Emerging Pollutants: Protecting Water Quality for the Health of People and the Environment

This open access book focuses on the importance of reducing pollution and protecting water resources for the health of people and the environment. Water is vital for life on Earth. The quality of the world's freshwater resources is deteriorating due to the rise in pollution levels, which puts the health of people and the environment at risk. Emerging pollutants, a new class called Contaminants of Emerging Concern, pose a global water quality challenge. The identification and implementation of appropriate regulatory, monitoring, prevention, and control measures are hindered by limited scientific understanding and knowledge about sources and pathways of emerging pollutants, their behaviour and fate in the environment, and potential human and ecosystem health risks.

The book presents selected contributions to the UNESCO-IWRA Online Conference “Emerging Pollutants: Protecting Water Quality for the Health of People and the Environment,” held on 17–19 January 2023. It offers an extensive overview of current research findings on emerging pollutants in aquatic ecosystems, groundwater contamination, wastewater management and reuse, circular economy approaches to pollutant lifecycle management, and the prioritization of emerging pollutants in the hydro-cycle. Based on scientific evidence and policy-relevant research findings, the book’s concluding chapter highlights research and policy gaps, offering recommendations for strategic and practical ways to manage emerging pollutants towards sustainable water management in the face of global changes and evolving environmental threats.

This book is a scientific output in the framework of UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme’s Ninth Phase “Science for a Water-Secure World in a Changing Environment” (IHP-IX, 2022-2029) and UNESCO-IHP’s International Initiative on Water Quality (IIWQ) in collaboration with the International Water Resources Association (IWRA).

Dr. Sarantuyaa Zandaryaa is the Lead of Theme on Water for Human Settlements of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP) in the Division of Water Sciences at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. She leads, designs and implements of UNESCO activities, aimed at providing science-based policy advice, technical support and capacity building to world’s countries in responding to water and climate change challenges in human settlements and transitioning to sustainable urban water management based on innovative approaches such as a circular economy. In the past, she also led the IHP Theme on Water Quality, including the launch and implementation of major UNESCO projects on Emerging Pollutants and Microplastics in freshwater ecosystems. She has a doctoral degree in Environmental Engineering and a post-doctoral degree in Environment and Sustainable Development. Dr Sarantuyaa has been working for the United Nations system for 20 years, including at UNESCO and UNU.

Dr. Ali Fares is the Endowed Water Security and Food-Energy-Water Nexus Professor at the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Prairie View A&M University, USA. He is a co-authored of the US Fifth National Climate Assessment Report and has secured over $100 million in research funding. With over 130 publications, he has edited several books and organized numerous international scientific conferences. His research focuses on water allocation and management, artificial intelligence, and climate change adaptation and mitigation for water, energy, and food. He has testified before the US Congress and served on various national working groups.

Dr. Gabriel Eckstein is Professor and Director of the Energy, Environmental, and Natural Resource Systems Law Program, in the School of Law at Texas A&M University, USA. His research focuses on natural resources and environmental law and policy at both the national and international levels, as well as on the interrelationship of law and science. His recent publications have addresses endangered species challenged to oil and gas development, climate change challenges to the management of global water resources, and the international law of transboundary aquifers. He is currently researching the management and regulation of pharmaceuticals in waters and environment.