Today the world is facing a greater water crisis than ever. Droughts of lesser magnitude are resulting in greater impact. Even in years with normal precipitation, water shortages have become widespread in both developing and developed nations, in humid as well as arid climates. When faced with severe drought, governments become eager to act. Unfort

A comparative analysis of global environmental assessments shows the importance of policy salience, scientific credibility, and social and political legitimacy in determining the influence of scientific assessments on global environmental policy.

This book presents a unique and up-to-date summary of what is known about groundwater on our planet, from a global perspective and in terms of area-specific factual information. Unlike most textbooks on groundwater, it does not deal with theoretical principles, but rather with the overall picture that emerges as a result of countless observations, studies and other activities related to groundwater in all parts of the world. The focus is on showing the role and geographical diversity of groundwater—a natural resource of great importance in daily life, but poorly understood by the general public and even by many water sector professionals. The book starts by analysing groundwater in the context of the hydrological cycle. Subsequently, groundwater systems as physical units, with their boundaries mainly defined by geological conditions, are reviewed. The next chapter looks at groundwater as a resource, paying attention, among others, to its quantity and quality, to the differentiation between renewable and non-renewable resources, and to the techniques for withdrawing groundwater. This is followed by a systematic documentation of the quantities of groundwater withdrawn and used around the world, and of the corresponding shares of groundwater in each of the main water use sectors. After that, steadily growing needs for groundwater management interventions are identified, resulting from local human activities and global change (including demography, economic development and climate change). Finally, groundwater resources management is addressed and real-life cases are described that illustrate actions taken and experiences with different issues in different parts of the world. The authors attempted to write this book in such a way that it is accessible to a wider readership than just groundwater professionals. It will also benefit non-groundwater specialists who work in groundwater-related fields (water managers, land use planners, environmentalists, agronomists, engineers, economists, lawyers, and journalists), by broadening their understanding of groundwater and making them aware of the huge variety of groundwater settings. Groundwater specialists will use the book as a convenient reference on the geographical diversity of groundwater. Part of the contents or interpretations offered may even be new to them or enhance their knowledge of some aspects. The many maps, tables, and references will save much time for those who would otherwise have to search elsewhere for basic information on the globe’s groundwater.

This accessible new textbook provides a thorough introduction toall aspects of groundwater systems and their management. Usingstraightforward language and analogies to everyday experiences, itexplains the origins, nature, and behavior of subsurface waterwithout resorting to complicated mathematics. Groundwater in the Environment draws on case studies andcutting-edge research from around the world, giving a uniqueinsight into groundwater occurring in a wide range of differentclimate zones and geological settings. This book: provides a robust, practical introduction to groundwaterquality, and a succinct summary of modern remedial technologies forpolluted groundwaters explores how groundwater fits into the wider naturalenvironment, especially in relation to freshwater ecosystems considers the vulnerability of groundwater systems and theeffects of pollution, climate change, land-use change, andoverexploitation examines human dependence on water and the effect that this hason groundwater systems presents vivid examples of geohazards associated with groundwaters explains the whys and wherefores of groundwater modeling examines competing philosophies of groundwater management,making the case for approaches which take social, economic andecological issues into account. Goundwater in the Environment provides an up-to-date,essential introduction for undergraduate students of environmentalsciences, geography and geology. It will also be invaluable toprofessionals working in various fields of natural resourcemanagement who need accessible information on groundwater but whoare reluctant to read conventional texts full of mathematicalnotation. For practicing hydrogeologists and engineers withoutformal training in freshwater ecology, this book provides a `crashcourse' in the new frontiers of groundwater management. Artwork from the book is available to instructors online at ahref="http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/younger"www.blackwellpublishing.com/younger/a.An Instructor manual CD-ROM for this title is available. Pleasecontact our Higher Education team at ahref="mailto:[email protected]"[email protected]/afor more information.