Choice Review

The Human Development Report, an annual publication of the UN Development Programme, examines important issues of global concern, and the topic of the 2006 report is water. This report argues that human development and indeed progress toward the now prominent Millennium Development Goals depend fundamentally on access to clean water and the ability of human societies to harness water's productive potential. The report's six chapters make this point by shedding light on various topics such as the crisis in water and sanitation, water scarcity, water competition in agriculture, and transboundary water management. Chapters on the crisis in water and sanitation and the alleged scarcity of water are particularly perspicuous, and the discussion here leads to several salient points. For instance, we learn that although physical water scarcity is an issue in some countries, absolute water scarcity is the exception rather than the norm. Further, most countries have enough water to meet their needs. Therefore, the problem of access to water has more to do with management. This report provides plenty of data and actual case studies to buttress the various points made. The only problem is some repetition. Even so, this is a fine account of the global water crisis. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. A. A. Batabyal Rochester Institute of Technology