Management of Latin American River Basins

Management of Latin American River Basins
Author: Asit K. Biswas
Publisher: United Nations University Press
Total Pages: 356
Release: 1999
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9789280810127

The Bolivia Summit of the Americas declared in 1996 that "despite extensive efforts by countries in the Americas to improve water use and management, demand continues to rise while contamination has seriously degraded the quality of freshwater, spreading disease and causing economic losses."Increasing populations, the environmental stresses of economic development and water-related public health risks make sustainable water management increasingly complex. As per-capita demand for water in developing countries is steadily increasing, analysis indicates that the cost of future water source development will be double to triple the cost of similar projects in the current decade.This book gathers expert analyses of issues surrounding three of Latin America's largest and most important rivers, including inter-state and intra-state conflicts over their fair and sustainable use.

The Paraná River Basin

The Paraná River Basin
Author: Chris D. Metcalfe
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2020-06-10
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1000069737

This book provides insight into the hydrology, ecosystem services and management of water resources in the Paraná River basin, including the importance of water to the socio-economic development of the countries within the watershed. Running through Brazil. Paraguay and Argentina, the Paraná River and its watershed is home to some of South America's major population centers as well as important ecosystems threatened by development. At the same time, the river is a major resource driving the economies of the nations within its boundaries. This volume examines the impacts of environmental degradation, and the tradeoffs between the energy sector and the maintenance of ecosystem services. In particular, it focuses on the threats from development to sensitive ecosystems within the basin and the challenges of transboundary management of water resources. In addition to presenting wider perspectives on water management, the volume specifically covers water infrastructure, aquatic ecosystems, water quality, geomorphological influences and the impact of climate change. Finally, by assessing each country's current status in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals this volume provides a timely analysis as national governments within the basin are becoming increasingly concerned about the sustainability of the freshwater ecosystems within the Paraná River basin. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of water and natural resource management, environmental policy, sustainable development and Latin American studies. It will also be relevant to water management professionals.

Managing Transboundary Waters of Latin America

Managing Transboundary Waters of Latin America
Author: Asit K. Biswas
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2013-09-13
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1135715319

Definitive analyses of transboundary water management in Latin America are conspicuous by their absence. The situation is a little better for rivers compared to groundwater resources. Transboundary water management in Latin America has been evolving in a somewhat different manner compared to other continents. The book includes eight authoritative case studies of Latin American transboundary rivers and aquifers, as well as a thinkpiece on the complexities of managing aquifers based on global experiences. The case studies are of different scales, ranging from the mighty Amazon to small Silala. The overall focus of the book is on ways in which such difficult and complex rivers and aquifers that are shared by two or more countries can be managed efficiently and equitably, and on the lessons, both positive and negative, that other regions can learn from the Latin American experience. This book was published as a special issue of the International Journal of Water Resources Development.

Integrated River Basin Management through Decentralization

Integrated River Basin Management through Decentralization
Author: Karin Kemper
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2007-02-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3540283552

Drawing upon a worldwide survey of river basin organizations and in-depth studies of eight river basins in a variety of locations around the globe, this book examines how institutional arrangements for managing water resources at the river-basin level have been designed and implemented, the impetus for these arrangements, and what institutional features appear to be associated with greater or lesser success in river basin management.

Multi-stakeholder Platforms for Integrated Water Management

Multi-stakeholder Platforms for Integrated Water Management
Author: Jeroen Warner
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2007-01-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780754670650

As they provide a negotiating space for a diversity of interests, Multi-Stakeholder Platforms (MSPs) are an increasingly popular mode of involving civil society in resource management decisions. Illustrated by a wide geographical range of case studies, this book focuses on water management to take a positive, if critical, look at this phenomenon.

Water for the Americas

Water for the Americas
Author: Alberto Garrido
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 303
Release: 2014-08-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317685652

The chapters in this volume are peer reviewed editions of the papers presented at the 7th meeting of the Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy which was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on November 15-17, 2010. The theme for Forum VII was Water for the Americas: Challenges and Opportunities. This Forum was unique in examining the water problems of the Americas and identifying water management experience gleaned in other parts of the world that might be useful in addressing the problems of the Americas. The sessions illustrated how the water problems of the Americas are common problems, differing only in degree from basin to basin. There was unanimity among the participants about the need for all inhabitants of the Americas to work together to ensure that everyone has access to adequate quantities of healthy water supplies and to appropriate sanitation services. This volume’s approach is to identify different responses and policies that address common issues and learn from contrasts and experiences. The value and potential that this approach affords is that it provides critical judgments about what has worked well and what needs to be done to gain a better future for the Americas’ water resources and society. Some issues covered in the volume are so pressing and urgent, chief among them is serving the unserved, that any delays putting out new facilities in many a rural areas of Central America may cost lives and reduce the outlook for children. Additionally, the volume makes clear that the outlook for the poorest and the future of hundreds of growing cities are threatened by climate change. This book looks into the future by analyzing present and relevant data and gains insight from the different developmental stages of the hemisphere.

Irrigation and River Basin Management

Irrigation and River Basin Management
Author: Mark Svendsen
Publisher: CABI
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2005
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9781845930219

With increasing water scarcity, pressure to re-allocate water from agriculture to other uses mounts, along with a need to put in place institutional arrangements to promote 'higher value' uses of water. Many developing countries are now experimenting with establishing new institutional arrangements for managing water at the river basin level.This book, based on research by IWMI and others, reviews basin management in six developed and developing countries. It describes and applies a functional theory of river basin management, based on the idea that there is a minimum set of functions required to manage basins effectively and a set of basic conditions that enable effective management institutions to emerge. The book examines the experiences of both developed and developing countries in order to see what lessons can be learned and to identify what constitutes the core of a 'theory of river basin management'. It concludes that although it is difficult for developing countries to adopt approaches and institutional designs directly from developed countries, basic principles and lessons are transferable.

Regional Environmental Cooperation in South America

Regional Environmental Cooperation in South America
Author: Karen M. Siegel
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2017-08-16
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1137558741

This book examines cooperation on shared environmental concerns across national boundaries in the Southern Cone region of South America, specifically Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. It covers regional environmental cooperation in the Southern Cone since the early 1990s. By using the marginalised issues of ecological and socio-environmental concerns as an analytical lens, the author makes a significant contribution to the study of regional cooperation in Latin America. Her book also presents the first detailed study of how environmental cooperation across national boundaries takes place in a region of the South, and thus fills a lacuna in global environmental governance. This innovative work is geared toward students and scholars of environmental politics, regional cooperation in Latin America, and transboundary environmental governance.

Democratic Decentralisation through a Natural Resource Lens

Democratic Decentralisation through a Natural Resource Lens
Author: Jesse C. Ribot
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2013-09-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1136869514

This volume queries the state and effect of the global decentralization movement through the study of natural resource decentralizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The case studies presented here use a comparative framework to characterize the degree to which natural resource decentralizations can be said to be taking place and, where possible, to measure their social and environmental consequences. In general, the cases show that threats to national-level interests are producing resistance that is fettering the struggle for reform.