Identifying Causes of Global Freshwater Vulnerability

Dec 17, 2015 | Steven Gorelick and Julie Padowski
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Over the past half century, the total volume of water used by people has nearly tripled, outpacing the global population increase. Regional crises related to water quantity and quality is a growing problem. Although water scarcity is an obstacle to maintaining supplies for human consumption, agriculture, industry, and ecosystems, in many regions access to freshwater is also a matter of national security.

The need for assured freshwater supplies has led to transboundary water competition, human migration, and political conflict. Properly identifying the underlying causes of freshwater vulnerability is critical to developing successful strategies and policy interventions needed to address future challenges. Research conducted by the Global Freshwater Initiative (GFI) at Stanford University attempts to do just that.