Water is life, life is water: (Un)sustainable use and management of water in the 21st century

• Published in: Corvinus journal of sociology and social policy Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 81 - 100
• Main Authors: Gupta, Gauri Shankar, Orbán, Annamária
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Budapest Corvinus University Budapest - Doctoral School of Sociology 01.01.2018; Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem Szociológia Doktori Iskola; Corvinus University of Budapest, Doctoral School of Sociology
• Subjects: 21st century; Ancient civilizations; Collective action; Cultural factors; Environmental degradation; Governance; Human Ecology; International conflict; International cooperation; Natural resources; Resource management; Scarcity; Social Norms / Social Control; Sociocultural factors; Sustainability; Water resources management; Water supply; international cooperation; sustainable water use and governance; water; public goods
• ISSN: 2062-087X; 2061-5558; 2062-087X
• DOI: 10.14267/CJSSP.2018.1.04

Few issues have a greater impact on our lives than water. Water is a paradox: seemingly it is abundant and renewable resource, whereas only a tiny amount of it can be accessed and drinkable. Moreover, global water resources are unevenly distributed and many of them have been contaminated. Millions of people struggle with water scarcity, many times leading to water related international conflicts. Water is an international public good, with CPR and collective action problems, calling for international cooperation and actions to solve. Well-developed ancient civilizations have disappeared because of human environmental degradation, bad resource management and related socio-political problems. We should learn the lessons from our ancestors therefore wisely manage our natural resources. Such socio-cultural aspects as sustainable water governance, policy and communication can be as important as high-tech engineering for human survival from a historic perspective. Our paper is a theoretical overview and analysis of the most challenging water related issues and problems, providing theoretical as well as practical, policy oriented solutions in the end.