ABSTRACT
The message that emerged from the Seventh Biennial Rosenberg International Forum in Buenos Aires was not one of doom but one of caution and of some urgency with respect to how the Western Hemisphere might prepare and act to prevent further crisis with respect to fresh water supply and quality. It was made very clear at this forum that water scarcity is becoming a major issue throughout the Americas. The big problems are all well known from elsewhere in the world. These problems include rapid and expansive urbanization, unsustainable groundwater use; the failure to adequately address the issue of indigenous water rights; and matters related to environmental protection and growing tension over trans-boundary water issues. All of these problems are to some extent magnified by the realization that past climatic patterns are not likely to be a reliable guide to future climatic patterns.
