The shortage of fresh water is likely to be one of the most pressing issues of the twenty-first century. A UNESCO report predicts that as many as 7 billion people will face shortages of drinking water by 2050. Here, David Lewis Feldman examines river-basin management cases around the world to show how fresh water can be managed to sustain economic development while protecting the environment. He argues that policy makers can employ adaptive management to avoid making decisions that could harm the environment, to recognize and correct mistakes, and to monitor environmental and socioeconomic changes caused by previous policies. To demonstrate how adaptive management can work, Feldman applies it to the Delaware, Susquehanna, Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint, Sacramento-San Joaquin, and Columbia river basins. He assesses the impacts of runoff pollution and climate change, the environmental-justice aspects of water management, and the prospects for sustainable fresh water management. Case studies of the Murray-Darling basin in Australia, the Rhine and Danube in Europe, the Zambezi in Africa, and the Rio de la Plata in South America reveal the impediments to, and opportunities for, adaptive management on a global scale. Feldman's comprehensive investigation and practical analysis bring new insight into the global and political challenges of preserving and managing one of the planet's most important resources.

About the Author
David Lewis Feldman served for many years as a faculty member at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and is a professor and the Chair of the Department of Planning, Policy & Design at the School of Social Ecology, University of California-Irvine. He is the editor of Energy Crisis: Unresolved Issues and Enduring Legacies and Water Resources Management: In Search of an Environmental Ethic, both published by Johns Hopkins.

Reviews
There are sure to be audiences receptive to the important messages contained. -- Linda Nowlan Alternatives Journal 2008 The book's comprehensive research and practical analyses bring new insight to the global and political challenges of preserving and managing one of the planet's most important resources. Abstracts of Public Administration, Development and Environment 2008 Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduate through professional public policy collections. Choice 2008 An eclectic and engaging account... generally inspired and should be read with a note-taking pen in hand. -- Mark Zeitoun Environment and Planning C: Gov't and Policy 2008



Book Information
ISBN 9780801885884
Author Dave Feldman
Format Hardback
Page Count 392
Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press
Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
Weight(grams) 680g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 27mm