Aspectos teóricos sobre la gestión integrada de los recursos hídricos / - Aguas continentales y marinas. Protección / Antonio Embid Irujo / - Análisis del proceso del sector sanitario chileno: desde la gestión estatal hasta la privatización / María Angélica Alegría Calvo / - Hacia una política hídrica para la República Argentina / Ignacio Óscar Enríquez / - Una ley agua para Colombia / Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez Castañeda / - La gestión integrada de los recursos hídricos como herramienta para lograr el objetivo constitucional del desarrollo sostenible en América Latina y el Caribe / Óscar Darío Amaya Navas / - El mercado de agua en Chile: análisis teórico y empírico de su funcionamiento / María Angélica Alegría Calvo / - Situación actual del río Bogotá / Gloria Lucía Álvarez Pinzón.

Mexico is currently facing severe problems with water availability, wastage and contamination. The most contaminated and over-exploited water resources are concentrated in the most populated areas of the country, where water is scarcer and its quality makes it unsuitable for a variety of uses, including human consumption. At the same time it is indisputable that water quality is a determining factor in public health and ecosystems. The significant growth in population and industry results in a high demand for water, along with contaminating discharges, few of which are treated – and the impact upon the ecosystems is evident. This book addresses all these topics in a single volume, taking into account the challenges presented by the economic, institutional and environmental considerations in Mexico’s water policy framework.

This book provides an overview of facts, theories and methods from hydrology, geology, geophysics, law, ethics, economics, ecology, engineering, sociology, diplomacy and many other disciplines with relevance for concepts and practice of water resources management. It provides comprehensive, but also critical reading material for all communities involved in the ongoing water discourses and debates. The book refers to case studies in the form of boxes, sections, or as entire chapters. They illustrate success stories, but also lessons to be remembered, to avoid repeating the same mistakes. Based on consolidated state-of-the-art knowledge, it has been conceived and written to attract a multidisciplinary audience. The aim of this handbook is to facilitate understanding between the participants of the international water discourse and multi-level decision making processes. Knowing more about water, but also about concepts, methods and aspirations of different professional, disciplinary communities and stakeholders professionalizes the debate and enhances the decision making.