ABSTRACT
Water is an important component of the environment. It is crucial for life, economy, and sustainable environment itself. The earliest human settlements took place in regions of benign climate and water availability such as Meso potamia, Egypt, India, and China. The largest settlements gradually grew in China and India, which offered plenty of land and water, and they emerged as the regions of greatest development until about the mideighteenth cen tury. However, some settlements have lost their water independence, and they are currently among the world’s most underdeveloped regions with the highest concentration of population.
