ABSTRACT
World 60 (10) 124 (20) 421 (70) 605 Africa 25 (10) 11 (4) 215 (86) 251 Asia 44 (7) 70 (11) 501 (81) 615 Latin America 94 (19) 52 (10) 353 (71) 499 Caribbean 80 (23) 33 (9) 234 (68) 346 North America 216 (13) 779 (48) 627 (39) 1621 Oceania 148 (18) 85 (10) 610 (72) 842 Europe 87 (15) 307 (53) 182 (32) 576
This chapter will examine the role of water use in economic growth in industrial societies during the past two centuries. It will focus on the role of capital investment, and particularly strategic investment by the state, in developing water resources to meet economic goals. It will also chart the evolution of political perceptions about these patterns of investment in water infrastructure particularly. Changes in these perceptions, particularly in the latter half of the twentieth century, resulted in radical shifts in management priorities by the start of the twenty-fi rst century. We will then consider what lessons can be drawn for water-development strategies in today’s ‘developing countries’ – those that remain largely non-industrialised. First, however, we will consider a threat to economic growth caused not by water scarcity but deteriorating water quality caused by rising levels of waste and resultant contamination of water.
