ABSTRACT
Much has previously been written on water resources and their development, often framed by the inescapable necessity of water for life. However, as we noted in the opening chapter of this book, explaining our interest in water through reference to water being ‘essential’ is too simplistic. It is undoubtedly the case that ‘not having access to water and sanitation’ is widely understood as a peculiarly severe form of deprivation, due to the centrality of water to enhancing hygiene and maintaining human health. However, in this book we have sought a broader scope, to recognise that water as an essential resource (and therefore constraint) in the development of complex society (‘civilisation’) both historically and currently. Water can empower development, enabling higher levels of industrial and agricultural production, and the demands of water management have profoundly infl uenced human society, from ancient Egypt to the Tennessee Valley Authority to the Offi ce du Niger. Equally, we have argued, water is ‘produced’ in different ways as a consequence of human economic and political development. Many of the world’s rivers have borne the effects of development for so long that data to indicate their ‘natural’ condition are scarce. Even where ‘re-engineering’ is taking place to improve the ecological conditions of rivers, such as on the Rhine, the ‘restored’ river is a product of human values and goals, such as re-establishment of salmon migration and spawning grounds.
