Abstract

Water is vital for human survival. With growing population, economic growth, and deteriorating water quality, water scarcity and water security are becoming major issues for our planet. This entry provides various definitions of water security, the key dimensions of water security, and how national water security can be achieved by first addressing household-level water security. Merely knowing the term “water security” would be meaningless unless water security is measured and can mean something to policy makers. The entry describes various indicators and ways of measuring water security followed by key challenges and threats to water security, which need to be addressed to avoid water crisis. Human security and water security are closely linked, and the importance of water security can also be seen in water–food–energy nexus. This entry explores linkages between these different security aspects. The last section of this entry describes the similarities and differences between water security approach and other water management paradigms.