Advances in Water Security – serie

This edited volume brings together a diverse group of environmental science, sustainability and health researchers to address the challenges posed by global mass poisoning caused by arsenic water contamination. The book sheds light on this global environmental issue, and proposes solutions to aquatic contamination through a multi-disciplinary lens and case studies from Bangladesh and India. The book may serve as a reference to environment and sustainability researchers, students and policy makers.Part one of the book describes the issue of arsenic contamination in ground water and river basins, including its source and distribution in specific locations in India. Part two explains the routes of exposure to environmental arsenic, its transport in aquatic ecosystems, and the health risks linked to arsenic exposure in food and the environment. Part three addresses sustainable arsenic contamination mitigation strategies and policies, the socioeconomic, demographic, cultural and psychological aspects of arsenic contamination, and the potential applications of GIS and remote sensing in providing solutions. Part four concludes by discussing the role of local and regional institutions in water resources management for a variety of issues including but not limited to arsenic contamination, and presents a case study in the Indus river basin in Pakistan to propose future contamination mitigation strategies.

This edited volume brings together a diverse group of environmental science, sustainability and health researchers to address the challenges posed by global mass poisoning caused by arsenic water contamination.

This open access book focuses on the importance of reducing pollution and protecting water resources for the health of people and the environment. Water is vital for life on Earth. The quality of the world's freshwater resources is deteriorating due to the rise in pollution levels, which puts the health of people and the environment at risk. Emerging pollutants, a new class called Contaminants of Emerging Concern, pose a global water quality challenge. The identification and implementation of appropriate regulatory, monitoring, prevention, and control measures are hindered by limited scientific understanding and knowledge about sources and pathways of emerging pollutants, their behaviour and fate in the environment, and potential human and ecosystem health risks.The book presents selected contributions to the UNESCO-IWRA Online Conference “Emerging Pollutants: Protecting Water Quality for the Health of People and the Environment,” held on 17–19 January 2023. It offers an extensive overview of current research findings on emerging pollutants in aquatic ecosystems, groundwater contamination, wastewater management and reuse, circular economy approaches to pollutant lifecycle management, and the prioritization of emerging pollutants in the hydro-cycle. Based on scientific evidence and policy-relevant research findings, the book’s concluding chapter highlights research and policy gaps, offering recommendations for strategic and practical ways to manage emerging pollutants towards sustainable water management in the face of global changes and evolving environmental threats.This book is a scientific output in the framework of UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme’s Ninth Phase “Science for a Water-Secure World in a Changing Environment” (IHP-IX, 2022-2029) and UNESCO-IHP’s International Initiative on Water Quality (IIWQ) in collaboration with the International Water Resources Association (IWRA).

This open access book focuses on the importance of reducing pollution and protecting water resources for the health of people and the environment. Water is vital for life on Earth. The quality of the world's freshwater resources is deteriorating due to the rise in pollution levels, which puts the health of people and the environment at risk. Emerging pollutants, a new class called Contaminants of Emerging Concern, pose a global water quality challenge. The identification and implementation of appropriate regulatory, monitoring, prevention, and control measures are hindered by limited scientific understanding and knowledge about sources and pathways of emerging pollutants, their behaviour and fate in the environment, and potential human and ecosystem health risks.The book presents selected contributions to the UNESCO-IWRA Online Conference “Emerging Pollutants: Protecting Water Quality for the Health of People and the Environment,” held on 17–19 January 2023. It offers an extensive overview of current research findings on emerging pollutants in aquatic ecosystems, groundwater contamination, wastewater management and reuse, circular economy approaches to pollutant lifecycle management, and the prioritization of emerging pollutants in the hydro-cycle. Based on scientific evidence and policy-relevant research findings, the book’s concluding chapter highlights research and policy gaps, offering recommendations for strategic and practical ways to manage emerging pollutants towards sustainable water management in the face of global changes and evolving environmental threats.This book is a scientific output in the framework of UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme’s Ninth Phase “Science for a Water-Secure World in a Changing Environment” (IHP-IX, 2022-2029) and UNESCO-IHP’s International Initiative on Water Quality (IIWQ) in collaboration with the International Water Resources Association (IWRA).

This book discusses how emerging groundwater risks under current and potential climate change conductions reduce available groundwater resources for domestic use, and agriculture and energy production. The topics discussed throughout this book are grouped into five sections; (i) Sea Level Rise, Climate Change, and Food Security, (ii) Emerging Contaminants, (iii) Technologies and Decision Support Systems, (iv) Surface Water-Groundwater Interactions, and (v) Economics, and Energy Production and Development.  This book is unique and different from other groundwater hydrology books in that it uses a holistic approach in investigating the risks related to groundwater resources. This book will be of interest to a wide audience in academia, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and environmental entities. This book will greatly contribute to a better understanding of the emerging risks to groundwater resources and should help responsible stakeholders make informed decisions in this regard.