The alarming observations about water use and misuse is now familiar—over a billion people without access to safe drinking water; almost every major river dammed and diverted; increasing conflicts over the delivery of water in urban areas; continuing threats to water quality from agricultural inputs and industrial wastes; and the increasing variability of climate, including threats of severe droughts and flooding across locales and regions. This edition focuses on three major concepts and approaches that have gained currency in policy and governance circles, both globally and regionally— crisis, privatization and public participation. It provides a historical and contextual overview of each of these ideas as they have emerged in global and regional policy and governance circles and pairs these with in-depth case studies that examine manifestations and contestations of water governance internationally. This edition also investigates ideas of marketisation and privatization, increasingly prominent features of water governance throughout the world, with particular attention to the varied implementation and effects of these governance practices. It also analyses participatory water governance, querying disconnects between global discourses and local realities. These issues present tremendous challenges for water governance.
