Introduction*

The greatest challenge facing humankind is to bridge the gap between the incomes of the developed and developing world. Although the rate. of global population growth has not yet reached the levels previously feared, the exploding world population will exert an enormous pressure on air, water, energy, land and other resources. Unfortunately, these resources are not equally distributed. Water, for example, is not always contained within the political boundaries of a single state. Usually when it is shared by a number of countries, there is a potential for political conflict between nations.