Water Ethics: A Values Approach to Solving the Water Crisis

by Groenfeldt; David

• ISBN13: 9780415626453
• ISBN10: 0415626455
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2013-10-16
• Publisher: EarthScan

Summary

The main aim of this book is to introduce the idea that ethics are an intrinsic component of any water policy, program, or practice, and that understanding what ethics are being acted out in water policies is very relevant to all aspects of water resource management. Thus in controversies or conflicts over water resource allocation and use, an examination of ethics can help by clarifying the positions of conflicting parties as preparation for constructive negotiations. The author shows the benefits of exposing tacit values and motivations and subjecting these to explicit and perhaps public scrutiny where the values themselves can be debated and adjusted. The aim of such a process is to create the proverbial 'level playing field', where values favouring environmental sustainability are considered in relation to values favouring short-term exploitation for quick economic stimulus (the current problem) or quick protection from water disasters (through infrastructure which science suggests is not sustainable). The book shows how the underlying purpose of new technologies, such as drip irrigation, or governance structures, such as river basin organizations, becomes seen as a way of supporting a new ethic of coexistence and synergies with nature. It includes a wide range of case studies from countries including Australia, India, Philippines, South Africa and USA. These cover various contexts including water for agriculture, urban, domestic and industrial use, the rights of indigenous people and river, watershed and ecosystem management.