Part I.A New Perspective:
1. The role played by water in the biosphere
The fundamental role of water in sustaining life on earth
Water in the era of the great acceleration of human enterprise
Recognising the boundaries of water use
The role of water in social-ecological resilience
A new conceptual framework: water resilience for human prosperity in the Anthropocene era
Part II. Living in a Human-Dominated World:
2. Human modification of the Earth system Humans have altered jthe earth system through multiple drivers of change
Interacting anthropogenic drivers, impacts and feedbacks in the earth system
We now live in the Anthropocene era, and are approaching various water-related tipping points
3. Balancing on a threshold of alternate development paths: regime shifts, traps and transformations
Rapid, accelerating and surprising changes in the Anthropocene era
Regime shifts can happen across the whole hydrological cycle
Regime shifts involve both social and ecological processess
Enhancing resilience in the face of regime shifts
Traps: highly resilient but undersirable situations
4. Crucial functioning of and human dependence on the global water system
The role of water as the bloodstream of the biosphere
The global water system as part of the earth system
Changes, interactions, feedbacks, teleconnections and resilience in the global water system
Water-related indicators for water security and food security
Comparative analysis of water scarity in a number of large river basins
Part III. Food Production Globally: in Hotspot Regions and in the Landscape:
5. Food production: a mega water challenge
Food demand trajectories and water preconditions
Consumptive food water requirements by 2050
Preconditions at the system level: sustaining the ability to produce food for humanity
6. Closing the yield gap in the Savannah zone
Challenges and opportunities in the Savannah zone
Agricultural water management interventions to increase productivity
Making small-scale green water management technologies work in a cmplex, turbulent world.
7. Water resources and functions for agro-ecological systems at the landscape scale Social-hydrological-ecological systems at the landscape scale
Agricultural expansion and intensification affects landscape multifunctionality
Three examples of landscape transformations and possible transitions
Part IV. Governance and Pathways:
8. Governance for navigating the novel freshwater dynamics of the Anthropocene
The Anthropocene era requires novel governance and management
IWRM: the dominant paradigm
Signs of a paradigm shift and managing change
Governance of transformation: a multi-level challenge
9. Pathways to the future
A new global water situation in the Anthropocene era
The need to reconnect with the biosphere
Towards "water stewardship for resilience."
