David Groenfeldt

Fully revised and updated, this second edition of Water Ethics continues to consolidate water ethics as a key dimension of water-related decisions. The book introduces the idea that ethics are an intrinsic dimension of any water policy, program, or practice, and that understanding what ethics are being acted out in water policies is fundamental to an understanding of water resource management. Alongside updated references and the introduction of discussion questions and recommended further reading, this new edition discusses in depth three significant developments since the publication of the first edition in 2013. The first is the growing awareness of the climate crisis as an existential threat, and associated concern about adaptive strategies for sustainable water management and ways of using water management for climate mitigation. Second, there has been increased clarity among the religious community, Indigenous leaders, and progressive academics that ethics needs to become an arena for application and action. Thirdly, there have been new normative water standards ranging from "water stewardship", water charters and the on-going initiative to develop a global water ethics charter. Drawing on case studies from countries including Australia, India, the Philippines, South Africa, and the United States, this textbook is essential reading for students of environmental ethics and water governance and management.

Scholarly interest in water ethics is increasing, motivated by the urgency of climate change, water scarcity, privatization and conflicts over water resources. Water ethics can provide both conceptual perspectives and practical methodologies for identifying outcomes which are environmentally sustainable and socially just. This book assesses the implications of ongoing research in framing a new discipline of water ethics in practice. Contributions consider the difficult ethical and epistemological questions of water ethics in a global context, as well as offering local, empirical perspectives. Case study chapters focus on a range of countries including Canada, China, Germany, India, South Africa and the USA. The respective insights are brought together in the final section concerning the practical project of a universal water ethics charter, alongside theoretical questions about the legitimacy of a global water ethics. Overall the book provides a stimulating examination of water ethics in theory and practice, relevant to academics and professionals in the fields of water resource management and governance, environmental ethics, geography, law and political science.

Indigenous irrigation systems have been a central feature of Asian agriculture since prehistoric times, and reflect technical knowledge with a proven record of sustainability. Modern agricultural development efforts often ignore this indigenous knowledge, replacing traditional infrastructure with new construction, and replacing indigenous management arrangements with state bureaucracies. For reasons of environmental conservation as well as institutional stability, indigenous irrigation systems should be intelligently assisted, rather than mindlessly replaced