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Moving to a sustainable future for water

Nature Water volume 1, pages 486–487 (2023)Cite this article

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Water is the driving force of all nature; a more sustainable future can only be achieved by concerted actions on water starting now.

Modern humans evolved hundreds of thousands of years ago into a species capable of thriving in diverse water and climate conditions. When these conditions allowed, our early ancestors spread across the globe from their ancestral home in Africa. The first great empires of ancient Mesopotamia, China, and the Indus Valley were built along the major rivers of the world that permitted the earliest intentional agriculture capable of supporting growing populations. These cultures learned how to manipulate and control the hydrological cycle, built the first dams, aqueducts, and irrigation systems, and created the first water laws and institutions. They also fought the first wars over access to and control of water.

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References

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Acknowledgements

Peter Gleick is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and author of The Three Ages of Water: Prehistoric Past, Imperiled Present, and a Hope for the Future (PublicAffairs, 2023).

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  1. Pacific Institute, Oakland, CA, USA

    Peter H. Gleick

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  1. Peter H. Gleick
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Correspondence to Peter H. Gleick.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Gleick, P.H. Moving to a sustainable future for water. Nat Water 1, 486–487 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00091-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00091-8

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