planetwater

In his book “Die Zukunft des Wassers: Eine Reise um unsere Welt”, Erik Orsenna presents the current state of the water related issues around the world by a series of short stories which are focused on a certain area of the world. Each of these stories, are compact and independently readable from the other stories, however they are nicely linked.

The book is very well translated, the original is French, which is one factor that leads to its great readability. Even though, I spotted one mistake at the end which is sort of sad for this book with its topic: “viaduct” was used instead of “aqueduct”. The other factor that enhances the book’s readability and authenticity is the knowledge about water-issues that Orsenna gained while travelling the world for two years and researching water problems. This knowledge is laid out in plain language, and the short stories are well understandable for everybody, no knowledge in water related topics is required. Some water-projects presented were new to me, for example the work that is underway in Singapore.

Erik Orsenna: Die Zukunft des Wassers

Later in the book, Orsenna touches on issues of water pricing, the discussion of water as a public or a private good, virtual water footprint at the end. The book closes with pointing out the importance of the agricultural sector — agriculture is the world’s biggest water user and polluter. Hence Orsenna proposes to start changing the behaviour of water use in this sector.