The Water Series

Water. You turn on the tap and there it is. But what if it runs out? In this episode of the Water Series, we’ll learn about a water crisis event in Cape Town, South Africa. The city of four million people was projected to run out of water on April 12, 2018 – ‘Day Zero’. However, a collective response from the residents of Cape Town helped avert this crisis.

It is not uncommon to hear that someone is a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, but hearing that Leonardo DiCaprio is someone else's fan - now, that is quite a conversation starter, especially if his heroes are housewives from a small village in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For over 500 days and nights, a group of women, and some men, defended their river Kruščica from small hydropower, having in turn earned the nickname of the Brave Women of Kruščica. The Hollywood celebrity was so impressed that he congratulated them on their fight himself. Today's episode is water as a resource, where we explore its two perspectives - water as hydropower and water as a source of life.

Is there a human right to water? Water was first regulated in the Ancient Babylon 3700 years ago. Nonetheless, water as a human right appears to be only a developing concept. Who better to ask for clarifications on the matter than a judge of the European Court of Human Rights? Joined by Judge Marko Bošnjak, we learn about a landmark judgment of the European Court of Human Rights concerning the right to water Hudorovič and Others v. Slovenia.

Water is unevenly distributed around the world. Large portions of the world receive very little water from rainfall or rivers relative to their population. Over time, many nations, even developed nations, are projected to have less water per person. As water supplies become scarce, conflicts could arise between the individuals or nations that have enough clean water and those that do not. However, water serves as a catalyst for cooperation among nations, even those that are not on good terms. 

When countries face existential threats or are economically less developed, their capacity for adapting to the increasing intensity of water-related events is generally low. Declining livelihood prospects or lower water security cause people to temporarily or permanently migrate to areas where living conditions are expected to be better. When water becomes a scarce resource, the most essential survival strategy for humankind is migration.

What happens if we run out of clean drinking water on Earth? Could we go to outer space to find some? Is there even water in space? In the sixth episode of the Water Series, we explore these and other questions together with a faculty member of the International Space University Juan de Dalmau and space engineer Tommaso Tonina. We also learn that water could be used as rocket fuel, and that, despite the impressive developments in the space sector, we just might have to look after the water that we have on Earth.