Water Resources Allocation and Agriculture: Transitioning from Open to Regulated Access
The book brings together a range of leading scholars and practitioners to compile an international account of water allocation policies supporting a transition to sustainable water use in regions where agriculture is the dominant water use. In Section 1, the collection canvasses five key cross-cutting issues shaping the challenge of sustainable water allocation policy, such as legal and economic perspectives, the role of politics, the setting of environmental flows, and the importance of indigenous rights. Section 2 presents 13 national, state and transboundary case studies of water allocation policy, covering cases from Europe, the Americas, Central Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific region. These case studies highlight novel and innovative elements of water allocation regimes, which respond to the cross-cutting issues addressed in Section 1, as well as local challenges and social and environmental imperatives. The book provides a comprehensive account of water allocation in a range of international settings and provides a reference point for practitioners and scholars worldwide wishing to draw on the latest advances on how to design and implement sustainable water allocation systems.
ISBN: 9781789062779 (print)
ISBN: 9781789062786 (eBook)
ISBN: 9781789062793 (ePUB)
Chapter 1: Introduction
-
Published:August 2022
Josselin Rouillard, Christina Babbitt, Edward Challies, Jean-Daniel Rinaudo, 2022. "Introduction", Water Resources Allocation and Agriculture: Transitioning from Open to Regulated Access, Josselin Rouillard, Christina Babbitt, Edward Challies, Jean-Daniel Rinaudo
Download citation file:
Abstract
This chapter introduces the book by exploring the role of water allocation policies in the transition from open to regulated access in the use of water resources. Various allocation approaches and frameworks have developed over time, crafted by water users and communities, and by governments and public authorities. It examines the specific challenges of regulating agricultural water use and implementing water allocation policies in agricultural basins. In this context, the chapter then presents the overall aim of the book and the key dimensions that should be considered when characterising and assessing allocation systems in the context of agricultural water use. The chapter concludes with an outline of the content of the book. In particular, the book is structured in two main sections providing (i) an overview of cross-cutting issues related to the establishment of water allocation systems and (ii) a compilation of 13 chapters presenting water allocation systems across the world.