Introduction

Introduction

The increasing world's population desire for a better standard of living results
in a higher demand for water for drinking , for industries and for agriculture . Despite the water
shortage in some regions of the world, if we co-operate and properly manage our land and
water resources, the world will meet the needs of the growing population and still see real progress.

The wise management of the land and water resources will prevent the decline of
the water and food supply. It will also result in the environmentsuffering less and the economic development can remain stable.

Effective technical managerial skills will enable the production of more goods while using less land and less water. In particular , skills and financial resources, should be aimed at increasing food production by using water and land more efficiently.

An investment in water and health care, sanitation and food production will decrease
health problems, especially in developing countries. The availability of fresh water in adequate quantity is the key for a long-lasting sustainable development.
Co-operation at the national as well at the international levels is essential for the
dissemination of the information on fresh water availability, on water technologies, as well as, on successful land and water management techniques.

To achieve these goals, basin water catchment planning and management is
essential. Facing the challenge for the ten billion individuals projected to exist by 2050, we
need to expand our knowledge on various aspects of water management and use; only in this
way can we cope with the expected five fold increase of water needed for industries, in
addition for other personal and agricultural uses.

Hopefully, technology will help to solve the looming water shortage problem by cleaning
up waste-water, increasing our ability to use, whenever possible, the same drop of water repeatedly before it flows back to the sea.

At present, technology is available to convert polluted water as well as saline
water into fresh water. The solar distillation plants, presently little used, can be adopted on a larger scale.The use of systems based on filtration by aquatic plants may become more prevalent.

The cost of water, however, will continue to increase more and more. Water scarcity may be
the cause of external and internal conflicts between peoples and countries. We already see signs of this.

Many arid and semi-arid countries are presently suffering from water shortage,
drought, lowering of the water levels in boreholes, drying-up of springs, salt water intrusion
along the coastal lines, as well as uncontrolled irrigation. The contamination of the aquifers,
lakes, rivers and all the other open water bodies, is quite frequent both in Europe as well as in many
other parts of the world. By using appropriate technology and careful management of land and
water resources, we can alleviate this serious problem.