Global Water Security: A Holistic Approach to Water Management

Overview

The talk will introduce some of the general challenges of global water security (i.e. water availability and quality) and highlight the growing challenges of climate change, increasing population growth, floods, droughts and pollution. The concept of virtual water will be introduced and the necessity for society, industry and governments to address water security challenges in a global framework.

Examples will be given as to how western cultures, in countries such as the UK, can have a significant impact on water security for citizens living in many less well-developed parts of the world. Some small changes in our behaviour could have a significant impact on water security in so many developing countries world-wide and we could have a marked impact on improving the quality of life for so many fellow citizens.

The need for a holistic based approach to water management, will also be discussed at the local river and coastal basin scale, with an example being given of a major study of the Ribble river basin and bathing water quality along the Fylde Coast, including Blackpool. The results highlight the significance of catchment management and sediment transport on Faecal Indicator Organism (FIO) levels affecting the bathing water quality.