CRC Press Water Bankruptcy in the Land of Plenty (IHE Delft Lecture Note Series)

As the American Southwest faces its deepest drought in history, this book explores the provocative notion ofwater bankruptcy with a view towards emphasizing the diversity and complexity of water issues in this region. It bridges between the narratives of growth and the strategies or policies adopted to pursue competing agendas and circumvent the inevitable. A window of opportunity provided by this current long-term drought may be used to induce change by dealing with threats that derive from imbalances between growth patterns and available resources, the primary cause of scarcity. A first of its kind, this book was developed through close collaboration of a broad range of natural scientists, social scientists, and resource managers from Europe and United States. It constitutes a collective elaboration of a transdisciplinary approach to unveiling the inner workings of how water was fought for, allocated and used in the American Southwest, with a focus on Arizona. Specifically, it offers an innovative scientific perspective that produces a critical diagnostic evaluation of water management, with a particular view to identifying risks for the Tucson region that is facing continuous urban sprawl and economic growth. The book offers a diversity of complementary perspectives, including a statement of natural resources, biodiversity and their management, an analysis of water policy and its history, and a statement of ecosystem services in the context of both local biodiversity and also the economic activities that sustain economic growth. Finally, it presents a concerted effort to explore the interplay between a variety of related scientific disciplines and frameworks including climatology, hydrology, water management, ecosystem services, societal metabolism, political economy and social science. Review "... this collaborative effort is very successful. In a series of thought-provoking case studies, the authors provide a comprehensive and extraordinarily detailed analysis of a serious issue with ramifications that expand well beyond Arizona"R. L. Wallace, Ripon College, USA, in the March 2017 issue of CHOICE Magazine"Water Bankruptcy in the Land of Plenty is about water scarcity in Southern Arizona; but though many might think this narrow subject would limit the book's interest to Arizona residents alone, it's recommended for any arid region of the world. as it covers how water scarcity is measured and dealt with. The American Southwest is facing its deepest drought in history. This discussion evolved through the collaborative efforts of scientists, resource managers, and social scientists not just from Arizona but from around the world and across the U.S. It thus offers an interdisciplinary approach as it examines the politics and processes of water allocation. Technical charts, graphs, discussions of water planning processes and urban development, and applications of hydrological models contribute to chapters that pair data with thought-provoking insights to make for a technical yet accessible water management discussion of special interest to urban planners, resource managers and conservation collections alike."Diane Donovan, in 'Donovan's Literary Services' November 2016 Prime Picks' on donovansliteraryservices.com