ABSTRACT
The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD 1997) regards water as ‘one of the main issues facing the world. It is as important as atmospheric change, protection of biodiversity and desertification, all of which are linked to water management’. UNESCO (2000) further concludes that ‘In most arid countries the scarcity of renewable water supplies implies a serious threat to sustainable coupled and balanced socio-economic growth and environmental protection’.
