A4
Hard-cover
•
2007
Pages: 318
ISBN: 8171885497
For Sale in South Asia Only
INR 1295
By 2025 nearly 2 billion people will live in regions experiencing absolute water scarcity.
In the face of this emerging crisis, how should the planet's water be used and managed? Current international policy sees nature competing with human uses of water. Hunt takes issue with this perspective. She suggests that nature is the source of water and only by making the conservation of nature an absolute priority will we have the water we need in future for human use. It is essential, therefore, to manage water in ways that maintain the water cycle and the ecosystems that support it.
THIRSTY PLANET
looks at the complexity of the problem. It provides a wide array of ideas, information, case studies and ecological knowledge - often from remote corners of the developing world - that could provide an alternative vision for water use and management at this critical time.
Essential and compelling reading for students on courses related to water resource management and development, for water managers and decision makers, and for non-specialists with an interest in global water issues.
'Constance Hunt does a valuable service by providing a concise and readable primer on the task of preserving the freshwater ecosystems on which we all depend. Thirsty Planet is required reading for anyone interested in learning what tools we have available to meet one of the greatest challenges to humanity and nature in the 21st century.'
KATHRYN S FULLER (President, World Wildlife Fund)
'This is a tremendous book for anyone taking a serious look at global water problems. Constance Hunt exposes the powerful forces that have damaged rivers and watersheds and impaired the ability of natural ecosystems to supply clean water. She shows that the big water companies are using their power for a dramatic takeover of public water resources for private profit without thought of sustainability for the long term.'
BRENT BLACKWELDER (President, Friends of the Earth)
This book is a valuable addition to works on global water issues and the painstaking research involved is obvious.
— Down To Earth
Constance Elizabeth Hunt is a biologist and environmentalist with considerable experience in international policy and global campaigns for water management and conservation. She is the recipient of awards from the National Research Council, US Department of Agriculture and US Army Corps of Engineers for outstanding work in the field of water resources management.
She has held a variety of posts. As Senior Adviser to the WWF’s International Living Waters Campaign (1999–2001), she was responsible for basin-scale conservation for the Niger and Mekong rivers and for working with the WWF network on international water policy issues. Before this (1993–1999) she was Senior Programme Officer and Director of Freshwater Ecosystem Conservation for the WWF, managing policy and field projects for sustainable river and wetland management in the US and internationally. She has also served with the World Water Council. She is currently a Senior Adviser with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s Dams and Development Project, where she facilitates global dialogues on the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams.
She is the author/editor of two books on conservation, and of numerous articles on sustainable water resources development.