Youths’ social traits in water management as a precursor for good water governance

Abstract

Today’s youths are yesterday’s future generation and tomorrow’s guardian of future generations. Successful water governance requires the sustainable management of water resources which in turn implies the maximisation of economic, social and environmental goals. This research, whilst focusing on the social traits of the current youth cohort, forms the basis of a wider national survey amongst Maltese society in order to identify their economic, social and environmental traits as one of the basis for developing a robust water governance framework for Malta. The research shows that whilst there is a solid foundation in the current youth crop to build upon for effective water governance, there is still considerable work that needs to be undertaken in order to raise awareness amongst a sizeable component of the current youth cohort.