Food production; Population change; Soil and land; Soil erosion; Water; Integradet resource management systems; examples, case studies and models; Research challenges; Social aspects of resourece management systems; A sociological analysis of alternative agriculture.

This book consists of three sections (4 chapters each). Section 1 presents an overview and history of natural resource management, from both the North American and international perspectives. Section 2 discusses the challenges facing Integrated Resource and Environmental Management (IREM) by examining issues such as conflict, property rights, the role of social science in natural resource management, the influence and formation of power in a decision making context, and the theoretical foundations of IREM. Section 3 addresses the definition and application of IREM from several different contexts, including real-world applications and planning frameworks. Individual case studies are integrated into the end of each chapter, which serve to illustrate various models associated with IREM that demonstrate the advantages and challenges of using an IREM approach. In addition, discussion questions are included at the end of each chapter to stimulate dialogue underlying many of the issues presented in the text. This book has been written for students, primarily at the advanced undergraduate level, in the many academic areas pertaining to natural resource management. It provides a useful resource for practitioners, researchers and managers currently involved in the field of natural resource management, as well as providing a comprehensive aid for natural resource decision making within the context of the real world.

This book presents case studies that share important experiences regarding Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) in various countries. Following an introduction to theoretical concepts, responsibilities, and challenges, the subsequent chapters address, among other topics, an analysis of policies and regulations for water management in Brazil, the drivers that led California to adapt to the IWRM framework, and the international regulations for water markets and water banking in Australia and Chile. The implications of climate change for water resource systems in Mexico are discussed, as well as management strategies from California that could potentially serve as IWRM adaptation schemes in Mexico. Critical cases from Guanacaste (Costa Rica), and from Zayandehrud River Basin and Lake Urmia (Iran) are reviewed in terms of management practices and solutions. The book also provides an overview of the current availability and use of water resources in South Korea, and discusses the management of and international water law instruments for transboundary groundwater in Africa.

Integrated water resources management advocates a coordinated approach for managing water resources in a way that balances social and economic needs with concern for the environment. While potentially useful, integrated water management is also controversial. Supporters believe that the multi-dimensional nature of water can only be understood and managed from a holistic perspective, while critics often argue that integrated water management lacks suffi ciently well-defi ned rules for its practical implementation. This book, written by academics, users and practitioners, provides a down-to-earth approach to the ideal of integrated water resources management, drawing from conceptual frameworks and real-life practice to identify the key aspects that are yet to be resolved. As such, it examines the role of water accounting, food trade, environmental externalities and intangible values as key aspects whose consideration may help the water management community move forward. Overall, integrated water resources management is perceived to be a useful utopia, whose value lies more in the steps that need to be taken to make it a reality than in achieving its ever-elusive end goal.

This book reviews the concept, contemporary research efforts and the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The IWRM concept was established as an international guiding water management paradigm in the early 1990ies and has become a vital approach to solving the problems associated with the topic of water. The book summarizes fourteen comprehensive IWRM research projects with worldwide coverage and analyses their motivations, settings, approaches and implementation of results. Aiming to be an up-to-date interdisciplinary scientific reference, this book provides a comprehensive theoretical and empirical analysis of contemporary IWRM research, examples of science based implementations and a synthesis of the lessons learnt. It concludes with some major future challenges, the solving of which will further strengthen the IWRM concept.