Balancing water for humans and nature : the new approach in ecohydrology/ Malin Falkenmark and Johan Rockstrom ; with contributions by Hubert Savenije.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [228]-238) and index.

pt. 1. Water functions in the life-support system -- 1. Water, the bloodstream of the biosphere -- Water as the liquid of life -- Focusing on invisible water -- Different scales of water-plant interaction -- Human landscape interventions -- Summary -- 2. Water availability, expanding the perspective -- A conceptual shift to incorporate water for ecosystems -- Introducing soil water into the water balance equation -- Water resource estimates -- Summary -- 3. Human water requirements -- Household and industrial water needs -- Distinguishing between water use and consumptive water use -- Current green water requirements for food production -- Generic human water requirements -- Additional water requirements to feed humanity by 2050 -- Summary -- 4. Incorporating water for ecosystem 'services' -- Expanding the paradigm -- Water flows to sustain food production -- Green water flows are sustaining major biomes -- Committed and uncommitted water flows -- The blue water bias is unwarranted -- Summary -- 5. Regional differences -- The green water perspective -- The blue water perspective -- The combined perspective -- Summary -- part 2. Closing upon the vulnerable Savanna Zone -- 6. Vulnerability of the Savanna Zone -- Drylands, the cradle of mankind -- Savanna agro-ecosystems, a most difficult challenge -- Hydroclimatic challenges and opportunities -- The need to distinguish droughts and dry spells -- Summary -- 7. Water perspectives on feeding humanity -- More crop per drop -- Can irrigation expansion solve the food challenge? -- Potential to increase rainfed production -- More crop per drop by reducing non-productive green water losses -- Global assessment of the water that can be gained -- Remaining water requirements to feed humanity -- Summary -- 8. Closing the yield gap on the Savanna, the real world perspective -- Changing the farmers' risk perception -- Broadening the narrow approaches of the past -- Water sources for dry spell mitigation -- The upstream-downstream perspective -- Summary -- part 3. Socio-ecohydrological balancing -- 9. Finding the balance between water for humans and for nature -- Humans and ecosystems depend on the same water -- Learning to live with change -- The challenge of feeding humanity -- Implications for management of catchments -- Summary -- 10. Towards hydrosolidarity through integrated land/water/ecosystem management -- Human life support and the millennium declaration -- Present shifts in thinking and challenges to the 'sanctioned discourse' -- Combining social, ecological and economic approaches -- The road towards hydrosolidarity -- Conclusions.