Abstract
Water quality and quantity decline due to anthropogenic factors and climate change, affecting 2.3 billion people in water-scarce areas, of whom 733 million reside in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Therefore, this review paper examined sustainable global water management by focussing on four sustainable development goal (SDG #6) indicators, including water use efficiency in agriculture, integrated water management, transboundary water cooperation, and water user participation. The review covered articles from 2016 to 2023, using Scopus and Web of Science databases with specific selection criteria. A total of 216 sources were downloaded, and after data screening, 72 articles were analysed along with additional supplementary materials such as books, conference papers, and United Nations documents. The finding indicates emerging trends in sustainable water management for agriculture, including water-efficient technologies like alternate wetting and drying, drip irrigation, mulching, etc. However, careful implementation is required to address environmental concerns, prevent water pollution, minimise yield reductions, and ensure long-term sustainability. Moreover, integrated water resource management has faced challenges in practical implementation due to governance structures, economic circumstances, cooperation, and collaboration among stakeholders. While over 600 treaties aim to promote international water cooperation, only a few have been effective. In addition, out of 500 transboundary groundwater sources shared by countries, only six have dedicated treaties to govern their use. Thus, clearly defined rights, responsibilities, and sustainable management practises for each shared aquifer would foster the sustainability of these resources. Moreover, engaging communities through inclusive policies, dialogue, and empowerment is vital for sustainable water management. Investment in community education and capacity-building fosters transformative change and addresses global water management challenges, securing the future of precious water resources.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
The data sources are properly cited in the manuscript.
References
Ahmed SS, Bali R, Khan H et al (2021) Improved water resource management framework for water sustainability and security. Environ Res 201:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.111527
Al-saidi M (2021) Cooperation or competition? State environmental relations and the SDGs agenda in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Environ Dev 37:1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2020.100581
Ani A, Gopalakirishnan P (2020) Automated hydroponic drip irrigation using Big Data. Second Int Conf Inventive Res Comput Appl (ICIRCA) 370–375. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICIRCA48905.2020.9182908
Apostolaki S, Koundouri P, Pittis N (2019) Using a systemic approach to address the requirement for Integrated Water Resource Management within the Water Framework Directive. Sci Total Environ 679:70–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.077
Asif Z, Chen Z, Sadiq R, Zhu Y (2023) Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources and Sustainable Water Management Strategies in North America. Water Resour Manage 37:2771–2786. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-023-03474-4
Barnett S, Harrington N, Cook P, Simmons CT (2021) Chap. 6 Groundwater in Australia: occurrence and management issues. In: Holley, Rinaudo, Montginoul B (ed) Sustainable Groundwater Management, 1st edn. Springer Nature, Switzerland AG, pp 109–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818172-0.00003-7
Barua A, Deka A, Gulati V et al (2019) Re-interpreting cooperation in transboundary waters: bringing experiences from the Brahmaputra basin. Water (Switzerland) 11:1–22. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11122589
Benson D, Gain AK, Giupponi C (2020) Moving beyond water centricity? Conceptualizing integrated water resources management for implementing sustainable development goals. Sustain Sci 15:671–681. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00733-5
Bilalova S, Newig J, Tremblay-Lévesque LC et al (2023) Pathways to water sustainability? A global study assessing the benefits of integrated water resources management. J Environ Manage 343:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118179
Cai J, Zhao D, Varis O (2021) Match words with deeds: curbing water risk with the sustainable development goal 6 index EU. J Clean Prod 318:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128509
Campos BC, Ren Y, Loy JP (2020) Scarce water resources and cereal import dependency: the role of Integrated Water Resources Management. Water (Switzerland) 12(6):1–15. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12061750
