Apologies for the shameless shilling of a product, but if you are looking for a last-minute holiday gift for the water wonk in your life, consider the new book, The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water. (I contributed a chapter on the Great Lakes but don’t get any royalties, although I did get one free copy of the book to put on my shelf.) Here’s the description from the publisher (Springer):
The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water presents an overview of global trends in water law and policy and assesses current global water governance. It provides an historic understanding of how and why after 5,000 years of water governance, that governance still has not reached stability. It identifies the key research questions for water law and policy while providing an overview of the current global water governance regime, its evolving characteristics, and the legal theories involved in these changes. It focuses on water law and discusses the characteristics of national, supranational, and international water law through a combination of case studies and thematic chapters.
The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water is the first volume to take a global perspective on the evolution of water law and policy. It describes global patterns and sets forth the particulars of eight national legal systems drawn from every continent and five regional or supranational systems, as well as the body of customary international law as a whole. In particular, it is the first book to explore the interrelation between culture, religion, government and law in water governance and management. The volume is, therefore, a must-read for anyone interested in how water governance has changed through time and in different places as well as anyone interested in how water law has sought to channel water governance through time and in different places and what variables account for the relative success (or lack of success) of water law in performing this channelling function. It is suggestive of possible lines of water law reform and whether a particular reform is likely to be successful.
The book is edited by Joe Dellapenna and Joyeeta Gupta and features some of the leading water law scholars covering water policy across history, religion, culture, and geography. Check out the table of contents:
Part I - Introduction
1. The Evolution of Global Water Law (Joseph W. Dellapenna and Joyeeta Gupta)
2. Mesopotamia: A History of Water and Law (Itzchak E. Kornfeld)
3. Islamic Law and the Politics of Water (Thomas Naff)
4. Water in the Jewish Legal Tradition (Richard Laster, Rabbi David Aronovsky, and Dan Livney)
Part II - Evolving National Law and Politics
5. Brazil: The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water (Paulo José Leite Farias)
6. South Africa: The Development of Water Law (Michael Kidd)
7. East African Water Regimes: The Case of Kenya (David Nilsson and Ezekiel Nyangeri Nyanchaga)
8. Israel: The Evolution of Water Law and Policy (Richard Laster and Dan Livney)
9. Russia: Historical Dimensions of Water Management (Vladimir Kotov)
10. India: Evolution of Water Law and Policy (Philippe Cullet and Joyeeta Gupta)
11. Australia: The Problem of Sustainability in Water (Jennifer McKay and Simon Marsden)
12. United States: The Allocation of Surface Waters (Joseph W. Dellapenna)
13. United States: The Emergence of Environmental Considerations (Sandra Zellmer)
Part III - Evolving Supranational and Regional Water Law and Politics
14. European Community Water Policy (Paulo Canelas de Castro)
15. Southern Africa: Evolving Regional Water Law and Politics (Pieter van der Zaag)
16. The Jordan Basin: Evolution of the Rules (Robbie Sabel)
17. The North American Great Lakes (Noah D. Hall)
18. The Río de la Plata Basin (Griselda D. Capaldo)
Part IV - Current Trends in International Water Law
19. Case Law on International Watercourses (Lilian del Castillo-Laborde)
20. International Cooperation on Water Resources (Maria Manuela Farrajota)
21. Public Participation in Water Governance (Jona Razzaque)
22. The Market Alternative (Joseph W. Dellapenna)
Part V - Conclusions
23. The Challenges for the Twenty-First Century: A Critical Approach (Joyeeta Gupta and Joseph W. Dellapenna)
Your local bookstore (if you are lucky enough to still have a local bookstore) can order it from Springer. Alternatively, Amazon is currently selling it almost 40% off list price.
