Since the start of the twenty-first century there has been an unprecedented focus upon water as a key factor in the future of both society and environment. Water management lies at the heart of strategies of development as does the added the hazard of climate change. Water Resources and Development provides a stimulating interdisciplinary introduction to the role of water resources in shaping opportunities and constraints for development. The book begins by charting the evolution of approaches to water management. It identifies an emerging polarization in the late twentieth century between 'technical' and 'social' strategies. In the past decade these two axes of policy debate have been further intersected by discussion of the scale at which management decisions should be made: the relative effectiveness of 'global' and 'local' governance of water. A variety of case studies elaborate this analytical framework, exemplifying four key development challenges: economic growth, poverty reduction, competition and conflict over water, and adaptation to climate change. Current 'best practice' for water management is examined, addressing strategies of water supply augmentation, the ecological implications of intensified use, and strategies of demand management guided by economic or political principles. It is argued defining 'successful' water management and best practice requires first the establishment of development goals and the implicit trade-offs between water consumption and conservation. This engaging and insightful text offers a unique interdisciplinary analysis by integrating scientific, engineering, social and political perspectives. This is an essential text for courses on development studies, geography, earth sciences and the environment.

Since the start of the twenty-first century there has been an unprecedented focus upon water as a key factor in the future of both society and environment. Water management lies at the heart of strategies of development as does the added the hazard of climate change.

Water Resources and Development provides a stimulating interdisciplinary introduction to the role of water resources in shaping opportunities and constraints for development. The book begins by charting the evolution of approaches to water management. It identifies an emerging polarization in the late twentieth century between technical and social strategies. In the past decade these two axes of policy debate have been further intersected by discussion of the scale at which management decisions should be made: the relative effectiveness of global and local governance of water. A variety of case studies elaborate this analytical framework, exemplifying four key development challenges: economic growth, poverty reduction, competition and conflict over water, and adaptation to climate change. Current best practice for water management is examined, addressing strategies of water supply augmentation, the ecological implications of intensified use, and strategies of demand management guided by economic or political principles. It is argued defining successful water management and best practice requires first the establishment of development goals and the implicit trade-offs between water consumption and conservation.

This engaging and insightful text offers a unique interdisciplinary analysis by integrating scientific, engineering, social and political perspectives. This is an essential text for courses on development studies, geography, earth sciences and the environment.

Policy-makers are increasingly trying to assign economic values to areas such as ecologies, the atmosphere, even human lives. These new values, assigned to areas previously considered outside of economic systems, often act to qualify, alter or replace former non-pecuniary values. Valuing Development, Environment and Conservation looks to explore the complex interdependencies, contradictions and trade-offs that can take place between economic values and the social, environmental, political and ethical systems that inform non-monetary valuation processes. Using rich empirical material, the book explores the processes of valuation, their components, calculative technologies, and outcomes in different social, ecological and conservation domains. The book gives reasons for why economic calculation tends to dominate in practice, but also presents new insights on how the disobedient materiality of things and the ingenuity of human and non-human agencies can combine and frustrate the dominant economic models within calculative processes. This book highlights the tension between, on the one hand, a dominant model that emphasises technical and 'universalising' criteria, and on the other hand, valuation practice in specific local contexts which is more likely to negotiate criteria that are plural, incommensurable and political. This book is perfect for researchers and students within development studies, environment, geography, politics, sociology and anthropology who are looking for new insights into how processes of valuation take place in the 21st century, and with what consequential outcomes.

This text examines community-based natural resource management in Africa. This book reveals a dynamic picture of African rural society in which production patterns change rapidly in response to market opportunities. These changes are driven largely by local farmers' initiatives, and are often associatedwith an increase in market-based access to land that is evident under both customary and private land tenure. North America: Africa World Press