ABOUT THIS BOOK

The quality and availability of fresh water is of critical importance to human and ecosystem health. The World's Water 1998-1999 is a comprehensive reference on worldwide freshwater resources and the political, economic, scientific, and technological issues associated with them. It provides both detailed analysis of the most significant trends and events and the most up-to-date data available on water resources and their use. Chapters examine:

access to basic water requirements for drinking and sanitation
hydropower and dam construction
water law
water and conflict
water and global climate change
international water institutions and activities.

The book features more than fifty charts, tables, and maps that present the most current data on a range of factors including: the availability and use of water; numbers of threatened and endangered aquatic species, dam and desalination capacity worldwide; trends in several devastating water-borne diseases; changes by region in global precipitation patterns since 1900; and much more.

To be published on a biennial basis, The World's Water will be an essential reference for water resources specialists with both government agencies and nongovernmental organizations, resource economists, planners, public policy and public administration experts, environmental lawyers, students and anyone concerned with water issues.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Peter Gleick is president of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security in Oakland, California. He received his Ph.D. from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley and is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Research and Writing Grant in Peace and International Cooperation. In addition to his research activities, Dr. Gleick serves on the Global Environmental Change Committee of the American Geophysical Union, the Board of Directors of the International Water Resources Association, the Public Advisory Forum of the American Water Works Association, and the editorial boards of several scientific journals. He has published extensively on climatic change, water resources, and environmental policy. He is widely recognized as one of the world's leading experts on freshwater resources, and is a member of the Water Science and Technology Board of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and an Academician of the International Water Academy in Oslo, Norway. He was recently named by the BBC as a "visionary on the environment" in its Essential Guide to the 21st Century.

The Worldwater Website, developed by Peter Gleick, is dedicated to providing up-to-date water resources information and data, with connections to organizations, institutions, and individuals working on a wide range of global freshwater problems and solutions.

Other titles by Peter Gleick:

World's Water 2000-2001

World's Water 2002-2003

REVIEWS

"Anyone who cares deeply about the human need for water and the future of this planet should take careful note."

— Choice

"Essential for students of water—whether environmentalists, educators, engineers—or water policy planners in whatever capacity. A valuable contribution to the water literature as well as an important resource tool."

— Environment

"The World's Water is an important contribution…. It should be compulsory reading for students of water resources."

— Water International

"This book takes a truly impressive bite out of an enormous topic. Interested lay readers, students of natural resource management, and water experts will all find abundant use for The World's Water."

— BioScience

"There are few books that can genuinely be described as indispensable. This is one….essential reading."

— Financial Times Global Water Report

"Dr. Gleick has once again produced the essential book on water. The 2004-2005 edition will be an indispensable addition to our bookshelf."

— Ismael Serageldin, Director, Library of Alexandria, and Chair of the World Commission for Water in the 21st Century

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword \ Anne H. and Paul R. Ehrlich
Acknowledgements

Chapter 1. The Changing Water Paradigm
-Twentieth-Century Water-Resources Development
-The Changing Nature of Demand
-Economics of Major Water Projects
-Meeting Water Demands in the Next Century
-Summary: New Thinking, New Actions
-References

Chapter 2. Water and Human Health
-Water Supply and Sanitation: Falling Behind
-Basic Human Needs for Water
-Water-Related Diseases
-Update on Dracunculiasis (Guinea Worm)
-Update on Cholera
-Summary
-References

Chapter 3. The Status of Large Dams: The End of an Era?
-Environmental and Social Impacts of Large Dams
-New Developments in the Dam Debate
-The Three Gorges Project, Yangtze River, China
-The Lesotho Highlands Project, Senqu River Basin, Lesotho
-References

Chapter 4. Conflict and Cooperation Over Fresh Water
-Conflicts Over Shared Water Resources
-Reducing the Risk of Water-Related Conflict
-The Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty of 1994
-The Ganges-Brahmaputra Rivers: Conflict and Agreement
-Water Disputes in Southern Africa
-Summary
-Appendix A. Chronology of Conflict Over Water in the Legends, Myths, and History of the Ancient Middle East
-Appendix B. Chronology of Conflict Over Water: 1500 to the Present
-References

Chapter 5. Climate Change and Water Resources: What Does the Future Hold?
-What Do We Know?
-Hydrologic Effects of Climate Change
-Societal Impacts of Changes in Water Resources
-Is the Hydrologic System Showing Signs of Change?
-Recommendations and Conclusions
-References

Chapter 6. New Water Laws, New Water Institutions
-Water Law and Policy in the New South Africa: A Move Toward Equity
-The Global Water Partnership
-The World Water Council
-The World Commission on Dams
-References

Chapter 7. Moving Toward a Sustainable Vision for the Earth's Fresh Water
-Introduction
-A Vision for 2050: Sustaining Our Waters

Water Briefs
Data Section
Index