The Politics of Water ─ A Survey

This authoritative reference work gives timely information on the global politics of water. Readers will find case studies on a variety of complex water situations, from the Okavango River that flows through Angola, Namibia and Botswana, to the Euphrates-Tigris of the Upper Persian Gulf.

With the current threat of climate change and increasing demand on water resources, the book gives valuable insight into an increasingly politicized topic. Politics of Water is a welcome addition to Routledge’s extensive The Politics of … reference series.

Readers will benefit from:

• essays on major topics in water politics from a variety of contributors (thirteen in all), including Is water politics? Towards international water relations and The politics of water and mining in South Africa
• sensitive debate on gender issues, reflecting the fact that in many cultures men are responsible for the supply of water, and women as cultivators and house keepers are the major users
• an A-Z glossary of key terms, issues, organizations, etc. in water politics
• information on selected major river basins of the world, including maps detailing water consumption and resources.

The Politics of Water is a useful guide to the politics surrounding the availability and provision of water on a world-wide scale. It will prove to be a useful reference source for anyone interested in, or studying, the politics of water and climate change.

Kai Wegerich was at the time of the book preparation an Assistant Professor at the Irrigation and Water Engineering Group of Wageningen University, the Netherlands and currently holds a Researcher position at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Central Asia office. He gained his PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He previously worked as a researcher for the Centre for Development Research (ZEF in Bonn, Germany), as a development worker for the German Development Service (DED) in Khorezm, Uzbekistan. His research interests are social and political aspects of water management in Central Asia, on which he has published in various journals. He has conducted fieldwork in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan. He co-edited the special issue on ‘Emerging issues on land and water in Central Asia’ in the journal Irrigation and Drainage Systems (with Jochen Froebrich and Marinus G. Bos).

Jeroen Warner, PhD, is a political scientist working on domestic and international environmental conflict and participation. He is especially interested in the politics of water risk and security. Since coining the phrase ‘hydro-hegemony’ in his MSc thesis on water conflict in the Middle East, he has published on hydropolitics in various journals. Dr Warner edited Conflictos y participacion (with Alejandra Moreyra, 2004) and Multi-stakeholder Platforms for Integrated Water Management (2007). He is Assistant Professor with the Disaster studies group at Wageningen University and at the time of the book’s preparation, was a researcher with Centrum voor Schone Technologie en Milieubeleid (CSTM – Centre for Studies in Technology and Sustainable Development), Twente University, the Netherlands. He has taught and delivered training and presentations around the world, and has made national and international radio and television appearances.