Water Wars: Is the World's Water Running Out? - Hardcover

Water is as vital as air. But we can no longer take water for granted. Already more than one billion people are living in conditions of extreme water stress. Why are deserts spreading? What effects will climate change have on rainfall and water tables? How is pollution affecting the global water supply? Will water wars erupt in the twenty-first century? Marq de Villiers examines how industrialisation and pollution are affecting the quality and supply of the world's water, and he reveals the international struggle for dominance over the world's water resources. With the heart and mind of an explorer, Marq de Villiers takes us to both the rim and centre of the world on a journey into the life source of this planet. It is a story of the vainglorious and often brutal attempt to control and harvest this vital resource, a world of political and military intrigue, where whole cultures stand threatened and where climate change and over-population add tinder to an already explosive situation. This is a book that will change the way we understand the role of water in our lives.

Marq de Villiers has worked as a foreign correspondent in London, Paris and Moscow. He is the author of six books on travel, exploration and history, including Into Africa: A Journey Through the Ancient Empires. He grew up in Africa and has travelled widely while researching this book, from the flood-plains of China to the deserts of Africa, from the icebergs off Newfoundland to the rainforests of Brazil. He now lives in Nova Scotia, on the eastern Canadian seaboard.