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World Water Day, proclaimed by the United Nations since 1993, will be held in 2026 under the motto “Water and Gender – Where water flows, equality grows”. The topic is safe access to drinking water and sanitation as a human right as a prerequisite for gender equality, as the Austrian Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management emphasizes: "Where water flows, equality grows."
These aspects are only a narrow segment when it comes to the importance of water. Veronica Strang (University of Durham, United Kingdom) chose another segment and describes the nature of water against a cultural-historical background. Her book "Water: Nature and Culture" is also available in German, "Water A Cultural and Natural History" thanks to the translation by Susanne Schmidt-Wussow. On 208 pages, eight sections deal with "Water on Earth", "Living Water", "Imaginary Water", "Water Travel", "Diversions", "The Power of Economics", "Utopias" and finally "Water under Pressure".
At the beginning the author answers the question of how water came to earth. According to conventional wisdom, it probably came from asteroid impacts that hit the Earth around four billion years ago (page 11f). She then goes into its properties and meaning. “The properties of water as a solvent were central to evolution” (page 15). What is essential is the variability in the aggregate states, solid (ice), liquid (water) and gaseous (water vapor), which occur simultaneously on the Blue Planet.
It provides clear, easy-to-read and generally understandable examples that range from the dimensions of a cell to the hydrosphere. The cultural-historical background begins in antiquity and extends to the 21st century. While the Greeks defined four elements as earth, air, water and fire, the Chinese had five: earth, water, fire, wood and metal (page 19). With Michael Allaby, who draws a link between the atmosphere and the hydrosphere, "The weather consists mainly of water in one form or another", she builds a bridge into the 21st century.
In the "Living Water" section we find details about the proportion of water in the human body, which is around two thirds: Twelve percent is found in the teeth, 22 percent in bones, 73 percent in the brain and 80 to 92 percent in the blood (page 31). “Imaginary Water” is, among other things, about ambiguity, as the author shows using the example of the sea. "The sea, a symbol of a return to the potential of being, awakens both hope and fear." (page 68).
"Water Travel" not only highlights the settlement of lands along rivers, but also irrigation for agriculture.
In the book, which could hardly be more diverse and which leaves nothing to be desired in its thematic breadth and depth, there are unifying words in the final chapter, "Conclusion" (page 162ff): "Every cultural group has its own music and its own images, its own ways of reconnecting with the water." Once again, Strang advocates for the preservation of diversity and demands respect. “It is vitally important to cherish them and not forget them in thoughtless, callous pursuit of material gain.” Water – here the author is philosophical – is the common denominator that needs to be preserved. "Societies must remember what water really is, what it means and why it matters. Water is the fluid connection between humanity and every living creature on Earth: we are all the hypersea."
The 212-page book on the "Human Ecology of Water" contains several scientific papers based on contributions from the annual conference of the German Society for Human Ecology (DGH) in 2023. At that time it was about "Water: too much - too little - too polluted!?" Human ecology sees itself as “part of a global and interdisciplinary scientific movement”. This is about the “cause-effect relationships and interactions between people, society and the environment” (page 5) in the sense of a holistic and systemic approach.
The book is divided into two thematic areas, “Water Crisis” and “Water Thinking,” each of which includes several contributions. To start with Part 1, a look at the posts.
Bernhard Glaeser deals with the topic “Water, climate, coasts: forgotten, missed, transformed” (from page 35). Here he reminds us of the now forgotten UN initiative that proclaimed the "International Drinking Water and Sanitation Decade" from 1981 to 1990. The aim at that time was "Clean water for all by 1990". Glaeser reflects on his own statements. While he wrote in 1983 that thanks to science and technology, water could be made available wherever it was needed, 40 years later he was surprised at his technological optimism at the time and today assessed the situation differently in his conclusion: "Thanks to man-made climate change, water has become a scarce resource, probably the most important for survival." (page 40).
In her article “Water Resources and Global Change – Competition in Use”, Martina Flörke sheds light on the questions of “too much” and “too little”. “Too much” is about floods, which accounted for around 36 percent of natural disasters between 2000 and 2020, and heavy rain events, which are naturally closely linked to floods. Here, too, climate change can be seen as an amplifier; it can be expected that with a temperature increase of one degree Celsius, ten-year events will occur about twice as often (page 47).
“Too little” means a lack of water. This is where lower precipitation, increased evaporation, which goes hand in hand with the increase in temperature, and reduced groundwater recharge come into play.
This brings us to Anita Idel's contribution, "Water and Soil: On the Perception/Non-perception of Basic Resources". On page 69f. she states: "In connection with soil fertility, the water absorption and water storage capacity of the soil, which is also determined by agriculture and forestry, is crucial for the survival of people on planet Earth. In addition, there is their importance for flood protection." The problem of pesticides is also touched upon here; In Germany alone, over 30 tons of substances, some of which are very toxic, end up via plants or directly into soil and thus water (page 78).
Since 91 there have been four articles under the heading of “Water Thinking”. Stefan Liehr presents human-water interactions and uses a graphic (page 96) to show the water footprint in connection with food production. At the top is beef, which requires 15,415 liters of water for one kilogram of meat; Vegetable production ranks at the lower end (333 liters per kilogram).
Beatrice Voigt approaches the "natural phenomenon of water" from the artistic and aesthetic side and, following Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ("If you want to build a ship, teach people to long for the sea"), sums up as follows: "If you want to encourage a careful, protective use of water, inspire people with the fascinating beauty and virtuoso creative power of the natural phenomenon of water." (page 119f).
Thomas Schmaus ("Water as a philosophical source of inspiration") begins with the philosophers Thales of Miletus (In the beginning there was water) and Heraclitus (Everything flows) and builds a bridge into the 21st century, "into the world ocean of the Anthropocene, which is riddled with microplastics." (page 141).
In the final contribution, Egon Becker addresses “Hydrological knowledge – experiences with water and science” and notes that “Although we know almost everything about the water that we deal with every day, there is still a lot that is mysterious about the physics of water.” (Page 146) and thus identifies a need for research.
Conclusion: "Water A Cultural and Natural History" is aimed at a broad, diverse, interested readership who will appreciate the well-illustrated book. "Human Ecology of Water" offers in-depth reading for readers interested in interdisciplinary relationships. (Thomas Hofmann, March 20, 2026)