Water is essential to life on earth; plays a key role in the development and functioning of society; and is recognised as a high priority resource for sustainable development, as people become increasingly vulnerable to deficiencies in water supply and quality. Water is thus considered a critical issue of the 21st century.

Over the past few decades, environmental science has produced insights into the linkages, interconnections and interdependencies within the global water cycle. Various human, physical, biochemical, and biological facets of the cycle make up the global water system. The global water system is being transformed by major syndromes, including climate change, erosion, pollution and salinisation. We know more about the physical aspects of the global water system and much less about the nutrient flows, biodiversity loss and human dimensions.

The Global Water System Project (GWSP) is a newly established joint project of the four Global Change Programmes from the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP), which takes an integrative look at the Global Water System. The project aims at understanding the impacts of global change on local and regional coupled water-human systems, and how local and regional anthropogenic activities in turn impact global environmental change. Approaches to establish more sustainable water systems will be identified.

ESSP Joint Project

Currently in Implementation