Managing Water Resources Past

A multi-disciplinary analysis of the evolution of water politics and policy by an international team of distinguished experts. Water management in the Middle Ages in Europe, its evolution in the USA, the elaboration of the European Water Framework Directive, the British experience of water management, the over-exploitation of African aquifers, and the evolution of the water situation in Southern Africa are all examined. This volume underlines the fact that only an integrative and interdisciplinary understanding can lead to genuinely improved water management practices that will not benefit some social groups at the expense of others. Managing Water Resources Past and Present is a valued contribution to the literature in this field, with relevance to a wide readership, calling for true interdisciplinary research with the aim of improving water resource management. The Geographical JournalIntroduction; 1. Silent Springs: Groundwater Resources Under Threat; 2. Water in Mediterranean History; 3. The Development of American Water Resources: Planners, Politicians, and Constitutional Interpretation; 4. Managing Water for the Future: The Case of England and Wales; 5. Water for Europe: The Creation of the European Water Framework Directive; 6. Water Laws for Water Security in the Twenty-First Century; 7. Water and Conflicts, Hobbes v. Ibn Khaldun: The Real Clash of Civilizations?; 8. Water and Development: A Southern African Perspective; Index