Mainstream views of water resource development focus on conventional concepts of supply and demand and often conceive of river basin development as a linear and rational process of harnessing nature and developing water for human use. However, human-environment interactions are more complex and the way societies respond to water challenges is shaped by a number of cultural, environmental, economic and political factors.
Using river basin case studies in a variety of contexts, this book provides an overview of how societies have gradually developed their water resources and furthers our understanding of how such resources can be managed successfully or unsuccessfully. Discussing how and why particular options are selected, and why a particular course of events eventually prevails, the book stresses the importance of context and a multidisciplinary approach in moving towards sustainable and equitable development.