Water is getting scarce – but what does this actually mean? After all, the planet never loses a single drop of H 2 O. Although water is a finite resource, it will not be used up as long as we do not render it permanently unusable. However, it is important to integrate human water usage into the natural hydrological cycle and to use the locally available water in an adequate, effective, sustainable and fair way."First, already more than a billion people live in river basins characterized by physical water scarcity. In these areas water availability is a major constraint to agriculture. (...) More areas will face seasonal or permanent shortages. Second, competition for water between sectors will inten­sify. (...) In most countries water for cities receives priority over wa­ter for agriculture by law or de facto, leaving less water for agriculture, particularly near large cities in water-short areas, such as Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia, India, Pakistan, Mexico, and northern China. Water for en­ergy, i.e., hydropower and crop production for biofuels, will further add to the pressure on water resources. Third, signs of severe environmental degradation because of water scar­city, overabstraction and water pollution are apparent in a growing number of places with often severe consequenc­es for the poor who depend heavily on ecosystems for their livelihoods." (Global, p. 341)Despite significant progress in this area, there are still millions of people who do not have access to safe drinking water. Everyday, millions of women and children have to walk long, and often dangerous, distances in order to collect water and carry it home. As is the case for food and land, access to clean drinking water and water for agricultural usage is unequally distributed.