• ecological engineering