Carrijo DR, Lahue GT, Parikh SJ et al (2022) Mitigating the accumulation of arsenic and cadmium in rice grain: a quantitative review of the role of water management. Sci Total Environ 839:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156245
Cheng M, Wang H, Fan J et al (2021) A global meta-analysis of yield and water use efficiency of crops, vegetables, and fruits under full, deficit and alternate partial root-zone irrigation. Agric Water Manage 248:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2021.106771
Cheng H, Shu K, Zhu T et al (2022) Effects of alternate wetting and drying irrigation on yield, water and nitrogen use, and greenhouse gas emissions in rice paddy fields. J Clean Prod 349:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131487
Cook PG, Shanafield M, Andersen MS et al (2022) Sustainable management of groundwater extraction: an australian perspective on current challenges. J Hydrology: Reg Stud 44:1–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2022.101262
Da Silva J, Fernandes V, Limont M et al (2020) Water sustainability assessment from the perspective of sustainable development capitals: conceptual model and index based on literature review. J Environ Manage 254:1–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109750
Dossou-yovo E, Prasad K, Akpoti K et al (2022) Thirty years of water management research for rice in sub-saharan Africa: achievement and perspectives. Field Crops Research 283:1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2022.108548
Echeverria JA (2021) The social drivers of cooperation in groundwater management and implications for sustainability. Groundw Sustainable Dev 15:1–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2021.100668
El-beltagi HS, Basit A, Mohamed HI et al (2022) Mulching as a sustainable water and soil saving practice in Agriculture. Rev Agron 12:1–31. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12081881
El-Nashar W, Elyamany A (2023) Win–win Strategies for Transboundary Water Management during the GERD operating stage. Water Resour Manage 37:915–936. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-022-03413-9
Elshall AS, Arik AD, El-kadi AI et al (2020) Groundwater sustainability: a review of the interactions between science and policy. Environ Res Lett 15:1–57. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab8e8c
FAO and UN Water (2021) Progress on change in water-use efficiency. Global status and acceleration need for SDG indicator 6.4.1. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb6413en
Feng W, Lu H, Yao T et al (2022) Water environmental pressure assessment in agricultural systems in Central Asia based on an integrated excess Nitrogen load model. Sci Total Environ 803:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149912
Food and Agricultural Organization (2023) AQUASTAT - FAO’ s Global Information System on Water and Agriculture. (Online). Available: https://www.fao.org/aquastat/en/overview/methodology/water-use/. Accessed 24 February 2023
Freak C, McLeod J, Thompson K, Christesen L, Miller C (2022) Contemporising best practice water management: lessons from the Murray-Darling Basin on participatory water management in a mosaiced landscape. Aust J Water Resour 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/13241583.2022.2097365
Gain AK, Hossain S, Benson D et al (2021) Social-ecological system approaches for water resources management. Int J Sustainable Dev World Ecol 28:109–124. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2020.1780647
Gallagher TL, Gergel SE (2017) Landscape indicators of groundwater nitrate concentrations: an Approach for trans-border aquifer monitoring. Ecosphere 8:1–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2047
Garrick D, Iseman T, Gilson G et al (2020) Scalable solutions to freshwater scarcity: advancing theories of change to incentivise sustainable water use. Water Secur 9:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2019.100055
Ghulamahdi M, Sulistyono E, Syukri M (2023) Growth and yield on four varieties of corn on different ameliorant combination and application system under culture of saturated soil on tidal swamp. IOP Conf Series: Earth Environ Sci 1133:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1133/1/012008
Goya MK, Jha S, Surampalli RY (2020) Sustainable Systems for Groundwater Resource Management. In: Surampalli TC, Zhang MK, Goyal SK, Brar, Tyagi (eds) Sustainability: Fundamentals and Applications, 1st edn. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, pp 527–552. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119434016.ch25
Greenland SJ, Dalrymple J, Levin E, O’Mahony B (2018) Improving Agricultural Water Sustainability: Strategies for Effective Farm Water Management and Encouraging the Uptake of Drip Irrigation. In Crowther S, Seifi, Moyeen (Eds.), The Goals of Sustainable Development, Approaches to Global Sustainability, Markets, and Governance (pp. 111–123). Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5047-3_7
