The New Normal: Water Use Conflicts in the 21st Century
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Resources Management, Policy and Governance".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 7383
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Climate change is here now. Last winter turned out to be the second warmest on record globally (after 2016); this spring, many areas in the Northern Hemisphere are suffering from drought. WMO warns that heatwaves and floods, which used to be “once in a century” events, are becoming more regular occurrences. In 2019, wildfires swept through the Arctic and Australia. More erratic rainfall patterns are the new normal.
At the same time, landowners and farmers all over the world compensate for decreased water availability by increasing groundwater use. Some of these practices are very short sighted and not necessary. As an example, there is a beautiful lake close to the area where I live that is supplied mainly by groundwater. In the last 5 years, the water table of the lake has decreased dramatically. Decreased water availability is only one part of the story. More problematic, in my opinion is the excessive groundwater use by the golf club and homeowners nearby, whose lawns look perfectly green even during the hottest summers. Due to decreased rainfall and increased pumping, groundwater tables do not recharge at a sufficient speed. Nearby nature suffers; the lake might completely disappear in a few years. Swimming in this lake during hot summer days often brought relief and was very enjoyable for me and my children, as well as for many other families living nearby. No entry tickets—just going there, putting down a blanket, and heading straight to the water. It is sad to think that my children might not be able to enjoy the lake when they are adults and have their own children. It will be difficult to explain to our children that we made the lake disappear and not because we had to meet our basic survival needs. Excessive water use fulfills unnecessary and conspicuous lifestyle needs of a narrow high-income population group. The problem we are facing now is not something temporary. Climate projections show that even if the global temperature increase is limited to below 2 degrees, freshwater availability will decrease globally by about 20%. If we miss this climate policy target, freshwater availability might decrease globally by 50% by the end of the century.
For this Special Issue, I invite contributions highlighting water use conflicts, inequalities, and social justice issues focusing not only on underprivileged social groups, but also exploring water use patterns among the wealthy and privileged. I also invite contributions presenting possible solutions and best practices from around the world. We can adapt, but we also need very rapid lifestyle, behavioral, and social norm changes to open up to new solutions.
Dr. Ilona M. Otto
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- water use conflicts
- inequalities
- social justice
- best practices
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