Urban Water Challenges In The Americas

Preface

Water is literally the stuff of life. It is absolutely essential for human health, for food production and for sanitation as well as for a host of other uses. A clear understanding of present and future sources of water and of strategies for the effective management of water resources is in the interest of every country. The challenge is urgent because human population demands, as well as climate change, make once secure sources uncertain. Moreover, water projects are often large and expensive and take many years to complete, so future planning is crucial. Accordingly this volume aims to provide a science-based assessment of key water resource issues on a country-by-country basis for 20 countries of the
Americas. The goal of IANAS is for this volume to serve as a valuable reference for policy makers, government officials and planners who will have to meet the challenges associated with our water future. IANAS is the Inter American Network of Academies of Science (www.ianas.
org). IANAS includes all the science academies of the Americas and it has access to the best scientific minds of our region. The goal of IANAS is to bring evidence based science to policy makers and to build scientific capacities in our hemisphere. IANAS achieves this goal by advancing investments in human resources for science and by focusing on key resource challenges. This volume is the second in a series on water, published in both Spanish and English, and intended to reach a wide policy audience. The first volume offered a broad assessment of the
status of water resources in the Americas. This second volume addresses the fundamental problem of urban water challenges. The Hemisphere of the Americas is among the most urbanized of regions on the globe and urban water needs are pressing. IANAS intends that this volume make a valuable contribution to a key challenge facing all of our countries.