Hartmann A (2022) The hydrology of Groundwater Systems - from recharge to Discharge. Encyclopaedia of Inland Waters Second Edition 3:324–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819166-8.00097-9
HE C, James LA (2021) Watershed science: linking hydrological science with sustainable management of river basins. Sci China Earth Sci 64:677–690. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-020-9723-4
Hirata R, Eduardo R, Manganelli A (2020) Diplomatic advances and setbacks of the Guarani Aquifer System in South America. Environ Sci Policy 114:384–393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.020
Hjorth P, Madani K (2023) Adaptive Water Management: on the need for using the Post-WWII Science in Water Governance. Water Resour Manage 37:2247–2270. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-022-03373-0
Hu KX, Awange JL, Kuhn M (2023) Large-scale quantification of groundwater recharge threshold conditions using machine learning classifications: an attempt over the australian continent. Groundw Sustainable Dev 21:1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2023.100941
IPCC (2022) In: Pörtner, Roberts M, Tignor et al (eds) Climate Change 2022: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability Working Group II Contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009325844
Ishfaq M, Farooq M, Zulfiqar U et al (2020) Alternate wetting and drying: a water-saving and ecofriendly rice production system. Agric Water Manage 241:1–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106363
Jimenez A, Saikia P, Gine R et al (2020) Unpacking Water Governance: a Framework for Practitioners. Water (Switzerland) 12:1–21. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030827
Kader MA, Senge M, Mojid MA, Ito K (2017) Recent advances in mulching materials and methods for modifying soil environment. Soil Tillage Res 168:155–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2017.01.001
Khapte PS, Kumar P, Burman U, Kumar P (2019) Deficit irrigation in tomato: agronomical and physio-biochemical implications. Scientia Hortic 248:256–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2019.01.006
Kiss B, Sekulova F, Hörschelmann K et al (2021) Citizen participation in the governance of nature-based solutions. Environ Policy Gov 32:247–272. https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.1987
Kogler F, Soffker D (2017) Water (stress) models and deficit irrigation: system-theoretical description and causality mapping. Ecol Model 361:135–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.07.031
Krishna S, Kumaraswamy MS, Nair V (2020) IoT based Water Parameter Monitoring System. 5th International Conference on Communication and Electronics Systems (ICCES), Icces, 1299–1303. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCES48766.2020.9138001
Kryston A, Müller MF, Penny G et al (2022) Addressing climate uncertainty and incomplete information in transboundary river treaties: a scenario-neutral dimensionality reduction approach. J Hydrol 612:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128004
Kull M, Moodie JR, Thomas HL et al (2021) International good practices for facilitating transboundary collaboration in marine spatial planning. Mar Policy 132:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2019.03.005
Ma W, Opp C, Yang D (2020) Past, Present, and future of virtual water and water footprint. Water 12:1–21. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12113068
Mallareddy M, Thirumalaikumar R, Balasubramanian P et al (2023) Maximizing Water Use Efficiency in Rice Farming: a Comprehensive Review of innovative Irrigation Management Technologies. Water (Switzerland) 15(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/w15101802
Mancilla García M, Bodin Ö (2019) Participatory Water Basin Councils in Peru and Brazil: Expert discourses as means and barriers to inclusion. Glob Environ Change 55:139–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.02.005
McCracken M, Meyer C (2018) Monitoring of transboundary water cooperation: review of sustainable development goal Indicator 6.5.2 methodology. J Hydrol 563:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.05.013
McCracken M, Wolf AT (2019) Updating the Register of International River Basins of the world. Int J Water Resour Dev 35:732–782. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2019.1572497
Mcgehee RP, Flanagan DC, Engel BA (2023) International Soil and Water Conservation Research A WEPP-Water Quality model for simulating nonpoint source pollutants in nonuniform agricultural hillslopes: model development and sensitivity. Int Soil Water Conserv Res 10:1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2023.02.002
Mekonnen MM, Hoekstra AY (2016) Four billion people facing severe water scarcity. Sci Adv 2:1–6. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1500323
Miranda GM, Reynard E (2020) Integrated Water Resources Management in Federations: the examples of Brazil and Switzerland. Water (Switzerland) 12:1–14. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12071914
