Foreword

Abstract

Water is life. Water is everywhere on the planet, and humans search for it in the space trying to get indications about possible presence of extraterrestrial life. In future, we might fight for water. The management of water resources, the access to drinking water and sanitation are issues that involve technical–scientific aspects, and also problems of social equity, intra- and intergenerational justice. According to the 2019 World Water Development Report of United Nations, “… the global water demand is expected to continue increasing at the current rate until 2050. Over 2 billion people live in countries experiencing high water stress, and three out of ten people do not have access to drinking water”. The same report also indicates that stress levels will continue to increase, as demand for water grows, and the effects of climate change intensify. Water is an unalienable human right, a guarantee of the dignity of each individual. And even if each nation has the right to develop policies to safeguard its interests and priorities, nobody can contravene the fundamental right to access water that vital resource on which life on Earth depends.