Stockholm International Water Institute » Malin Falkenmark

In Search of a Valid Water Ticket to the Future

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:46:24 +0000

In this article, Professor Malin Falkenmark compares the last 20 year period with foreseeable expectations for the next two 20-year periods. The period 2011-2030 will see intensifying calls for water-related services in former developing countries, challenged by continuing population growth, climate change and visions of socio-economic development and improved quality of life. The period 2031-2050 will see population growth finally leveling off as the world strives towards sustainability.

Published in Water Front Magazine No. 2 2010.

Stockholm Water Front No. 2 2010

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:45:39 +0000

The 20th anniversary of the World Water Week in Stockholm is the main focus in this issue of Water Front Magazine. Professor Malin Falkenmark compares the outcome of the last 20 years of the week and the expectations of the coming 20 years and the importance of safe drinking water for economic and national security are highlighted, which also is the message from this years Stockholm Water Prize laureate Dr. Rita Colwell.

Drainage Basin Security – Prospects for Trade-offs and Benefit Sharing in a Globalised World (the World Water Week Niche Report)

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:42:20 +0000

Each year, the World Water Week addresses a theme that fits within a broader niche. This report looks back over the niche on Drainage Basin Security, which covered the years 2003 to 2007. This report reflects on the knowledge, experience and lessons learned over the course of the five years, and offer a set of key messages that emerged from the plenary sessions, workshops, seminars and side events.

Peak Water – Era of Sharpening Water Shortages

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:40:08 +0000

A new concept, ”peak water” has emerged. It indicates that the era of easy access to blue water is coming to an end in many regions of the world. Expanding water pollution, depleted river streamflow, overdrawn groundwater, salinisation, and water for ecosystems sinking below the acceptable minimum all point to a peaking of blue water resources. Human ingenuity, coping strategies and fundamental rethinking on water management are urgently needed to mitigate the drivers of peak water.

Published in Water Front Magazine No. 3-4 2008.

Water and Sustainability: A Reappraisal

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:38:24 +0000

In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) analysed the environmental problems of the time. It presented as its core idea the concept of sustainable development, with the goal of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The committees guiding image of the world followed the mainstream idea at the time of environmental problems as pollution and land degradation. The committee paid no particular attention to crucial environmental resources such as water, nor did it examine fundamental environmental constraints that would influence the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Published in the March/April 2008 issue of Environment Magazine.

Click here to read the article.

Taking from the Top: Looking Upstream in India

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:37:48 +0000

River basin closure has developed into a sizeable challenge of extreme importance. Over the past 50 years, many of the river basins that support the worlds breadbaskets have already or will soon become closed basins. Like the basins themselves, the worlds eye on this critical issue seems to be closing at a time when it can least afford to look away. Applying the findings of a groundwater use case from India, this article sheds some light on this blind spot in water resource management to see what is going on downstream in the great sub-continent.

Published in Water Front Magazine No. 4 2007.

Agriculture, Water and Ecosystems

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:37:23 +0000

This Policy Brief covers the past agricultural management that has caused wide scale changes in land cover, streamflow, and groundwater systems and what actions that are needed in order to repair damage and lessen future negative impacts of climate change. In the future, agriculture will have to strike a balance between the water required for food and the water needed to keep ecosystems healthy.

On the Verge of a New Water Scarcity

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:37:09 +0000

An unfortunate confusion regarding growing physical water scarcity distorts policy formulation and effective action programmes. The scale and magnitude of the challenge imply that water scarcity is everybodys business. This policy brief offers a set of distinctions and concludes with structured policy suggestions how to cope with and prevent the worsening water scarcity.

Global Warming: Water the Main Mediator

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:36:36 +0000

The climate change foreseen in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes Fourth Assessment has major implications for the water sector. In this article, a follow-up to our report in the April 2007 Water Front, a set of policy-relevant impacts of the warming on natural and human systems considered to be of key interest to the water community are presented.

Published in Water Front Magazine No.2 2007.

What Implications Does Economic Progress Have for Water?

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:36:25 +0000

Gross domestic products (GDPs) are expected to increase worldwide. This, coupled with growing populations, means that demand for food, energy and other goods and services will also increase. What are the implications for water and land resources? And what are the options for ”de-coupling” – i.e. increasing GDP without increasing the pressure placed on land and water resources?

Published in Water Front Magazine No. 1 2007.