Assessing water security and adaptation measures in a changing environment

Abstract

Increasing water shortage is a major concern across the world as it has posed serious threats to food security and economic development in many parts of the globe (Butler and Memon 2006, Wang et al. 2012). The situation is set to become worse in the coming decades due to population growth, economic development, urbanization and climate change. Ensuring water security will be a great challenge and, therefore, more justifiable practices in water resources management are necessary to adapt with environmental changes (Wang et al. 2011). Many indices have been developed to evaluate water security using various types of assessment models. However, progress achieved in the systematic application of indicator-based assessment methods or the translation of the results into water resources management strategies, is still little. It is required to assess water security in an evocative way so that it can provide adaptation policy options to mitigate the global change impacts on water security (Zhang 2005, Wang et al. 2011, 2014a).