Abstract

Water as a crucial precondition of life has become a prominent issues in almost all cultures and religions, in particular in regions with water scarcity. The modern attitude to water in the Western world is predominantly economic, regarding water as a resource despite it being a common good. In 2010, the United Nations approved the human right to a water supply and sanitation. In order to counter water pollution by agriculture, industry and households, and severe scarcity of water in large parts of the world, water ethics as well as sustainable and responsible water governance are needed.