Water is must for the endurance of life, yet only 2.5% of the worlds water supply is readily available for consumption, and that percentage is rapidly decreasing due to pressures from population growth, climate change and poor water management. All of those three pressure points converge in South Asia, where some of the fastest-growing populations in the world grapple with melting ice caps, rising sea levels and depleting groundwater, that are further exacerbated by mismanagement from public and private actors. Understanding the various ways in which knowledge about water is shaped and communicated, the so-called epistemologies of water, in the Asian context are essential to tackling the looming water crisis in the region. In Asia, water is subject to a great diversity of knowledge systems and practices. Some of these appear to be allied to scrupulous spaces -- when related with unambiguous local cultures or religions -- while others are ordered by functional and symbolic differentiations, like expert, political or sacred knowledge. Water, Knowledge and the Environment in Asia: Epistemologies, practices and locales attempts to outline the exchange and renovation of environmental knowledge fragments and practices across the boundaries of varied knowledge systems. From the glaciers of the Himalaya to the rivers and water utilization systems of Asia, from the highland Southeast Asia to the ocean surrounding the Indonesian archipelago, the project examines how varied forms of knowledge pertaining to water flow, encounter and entangle with each other. Specifically in Asia, well-tested practices surrounding water and ice are frequently indivisible from ritual or cosmological representation and performance. This work focuses on the nodes through which certain knowledge items, facts and practices travel across cultural boundaries, creating a transcultural network of differentially connected meanings. This Monograph will be of interest for graduate students, practitioners and early career researchers.

The dramatic transformation of our planet by human actions has been heralded as the coming of the new epoch of the Anthropocene. Human relations with water raise some of the most urgent questions in this regard. The starting point of this book is that these changes should not be seen as the result of monolithic actions of an undifferentiated humanity, but as emerging from diverse ways of relating to water in a variety of settings and knowledge systems. With its large population and rapid demographic and socioeconomic change, Asia provides an ideal context for examining how varied forms of knowledge pertaining to water encounter and intermingle with one another. While it is difficult to carry out comprehensive research on water knowledge in Asia due to its linguistic, political and cultural fragmentation, the topic nevertheless has relevance across boundaries. By using a carefully chosen selection of case studies in a variety of locations and across diverse disciplines, the book demonstrates commonalities and differences in everyday water practices around Asia while challenging both romantic presumptions and Eurocentrism. Examples presented include class differences in water use in the megacity of Delhi, India; the impact of radiation on water practices in Fukushima, Japan; the role of the King in hydraulic practices in Thailand, and ritual irrigation in Bali, Indonesia.

This book brings together and integrates contributions on water quality modeling, monitoring and assessment techniques; wastewater treatment technologies; and sociological approaches in a single text. Divided into twenty chapters, it offers a comprehensive reference for students, professionals and researchers working on various aspects of water environment technology. The papers published in this book – selected from those presented at the 1st International Forum on Asian Water Environment Technology, held in 2013 in New Delhi, India – highlight the water environmental problems in Asia and respective countermeasures. This book addresses water quality requirements, emphasizing the factors that affect the water environment. Treated wastewater as a new source of water is also examined, introducing readers to important aspects of water reuse. Selecting the most effective and proper wastewater treatment approach is actually the most essential part of generating a new water resource, as well as protecting the receiving water environments. Thus, the fundamental principles of wastewater treatment and monitoring are a major focus in this book, which is intended to help readers effectively address various water environmental problems in Asian countries.

Water Management and Sustainability in Asia covers topics related to water resources management, including multi- and interdisciplinary research on flood, soil infiltration, contaminants, sediment, water quality, hydrological modelling, and water resources systems.

Climate change on earth is having significant impacts on water resources management in Southeast Asia. Knowledge of climate variations and climate change can be valuable for water resources management in agriculture, urban and industrial water supplies, hydroelectric power generation, and ecosystem maintenance. This book presents the findings of case studies on forecasting climate change and its impacts on water availability, irrigation water requirements, floods and droughts, reservoir inflows and hydropower generation, and crop yield in specific basins of Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam. All case studies start by forecasting the climate change and investigating its impacts by employing several hydrological reservoir simulations and crop water requirement models. The findings provide sound and scientific advice for water managers on the real impacts of climate change and how to adapt to its many challenges.