The book provides an interdisciplinary perspective on groundwater governance, based on primary date that are very difficult to find in other literature. All chapters have a policy focus, making it a useful resource for policy makers.

One of the key features of agricultural development in the last five decades has been intensive groundwater use in the Indo-Gangetic Basin (Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh) and in the Yellow River Basin (China). Groundwater irrigates almost 60% of the net irrigated area in South Asia and 70% in the north China plains. Groundwater use for agriculture is still increasing. Despite the growing significance of groundwater to agricultural growth, food security and rural livelihoods globally, and at the same time significant signs of limitations and constraints for further use, knowledge of the subject has remained limited. The subject includes the wider issues of socioeconomic impacts, political economy, groundwater institutions, access to other resources like energy and land, approaches to resource governance and management and specifically integrating evidence-based science into management decisions.

This book addresses these information shortfalls and provides a consolidated and cross-disciplinary source of information and documentation of realities and challenges of contemporary agricultural groundwater use and management in poverty-prone areas of Asia. It draws on primary data collected in the course of an innovative, cross-coordinated and inter-disciplinary fieldwork programme, covering those regions in Asia that significantly depend on groundwater for agricultural livelihoods. This work is essential reading for hydrogeologists, socio-economists, agro-economists and water managers working in poor countries. Donors and implementers, both government and NGO, will also learn from the experiences described in this book.

In the context of the current financial crisis, and at a time of deep global change, growing attention is paid to the global norms and ethical values that could underpin future global policy. Water is a key global resource. At the 3rd Marcelino Botin Foundation Water Workshop, held in Santander, Spain, June 12-14, 2007, the role of ethics in the deep roots, values, and the potential commonalities of the global water policy were discussed.
Experts from different cultural, geographic and religious backgrounds considered the different ethical points of view to enhance the debate on how ethical considerations can play a more significant and explicit role in water development and management.
Common ground for all contributing authors was considered to be the UN Declaration of 1948, and more specifically the basic aspects related to water ethics: 1. the dignity of every human being and 2. the necessity of solidarity among all human beings.

The book is divided in 8 sections which correspond to the papers presented at the Workshop:
Some Cultural Traditional Approaches on Water Ethics
Some Ethical Aspects of New Water Management
Water as a Human Right and as an Economic Resource
Water and Poverty
Groundwater Use and its Ethical Aspects
Ethics of Water Ownership and Management
Corruption, Transparency and Participation in the Water Sector
Ethical Aspects of Unforeseen and Extreme Events Management such as Floods and Droughts