IGRAC, IWMI and Botin make book on good groundwater governance free downloadable
One year after publication, the book 'Advances in Groundwater Governance' has been published online and is free downloadable, thanks to sponsoring by International groundwater resource assessment centre (IGRAC), International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and Botin Foundation.
The book - published by Taylor & Francis Group - captures the complex dimensions of groundwater governance, and provides water industry professionals, decision-makers and local stakeholders with a suite of solutions for a heuristic approach to managing this extremely important resource.
The book Advances in Ground Governance is now free readable.
Hydro-schizophrenia
In the preface the editors mention the phenomena of ‘hydro-schizophrenia’, a typical mental attitude of water managers who deal primarily with surface water, forgetting or neglecting groundwater. The phenomena popped up in scientific literature as an ‘illness’ as part of a case study in Spain. Key element is the fact that groundwater is invisible, and that the engineering structures for groundwater have little aesthetic beauty. The editors point out that the head of a well of 1,000 meters deep is practically invisible on the surface. This contrasts with the usual aesthetic splendour of hydraulic works for the use of surface water.
Good governance
In the book the team of five editors provides crucial and topical information for enhancing and safeguarding the huge benefits accruing from groundwater to humanity, and for preventing degradation of groundwater resources and of the interconnected ecosystems and environment.
They also focus on the increasingly important linkages between groundwater and other resources and sectors, and between local groundwater systems and phenomena or actions on global level; a number of case studies illustrate groundwater governance in practice.
IGRAC contribution
On IGRAC's behalf, PhD Researcher Kirstin I. Conti contributed to this book as co-author. Other editors were Karen G. Villholth (IWMI), Elena López-Gunn (ICATALIST and University of Leeds, Alberto Garrido (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid & Water Observatory of the Botín Foundation), and Jac van der Gun (Van der Gun Hydro-Consulting).
Moreover, together with CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems and Botín Foundation (link is external), IGRAC was involved as sponsor of this book.
Download of the book from the IGRAC website: Advances in Groundwater Governance.
(Top photo: Groundwater for resettlement of Sudanese refugees. Source: United Nations)
Read more on this website
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● IGRAC embarks on study to map groundwater potential for more irrigation in Tanzania, 30 March 2016
● Expertise: Enabling delta life
More information
International groundwater resource assessment centre (IGRAC)
Delft, the Netherlands
+31 15 215 2325
www.un-igrac.org