21st Century Challenges

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Dr Chad Staddon is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography and Environmental Management at the University of the West of Enggland. Chad is also the founder and director of the Bristol Group for Water Research.

Bristol Group for Water Research (BGWR)

Managing increasingly scarce water resources is one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. Now more than ever it is vitally important that applied research on technical water issues needs to link up with "blue skies thinking" so that new solutions can be found. The BGWR is centrally interested in making those linkages – between water sector practitioners and theorists, between the growing water NGO community and academics, between local communities at risk of flood and/or drought and interdisciplinary specialists.

The BGWR is perfectly placed to address these issues and is currently working the following sorts of research initiatives:

• water demand management: towards sustainable policy
• inshore and offshore fishing rights
• implementation of the Water Framework Directive
• flood modelling, planning and mitigation.

Introduction and the threat of climate change to water resources

"Water is set to be a critical issues in the 21st century for reasons that are not widley appreciated"

How much water do we use in Britain today?

"Like other developed societies, we are using more and more water. The average english citizen uses 150 per person per day. That is 150kg of water, and that is just the water we use directly for drinking, cooking, washing, cleaning etc."

What is virtual or embedded water?

"Virtual water is the many hundreads or thousands of litres of water we use indirectly each day. Whether this is in the things that we wear, or the foods we eat, the cars we drive and the lifestyles that we live."

Do we undervalue water as a resource?

"The value of water doesn't lie in its economic value in the same way as other products. Water's value ultimately lies in the fact that it is fundamental to life, social, cultural and economic development."    

  The Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainability (1992)

Who should be leading the change in behaviours and our consumption of water?

"It often seems that when faced with problems so large, that only large actors like corporations or governments can actually make an impact. But I would argue the other way around. In the face of outcomes due to the aggregation of individual behaviour, it is really those individuals as consumers...who can actually make the most difference."

Should products be labelled with their water footprint? Similar to nutritional information

"If you pick up a food packet in the supermarket there is already nutrition information, production information, company information and marketing. So I wonder where there would be room for a clear identifiable and easily understood message about embedded water."

"Even if you could pick up a product and see there is say 'X litres' of embedded water in this product, what would that mean? If it's 10 litres is that a lot or a little? It's not as easy as putting a simple number."