Water Security: Global, regional and local challenges

Article

Around the world, global water problems continue to grow, adversely affecting people, prosperity and national security. This policy brief examines the scope of the problem and identifies a number of important policy considerations for addressing the issues related to this complex matter.

While the management of the world's water resources takes place primarily at the local level, this paper focuses on more complicated issues relating to the international management of trans-boundary water resources, an area of water security that does not currently receive enough attention in the literature.

The paper begins with an overview of the current global water problem, considering it from social, economic and environmental perspectives, and focusing on the challenging issue of trans-boundary waters. A second section considers the global policy framework in place to address the issue of water insecurity, before a final section evaluates various policy alternatives, including rule of law initiatives that might help to strengthen this framework.

This policy brief is one of a series supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

For information on the work of ippr's Commission on National Security in the 21st Century please go to www.ippr.org/security

Related items

  1. A mother and child from behind looking out of a window

    Hidden hardships: The immigration system and child poverty

    Child poverty remains a persistent and deeply rooted issue in the UK. 
  2. A diverse group of children sit in a colourful nursery setting, clapping along with the childminder

    Every child is equal: Bridging the childcare gap for families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)

    Migrant families subject to the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition are prevented from accessing most forms of support with childcare costs, including the expanded entitlement for working parents.

  3. Grangemouth after the refinery: lessons from history in how we make a just transition real

    Making sure support mechanisms are in place for workers at the Grangemouth refinery, and for anyone else in employment across Scotland, is crucial.