Florinsky, Igor 
  
At the moment, one billion people are without access to safe drinking water and three billion have no 
access to sanitary services. A further 65 countries will be facing economic water scarcity by the year 
2025 — requiring substantial investments in water resources development to meet future demands. 
Historically people settle in river basins, where water is available from runoff, snowmelt, sometimes 
accomplished by groundwater inflow from neighbouring areas. Most of the world's largest cities are 
built on river embankments and withdraw and discharge their water on the river. In these river 
systems, the environment is put at risk by extracting ever-greater quantities of water for food 
production. But also the agricultural production is under threat by the increasing competition with the 
domestic and industrial sectors. The agricultural sector has to produce more food from less water 
resources, and this is a challenge for them (Merrey and Perry, 1999). Food is required to feed the 
rapidly growing population, and good management should prevent famine, alleviate hunger, halt 
environmental degradation and stimulate economic growth. 
  
Water flows across international boundaries, whose boundaries do not conform to the political lines 
we human have drawn on maps. Nearly half the world is situated in 250 to 300 international river 
basins. Acriminous disputes over water are bound to affect the good relations between countries, even 
if they do not lead to outright war and armed conflict. There is a multitude of possible approaches to 
regional cooperation (Anonymous, 2000b): 
Cooperation as allocation: agreement on water allocation for sharing purposes 
Cooperation as salvation: avoiding absolute disasters in the form of violent conflicts or 
environmental destruction 
e Cooperation among stakeholders: communication and trust between different interest groups 
Absence of international collaboration can be a source of tension and strife, and this should be 
prevented by a shared water resources strategy. An integrated holistic approach to international water 
courses is needed, in which the basin is accepted as the logical unit of operation. Pertaining to 
international river basins, no government should utilize the resources of a shared watercourse in such 
a way that fellow basin states are subsequently unable to achieve sufficient access required for a 
standard living (Sokolov, 1999). A multi-sectoral, integrated system, complemented by information 
sharing, transparency and wide participation is therefore best suited to encompass all these elements. 
All users are hydrologically linked in a river basin. Upstream water use has immediate effect on the 
downstream users, although this distance may be thousands of kilometers apart and be located in 
another country. Land and water use planning in one part of the basin is paramount for the users in 
another part of the basin (e.g. Bos, 1996). Flow commitments by means of water treaties between 
states are necessary for sharing resources and utilizing the resources better. Floods pose one of the 
most widely distributed natural risks to life. Between 1973 and 1997, an average of 66 million people 
a year suffer flood damage (Anonymous, 1999). Increasing water storage, retaining flood waters until 
the moment needed for human use, remains an almost unavoidable element of water resources 
management in arid zones. Developing additional water supplies by upstream water storage can have 
dramatic consequences for downstream water users and their environment. Upstream riparians should 
not deprive downstream riparians of access in terms of quantity and quality. Also environmentally 
endorsed activities can have deprives: Stimulating agro-forestry to enhance biodiversity and reduce 
soil erosion can lead to extermination of flora and fauna further downstream. Integrated water 
resources management in the context of river basins provides an understanding of inter-sector 
competition of scarce water supplies, water quality, the significance of water recycling, multiple uses 
of water and links all riparians. A practical consequence of the river basin management paradigm is 
that growing 1 ha of wheat requires a volume of water equivalent to supplying 250 citizens the whole 
year round with water for drinking and bathing. Thus under severe water scarce conditions, it is wiser 
to import food and preserve water for human consumption. 
The absence of effective international and regional agreements and institutions for water sharing and 
basin management, will make for a world scenario in which conflicts over water are more likely. 
  
440 International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part B7. Amsterdam 2000.