Federal Rivers

This ground-breaking book provides a comparative perspective on water and federalism across multiple countries. Through a collection of case studies, this book explores the water management experiences and lessons learned in ten federal countries and China. The territorial division of power in federations, plus the interconnected politics at the national and regional levels, present a classic governance test for waters shared across multiple political jurisdictions. This is increasingly important as democratic transitions have introduced or invigorated federalism across diverse contexts affecting more than 300 major river basins, including over half of the worlds international rivers.

Federal Rivers provides a critical analysis of the impact of borders and divided governance on large rivers in federal political systems. The OECD has identified the global water crisis as one of governance and policy fragmentation. Population and economic growth, climatic variability and change, and the diffusion of political power have intensified competition across sectors and regions over water. This is particularly pronounced across upstream and downstream jurisdictions at the local, state, national and international levels. Federal Rivers explores this issue by examining both the successes and failures of federal regimes in resolving water conflicts and achieving sustainable water management, particularly within river basins.

This book appeals not only to scholars of resource management and of federalism, but also to practitioners in government, the private sector and international networks with interests in water policy and federalism.

This title is Co-Published with Edward Elgar

Introduction; Federal Rivers: A Critical Overview; Climate Adaptation in River Management in a Post-stationary World; Federalism and US Water Policy; Water Scarcity, Conflict Resolution, and Adaptive Governance in Federal Transboundary River Basin; Managing Water in a Federal State: The Canadian Experience; Resilience of River Basin Governance Institutions in the Saskatchewan River Basin of Western Canada; Water Management and Ecosystems: A New Framework in Mexico; Main Challenges and Responses to Federalism and Water Security in Brazil; River Basin Governance and Water Policies in Spain; Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Re-defining Water Security, Decentralisation and the Elusive ;Water Pact in Spain; Allocating Power and Functions in a Federal Design: The Experience of South Africa; Meeting the Challenges of Equity and Sustainability in Complex and Uncertain Worlds: The Emergence of Integrated Water Resources Management in the Eastern Rivers of South Africa; Managing Water in Indias Federal Framework; The Hydro-institutional Challenge of Managing Water Economies of Federal Rivers: A Case Study of Narmada River Basin, India; Inter-jurisdictional Water Management in Pakistans Indus Basin; Chinas Political System, Economic Reform and the Governance of Water Quality in the Pearl River Basin; Legislative Responses to Water Crises: Administrative Regimes and Institutional Arrangements of Watershed Management in Tai Lake Basin in China; Chinas Federal River Management: An Example of Han River; The Murray Darling Basin; Water Security in Cross-Border Regions: What Relevance for Federal Human Security Regimes? Water Resources Management in Federal Systems.