Aragon: Forum for Global Debates on Water Water is such a scarce resource, and of such high value, that it merits profound re?ection on its future management. With this in mind, the idea emerged of org- ising a unique international summit in Aragon - because of the issue involved and because it would be the ?rst to which top-level experts from a variety of sectors and disciplines would be invited to debate the future of water management. Accordingly, in November 2006, the newly established International Centre of Water and the Environment (CIAMA-La Alfranca) of the Government of Aragon brought together leading national and international experts on water issues, as well as on population, development, economics, agriculture, energy, health, and techn- ogy, for a workshop entitled "Water Management Beyond 2020." Various probable scenarios for the management of water in the medium and long term were debated. Those who also took part in organising the event included the Mexico-based Third World Centre for Water Management, headed by its President Prof. Asit K. Biswas, who is also a Senior Advisor to CIAMA, and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation of the United States, with its President Mr. Keiji Iwatake. I wish to thank them, as well as Dr. Cecilia Tortajada, Scienti?c Director of the CIAMA and President of the Int- national Water Resources Association, for their dedication and e?ort in conceiving the event and ensuring its success.

Water is intertwined in the daily life of humans in countless ways. The importance of water as a driver for health, food security, and quality of life and as a pillar for economic development is unique. As water affects human lives, the mankind also effects the hydrological cycle, in all dimensions from the local to the global scale. Food production accounts for 90% of water use in developing countries. Hydropower production evokes emotions; yet sustainable energy production is among cornerstones of economic development. The damages caused by floods and droughts are escalating all over the world. The human impacts on ecosystems are increasing as well. Water is largely a political good since a bulk of the mankind lives in river basins shared by two or more nations.
These complexities are approached in the book in depth. The analyses include consideration of how developments in seemingly unrelated processes and sectors such as globalisation, free trade, energy, security, information and communication revolutions, health-related issues such as HIV/AIDS, as well as emerging developments in sectors that are linked more conventionally to water, such as population growth, urbanisation, technological development, agriculture, infrastructure, energy, management of water quality and ecosystem health, are likely to affect water management in the future. For the first time, a pragmatic attempt is make to define a realistic framework for water management in 2020 with leading experts from different parts of the world as well as different disciplines.