The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust Holds Biennial International Conferences In Her Memory To Discuss Causes And Ideas Dear To Her Heart. The First Was Held In January 1987 In New Delhi Under The Title Towards New Beginnings, The Second In January 1989 On The Theme The Making Of An Earth Citizen, And The Third In November 1991 On Challenges Of The Twenty First Century. All The Three Conferences Have Been Interrelated, One Deriving From The Other.The Proceedings Of These Conferences, With Suitable Editing, Are Published For The Benefit And Use Of Thinkers, Scientists, Policy-Makers, Social Activists And World Bodies Including Governments. The Present Volume Contains The Deliberations Of The Third Conference.The Challenges We Face Today Are Simply Galore. The Decline And Fall Of Empires Old And New In This Century; The Assertion Of Self-Determination And Independence By Large And Small Groups Of People; The Devastation Wrought By World Wars, Local Wars And Internecine Strife; The Creation And Demolition Of Ententes, Blocs And Walls; The Exhilarating Spectacle Of Yesterdays Implacable Foes Becoming Todays Eager Friends; The Accumulation Of Armaments Of Fearful Lethality; The Sunrise And Sunset Of Much Acclaimed Revolutions; The Disillusionment Over Ideologies, Doctrines And Dogmas, Particularly That Of State-Directed Economic Management; The Uncheckable March Of Consumerism; The Prevalence Of Hunger And Destitution Amidst World-Wide Plenty; The Fission Of The Atom And Excursions Into Outer Space; The Communication Explosion Creating Illusions Of Omnipresence And Omniscience; The Conquest Of Old, Familiar Diseases And Epidemics But The Rise Of The Ailments Of Progress; The Alarming Spread Of Planetary Pollution And The Remorseless Exploitation Of Nature Owing To The Growing Number Of Human Beings With Growing Appetites; The Collapse Of Faith And Spiritual Tranquility Going Hand In Hand With The Rise Of Fundamentalism All These Demand Earnest Thinking About The Ways In Which Human Beings And Other Living Species Can Endure On Earth And Live In Harmony And Nope, Freedom And Worthwhileness.

The most serious environmental problems of the twenty-first century have the potential to alter the course of life on this planet. Global warming, toxic waste, water and air pollution, acid rain, and shrinking energy supplies are frightening challenges that may threaten our future if we do not face up to them.p Global Environmental Challenges provides important information and gives us hope about the environment. This book first helps us to grasp these difficulties, then shows us the choices we can make. How long to leave a light on, whether to take the car, the train, or bicycle to work, whether to recycle or throw away, whether to vote to curb continued suburban sprawl-all of these decisions can make a difference.p This collection of some of the best essays and articles on the environment comes from a variety of sources, including journals, magazines, websites of ecological/conservation organizations, and other publications.p Five major sections investigate the interaction of population growth,consumption, and environment; the emerging crisis in freshwater around the globe; global climate and atmosphere (including global warming); biodiversity loss; and the concept of sustainable development-using natural resources to place future human development on a sustainable path. The final section on sustainable development reveals how we can take action. As individuals, we can make a difference readily and easily without making huge personal sacrifices. As societies, we can work together in a global community of interest to sustain the earth.p This valuable resource offers readers a better understanding of our environmental problems and presents solutions to improving the health of theplanet.p

In this paper, Mark W. Rosegrant assesses global water supply and demand, describes in detail the forces contributing to water scarcity, and lays out a number of strategies for managing water in the future. Any solution, Rosegrant asserts, will need to involve both the careful exploitation of new sources of water and strong measures to stimulate more efficient use of water. Policies must treat water not as a free good, as they often do now, but rather as a scarce commodity that comes at a price. Cooperation between countries sharing the same water basin will also become increasingly important as water becomes more scarce.

Modern assessment of the state of the world's water resources for researchers and policy-makers.

Worldwide development of agriculture and industry creates burgeoning demands on natural resources. Management of the rivers and the surrounding landscape is one of the important tasks for today and for the foreseeable future. Lessons learned from centuries of management (and mismanagement) have been distilled into principles and practices which form the subject matter for this book. It provides both a global perspective and an entrée to the special problems associated with management of transboundary rivers.

It is zero hour for a new US water policy! At a time when many countries are adopting new national approaches to water management, the United States still has no cohesive federal policy, and water-related authorities are dispersed across more than 30 agencies. Here, at last, is a vision for what we as a nation need to do to manage our most vital resource. In this book, leading thinkers at world-class water research institution the Pacific Institute present clear and readable analysis and recommendations for a new federal water policy to confront our national and global challenges at a critical time. What exactly is at stake? In the 21st century, pressures on water resources in the United States are growing and conflicts among water users are worsening. Communities continue to struggle to meet water quality standards and to ensure that safe drinking water is available for all. And new challenges are arising as climate change and extreme events worsen, new water quality threats materialize, and financial constraints grow. Yet the United States has not stepped up with adequate leadership to address these problems. The inability of national policymakers to safeguard our water makes the United States increasingly vulnerable to serious disruptions of something most of us take for granted: affordable, reliable, and safe water. This book provides an independent assessment of water issues and water management in the United States, addressing emerging and persistent water challenges from the perspectives of science, public policy, environmental justice, economics, and law. With fascinating case studies and first-person accounts of what helps and hinders good water management, this is a clear-eyed look at what we need for a 21st century U.S. water policy.

The Hydrological Cycle theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Water Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty Encyclopedias. The Hydrological Cycle is a process of constant water exchange or water circulation in the hydrosphere, i.e. in the system of the atmosphere - Earth's surface – soil cover - upper lithosphere (to a depth of 2000 m). Water in the hydrosphere is liquid, solid or gaseous; during the hydrological cycle it moves under the effect of heat energy, gravitation and capillary forces, converting from a liquid to its solid state or gas, and back. The hydrological cycle is one of the major geophysical processes on the planet providing relative stability of natural conditions and continuous distribution of water between ocean, land and atmosphere. The content of the Theme on The Hydrological Cycle is organized with state-of-the-art presentations covering several topics: Exchanges of Water in the Hydrosphere; Hydrosphere Components; World Water Balance; evaporation; Precipitation; Surface Water Runoff; Groundwater Hydrogeology; Glaciers and Their Significance for the Earth Nature, which are then expanded into multiple subtopics, each as a chapter. These four volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, Managers, and Decision makers and NGOs

In this century, the United States will be challenged to provide sufficient quantities of high-quality water to its growing population. Water is a limiting resource for human well-being and social development, and projections of population growth as well as changing social values suggest that demands for this resource will increase significantly. These projections have fueled concerns among the public and water resources professionals alike about the adequacy of future water supplies, the sustainability and restoration of aquatic ecosystems, and the viability of our current water resource research programs and our institutional and physical water resource infrastructures. With the goal of outlining a roadmap to guide policymakers, the Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB) held a series of discussions at several of its meetings in 1998-2000 about the future of the nation's water resources and the appropriate research needed to achieve their long-term sustainability. From those discussions, the board produced this report, the objectives of which are to: draw attention to the urgency and complexity of water resources issues facing the United States in the twenty-first century; broadly inform decision makers, researchers, and the public about these issues and challenges; identify needed knowledge and corresponding water resources research areas that should be emphasized immediately and over the long term; and describe ways in which the setting of the water research agenda, the conduct of water research, and investments devoted to such research should be improved in the next few decades. This report discusses major research questions related to the critical water issues that face the nation. It lays out an interdisciplinary research portfolio for the next 20 years and recommends agenda-setting processes that can maximize the nation's ability to prioritize and conduct water resources research.