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3.1.3.      Human development and freshwater ecosystem services

Water has always been essential to human development and remains central as the link between food, energy, climate, and economic growth – a nexus of issues that is increasingly being identified as a threat to human security due to over exploitation and poor management of freshwater resources. Water resources as natural capital and providing ecosystem services is influenced by and influences environment policy priority areas like climate change, nature and biodiversity, natural resources and waste and health and quality of life (EEA 2010b; EEA 2010d). The international nature of trade places particular vulnerability on the areas that suffer low water availability or extreme hydrological variability yet exploit a high proportion of their water resources for production of agricultural and industrial products.  This in turn increases the vulnerability of economies that depend upon resources from these water stressed regions. Economic, social, political, technological and environmental trends on a global scale (EEA 2010b; EEA 2010d) are driving forces with effect on climate, land use, and demographic changes; identified as key pressures on water availability and hydrological variability.  The recently published European Environmental Indicator Report (EEA 2012d) outlines that while progress in ensuring greater resource efficiency is clear the evidence for improvements to ecosystem resilience is lacking. The report identifies that human demand directly competes with ecological systems’ demands.