This book introduces the idea that ethics are an intrinsic dimension of any water policy, program, or practice, and that understanding what ethics are being acted out in water policies is fundamental to an understanding of water resource management. Thus in controversies or conflicts over water resource allocation and use, an examination of ethics can help clarify 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 public scrutiny where the values themselves can be debated. The aim of such a process is to create the proverbial 'level playing field', where values favoring environmental sustainability are considered in relation to values favoring 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 new technologies, such as drip irrigation, or governance structures, such as river basin organizations are neither "good" nor "bad" in their own right, but can serve a range of interests which are guided by ethics. A new ethic of coexistence and synergies with nature is possible, but ultimately depends not on science, law, or finances but on the values we choose to adopt. The book 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.

Water Ethics: A Values Approach to Solving the Water Crisis (Earthscan Water Text)

Politics & Social Sciences

Groenfeldt, David

Philosophy

Earthscan

Water Ethics (Earthscan Water Text)

Routledge

Fully revised and updated, this second edition of Water Ethics continues to consolidate water ethics as a key dimension of water-related decisions. The book introduces the idea that ethics are an intrinsic dimension of any water policy, program, or practice, and that understanding what ethics are being acted out in water policies is fundamental to an understanding of water resource management. Alongside updated references and the introduction of discussion questions and recommended further reading, this new edition discusses in depth three significant developments since the publication of the first edition in 2013. The first is the growing awareness of the climate crisis as an existential threat, and associated concern about adaptive strategies for sustainable water management and ways of using water management for climate mitigation (e.g., practically through agricultural soil management and conceptually through ethics awareness). Second, there has been increased clarity among the religious community, Indigenous leaders, and progressive academics that ethics needs to become an arena for application and action (e.g., the Vatican encyclical Laudato Si, protests at Standing Rock and Flint, Michigan, in the US, and climate demonstrations worldwide). Thirdly, there have been new normative water standards ranging from "water stewardship" (industry initiative), water charters (Berlin) and the on-going initiative to develop a global water ethics charter. Drawing on case studies from countries including Australia, India, the Philippines, South Africa, and the United States, this textbook is essential reading for students of environmental ethics and water governance and management.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Groenfeldt, David. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Groenfeldt, David

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Groenfeldt, David. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Water Ethics: A Values Approach to Solving the Water Crisis (Earthscan Water Text)

Water Ethics (Earthscan Water Text)

Water Ethics: A Values Approach to Solving the Water Crisis (Earthscan Water Text)

Water Ethics: A Values Approach to Solving the Water Crisis (Earthscan Water Text)