Momm HG, Bingner RL, Moore K, Herring G (2022) Integrated surface and groundwater modeling to enhance water resource sustainability in agricultural watersheds. Agric Water Manage 269:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2022.107692
Mukherjee B (2019) Water Efficient Rice Cultivation: Technological Interventions. In: Rawat & Tripathi (Ed) Advances in Agronomy, 6th edn. AkiNik Publications. pp 37–54 https://doi.org/10.22271/ed.book.386
Musayev S, Burgess E, Mellor J (2018) A global performance assessment of rainwater harvesting under climate change. Resour Conserv Recycl 132:62–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.01.023
Nikolaidis NP, Phillips G, Poikane S et al (2022) River and lake nutrient targets that support ecological status: european scale gap analysis and strategies for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. Sci Total Environ J 813:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151898
Nkiaka E, Bryant RG, Okumah M, Gomo FF (2021) Water security in sub-saharan Africa: understanding the status of sustainable development goal 6. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews-Water 8:1–20. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1552
Numery A, Haque A, Uddin K (2021) Biochar with alternate wetting and drying irrigation: a potential technique for Paddy Soil Management. Agriculture 11:1–35. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11040367
Obiero KO, Guessan SK, Migeni AZ, Achieng AO (2022) Bridging Indigenous and non-indigenous knowledge systems and practices for sustainable management of aquatic resources from East to West Africa. J Great Lakes Res 10:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2022.12.001
Penny G, Muller-Itten M, Cobos, Muller C, Muller MF (2021) Trust and incentives for transboundary groundwater cooperation. Adv Water Resour 155:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2021.104019
Pincheira M, Vecchio M, Giaffreda R, Kanhere SS (2021) Cost-effective IoT devices as trustworthy data sources for a blockchain-based water management system in precision agriculture. Comput Electron Agric 180:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2020.105889
Rai SP, Young W, Sharma N (2017) Risk and Opportunity Assessment for Water Cooperation in Transboundary River Basins in South Asia. Water Resour Manage 31:2187–2205. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-017-1637-2
Rai SK, Shah RA, Das S (2022) Cooperative management of himalayan rivers among the riparian states. In: Tiwari AK, Kumar A, Singh AK, Singh TN et al (eds) Current directions in Water Scarcity Research, 5th edn. Elsevier, pp 59–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-85378-1.00005-2
Ren D, Engel B, Alexander J et al (2022) Modelling and assessing water and nutrient balances in a tile-drained agricultural watershed in the US Corn Belt. Water Res 210:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117976
Rivera-torres M, Gerlak AK, Jacobs KL (2021) Lesson learning in the Colorado River Basin lesson learning in the Colorado River Basin. Water Int 46:567–577. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2021.1913782
Romano ST, Nelson-nuñez J, Lavanchy GT (2021) Rural water provision at the state-society interface in Latin America. Water Int 46:802–820. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2021.1928973
Rowbottom J, Graversgaard M, Wright I et al (2022) Water governance diversity across Europe: does legacy generate sticking points in implementing multi-level governance ? J Environ Manage 319:1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115598
Ruiz-Villaverde A, García-Rubio MA (2017) Public participation in European Water Management: from theory to practice. Water Resour Manage 31:2479–2495. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-016-1355-1
Runkle BR, Suvočarev K, Reba M et al (2019) Methane Emission reductions from the alternate wetting and drying of Rice Fields detected using the Eddy Covariance Method. Environ Sci Technol 53:671–681. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b05535
Saklani U, Shrestha PP, Mukherji A, Scott CA (2020) Hydro-energy cooperation in South Asia: prospects for transboundary energy and water security. Environ Sci Policy 114:22–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.013
SIWI (2023) Water governance definition. https://siwi.org/why-water/water-governance/. Accessed 13 March 2023
Srivastav AL, Dhyani R, Ranjan M, Madhav S, Sillanpaa M (2021) Climate-resilient strategies for sustainable management of water resources and agriculture. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:41576–41595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14332-4
Syafiuddin A, Boopathy R, Hadibarata T (2020) Challenges and Solutions for Sustainable Groundwater usage: Pollution Control and Integrated Management. Curr Pollution Rep 6:310–327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40726-020-00167-z
