Most of the books published previously in the field of water resource eco nomics focus on particular aspects of water economics such as institutions, pricing or water markets, but none of them have given particular attention to methodological questions. However, the applied methodology within economic research has made some remarkable advances over the last 10-20 years. Some of these advances are of particular interest to the field of water economics. Therefore, we think that a book that focusing on methodological advances within the field of water resource economics and showing how these advances can be applied in economic analysis of water issues makes a nice complement to the existing literature in this field. We identified five areas where we consider the methodological advances to be of particular importance: 1) asymmetric information and game theory, 2) un certainty, 3) space, 4) water quality and 5) production and technology adoption. The selected papers for the book fall entirely within these categories. The book ''Frontiers in Water Resource Economics" draws to a great extent on papers which were presented at the 7^^ Conference of the International Water and Re source Economics Consortium, June 3-5,2001 held in Girona, Catalonia, Spain, This conference was jointly organized with the 4^^ Conference of Environmen tal and Resource Economics by the Department of Economics, University of Girona.

Groundwater has provided great benefits to agriculture irrigation in semi-arid OECD countries, but its intensive use beyond recharge in certain regions has depleted resources and generated significant negative environmental externalities.

Growing scarcity of freshwater worldwide brings to light the need for sound water resource modeling and policy analysis. While a solid foundation has been established for many specific water management problems, combining those methods and principles in a unified framework remains an ongoing challenge. This Handbook aims to expand the scope of efficient water use to include allocation of sources and quantities across uses and time, as well as integrating demand-management with supply-side substitutes. Socially efficient water use does not generally coincide with private decisions in the real world, however. Examples of mechanisms designed to incentivize efficient behavior are drawn from agricultural water use, municipal water regulation, and externalities linked to water resources. Water management is further complicated when information is costly and/or imperfect. Standard optimization frameworks are extended to allow for coordination costs, games and cooperation, and risk allocation. When operating efficiently, water markets are often viewed as a desirable means of allocation because a market price incentivizes users to move resources from low to high value activities. However, early attempts at water trading have run into many obstacles. Case studies from the United States, Australia, Europe, and Canada highlight the successes and remaining challenges of establishing efficient water markets.

In A Procedural Framework for Transboundary Water Management in the Mekong River Basin: Shared Mekong for a Common Future, Qi Gao explores procedural implications of integrated water resources management and its application in the Mekong River Basin. As a problem-based study, enlightening conclusions are made based on the increasingly polycentric nature of transboundary cooperation in the Mekong region. The procedural requirements in the Mekong context, both the ideal and practical scenarios are considered, combined with selected case studies. Qi Gao convincingly asserts the necessity to enhance decision-making processes and suggests procedural legal mechanisms to institutionalize sustainability concepts in transboundary cooperation.

The environmental studies about natural resource issues are often studied as conflicts; this book is carefully designed to expound on how resolutions are negotiated and maintained. A number of factors influence how conflicts are framed and how resolutions are determined regarding fracking, shared waters and environmental threats. This book explores the power, community activism, and politics regarding natural resources. Decisions often ignore ecological and social sustainability stewardship needs. By understanding how socio-political dynamics affect policy and negotiation, this book also contributes to the understanding of how natural resource policies are negotiated. It illuminates social inequalities between rural and urban populations.

Groundwater allocation determines who is able to use groundwater resources, how, when and where. It directly affects the value (economic, ecological, socio-cultural) that individuals and society obtain from groundwater, today and in the future.

This volume includes selected contributions presented during the 2nd edition of the international conference on WaterEnergyNEXUS which was held in Salerno, Italy in November 2018. This conference was organized by the Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED) of the University of Salerno (Italy) in cooperation with Advanced Institute of Water Industry at Kyungpook National University (Korea) and with The Energy and Resources Institute, TERI (India). The initiative received the patronage of UNESCO – World Water Association Programme (WWAP) and of the International Water Association (IWA) and was organized with the support of Springer (MENA Publishing Program), Arab Water Council (AWC), Korean Society of Environmental Engineering (KSEE) and Italian Society of Sanitary Environmental Engineering Professors (GITISA). With the support of international experts invited as plenary and keynote speakers, the conference aimed to give a platform for Euro-Mediterranean countries to share and discuss key topics on such water-energy issues through the presentation of nature-based solutions, advanced technologies and best practices for a more sustainable environment. This volume gives a general and brief overview on current research focusing on emerging Water-Energy-Nexus issues and challenges and its potential applications to a variety of environmental problems that are impacting the Euro-Mediterranean zone and surrounding regions. A selection of novel and alternative solutions applied worldwide are included. The volume contains over about one hundred carefully refereed contributions from 44 countries worldwide selected for the conference. Topics covered include (1) Nexus framework and governance, (2) Environmental solutions for the sustainable development of the water sector, (3) future clean energy technologies and systems under water constraints, (4) environmental engineering and management, (5) Implementation and best practices Intended for researchers in environmental engineering, environmental science, chemistry, and civil engineering. This volume is also an invaluable guide for industry professionals working in both water and energy sectors.