Along with the setting of water-efficiency standards, such incentives can encourage greater use of the brace of conservation technologies that are on the shelf, but underused. At least 214 rivers flow through two or more nations. At the moment, however, international law offers little concrete help in resolving water disputes between nations, and says virtually nothing about protection of water ecosystems. It is largely up to governments, with public involvement, to hammer out water-sharing agreements that are equitable and ecologically sound. Much work remains to be done, but there are hopeful signs of co-operation in such places as the Aral Sea and Nile basins.
Water is the basis of life.
Reconciling humanity's growing demands on freshwater systems with the protection of their vital life-support functions ranks among the most critical challenges in the decades ahead. It will require, most fundamentally, a new ethic of sharing water - both with each other and with nature as well.