Water insecurity—ranging from chronic water scarcity to lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation services, to hydrological uncertainty and extremes (floods and droughts)—can cause severe disruptions and compound fragilities in social, economic, and environmental systems.

This perspective document addresses water as a primary medium through which climate change will have an impact on people, ecosystems and economies, and aims at achieving and sustaining water security through water resources management in order to build resilience to current climate variability, while building capacity to adapt to future climate change.