UN Water (2023) Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water and sanitation (SDG 6). (Online): Available. https://www.sdg6data.org/en. Accessed 27 July 2023
UN Water (2018) Sustainable development goal 6. Synthesis report 2018 on water and sanitation. UN-Water, United Nations, New York, USA, ISBN, 978-92-1-101370-2
UN Water (2021) Summary Progress Update 2021-SDG 6 water and sanitation for all. Version: July 2021. Geneva, Switzerland
United Nations (2022) The United Nations World Water Development Report: Groundwater: Making the invisible visible. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380721/PDF/380721eng.pdf.multi
United Nations Department of Economic and Social, Affairs PD (2022) World Population Prospects 2022: Summary of Results (Issue UN DESA/POP/2022/TR/NO. 3.). https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/wpp2022_summary_of_results.pdf
Vaio AD, Trujillo L, Amore GD, Palladino R (2021) Water governance models for meeting sustainable development goals: a structured literature review. Utilities Policy 72:1–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2021.101255
Velasco-Muñoz JF, Aznar-Sánchez JA, Batlles-delaFuente A, Fidelibus MD (2019) Rainwater harvesting for agricultural irrigation: an analysis of global research. Water (Switzerland) 11:1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11071320
Velayudhan NK, Pradeep P, Rao SN, Devidas AR, Ramesh VM (2022) Comp Technological Rev IEEE Access 10:1–29. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3208142. IoT-Enabled Water Distribution Systems—A
Wang H, Wang N, Quan H et al (2022a) Yield and water productivity of crops, vegetables, and fruits under subsurface drip irrigation: a global meta-analysis. Agric Water Manage 269:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2022.107645
Wang W, Straffelini E, Pijl A, Tarolli P (2022b) Geography and sustainability sustainable water resource management in steep-slope agriculture. Geogr Sustain 3:214–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geosus.2022.07.001
WB (2023) Water resource management definition. https://www.worldbank.org/en/search?q=water+management+definition. Accessed 13 March 2023
Yan Z, Qiu X, Du D, Grimes S (2022) Transboundary Water Cooperation in the Post-Cold War Era: spatial patterns and the role of Proximity. Int J Environ Res Public Health 19:1–19. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031503
Yannopoulos S, Giannopoulou I, Kaiafa-Saropoulou M (2019) Investigation of the current situation and prospects for the development of rainwater harvesting as a tool to confront water scarcity worldwide. Water (Switzerland) 11:1–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11102168
Yu L, Zhao X, Gao X, Siddique KH (2020) Improving / maintaining water-use efficiency and yield of wheat by deficit irrigation: a global meta-analysis. Agric Water Manage 228:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105906
Zareie S, Bozorg O, Loaiciga HA (2020) A state-of-the-art review of water diplomacy. Environ Dev Sustain 23:2337–2357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00677-2
Zhang W, Dong A, Liu F, Niu W, Siddique KH (2022) Effect of film mulching on crop yield and water use efficiency in drip irrigation systems: a meta-analysis. Soil & Tillage Research 221:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2022.105392
Zhang Y, Wang W, Li S et al (2023) Integrated management approaches enabling sustainable rice production under alternate wetting and drying irrigation. Agric Water Manage 281:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108265
Acknowledgements
This endeavour has been made possible thanks to the E4LIFE International Ph.D. Fellowship Program that is made available by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. We would like to express our appreciation to the Amrita Live-in-Labs® academic programme for the assistance provided.
Funding
The authors declare that no financial support was received for the preparation of this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Preparation of the manuscript: Nuru Hasan. Guiding and editing: Raji Pushpalatha. Reviewing and editing: Manivasagam VS, Sudha Arlikatti, Raj Cibin. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing Interests
The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Ethics Approval
Not Applicable.
Consent to Participate
Not Applicable.
Consent to Publish
The authors are giving full consent to the journal to publish the manuscript.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Hasan, N., Pushpalatha, R., Manivasagam, V.S. et al. Global Sustainable Water Management: A Systematic Qualitative Review. Water Resour Manage 37, 5255–5272 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-023-03604-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-023-03604-y