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Graciela Schneier-Madanes · Marie-Françoise Courel Editors

Water and Sustainability in Arid Regions Bridging the Gap Between Physical and Social Sciences

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Editors Dr. Graciela Schneier-Madanes Director of Research, CNRS Director, CNRS “res-EAU-ville” 28 rue Saint Guillaume 75007 Paris France

Dr. Marie-Françoise Courel Professor, EPHE CNRS/PRODIG 2 rue Valette 75005 Paris France

ISBN 978-90-481-2775-7 e-ISBN 978-90-481-2776-4 DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-2776-4 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2009927005 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010 No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

Preface

The Sahara, Kalahari, Namib, Sinai, Karakum, Taklimakan, Gobi, Sonoran, Great Basin, Mojave, Colorado, Atacama . . . Our ideas of such extreme arid regions often are influenced by the media: photographs of vast “mineral universes” and powerful images of infinite horizons, frightening silences, wind-blown sand, nomads, and dead valleys. The most modern imaging techniques, including remote sensing and GIS, dissimulate the diversity of these spaces and their present and past plant, animal, and human life. Occasionally, archaeological discoveries remind us of the historical insight these allegedly empty spaces can provide. These vestiges of human habitation remind us that water is—or was—there, somewhere. The desert, and in general the “arid world,” has assumed a mystical quality in contemporary societies, which tend to think of it a vast field of the absolute, infinity, reflection, a symbolic framework, or a “soul’s mirror” that starts with a vision or perception of space and carries us along a philosophical voyage. The desert also represents emptiness: don’t we talk about the political, cultural, and artistic “desert”? This image of desert as a void dates back to antiquity: as far back as the fifth century B.C., Herodotus recalled an army that “disappears in the desert.” Literally or figuratively, the different meanings of desert continued to expand as scientists began to better grasp the workings of these arid lands. Merchants, travelers, explorers, entrepreneurs, and researchers continue to invest in deserts with hopes of unlocking their secrets. During the twentieth century, some isolated arid regions progressively became accessible to scientific missions whose goals included discovering how humans adapted to the harsh environment and how they survived. The management of water is the key to answering these questions and understanding the arid world. Current environmental crises and their worldwide social impact