This edited volume provides a critical discussion of particular trends that are widely recognised to influence water management by comparing them with what is actually happening in the field. Among others, these trends include water security, adaptive or integrative management, and the water-energy-food nexus, which are often presented as essential means to reaching more sustainable and resilient water use. However, the extent to which these trends have managed to structure concrete practices in water management remains uncertain.
Informed by empirically grounded research, each chapter of this work engages with a particular approach, concept or theory. Together, they provide a nuanced picture of trends in water management that require universal remedies and global norms.
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"This is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary assessment that adroitly uses the Swiss case to reflect on cross-cutting issues of international relevance. Deftly weaving together references to the natural and social science literature, the analysis explores some of our most pertinent and pressing water issues." (Karen Bakker, University of British Columbia, Canada) "Cross-fertilizing thorough case studies and relevant theoretical frameworks, this book provides insightful learning regarding contemporary international water challenges. The analytical perspectives, founded upon empirical evidences, provide excellent food for thought for researchers, practitioners and policy makers alike." (Michael Moller, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzerland) "A nice edited collection about the challenges of water management in Switzerland, which provides a good way to critically deconstruct water policy 'fads', their shortfalls and their alternatives." (Jeremy Allouche, University of Sussex, UK)
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1 Taking Up Practical and Intellectual Challenges Posed by International Water Management Trends: Some Introductory Remarks |
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1 | (22) |
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2 Avoiding the Commons Trap: An Exploration of Local Community Governance of Water in Valais, Switzerland |
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23 | (22) |
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3 Integrated Water Resources Management as a Compromise: Renewing the Water Act in the Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland |
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45 | (26) |
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4 Transboundary Water Management: From Geopolitics to a Non-state Analytical Perspective: The Case of the Rhone River |
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71 | (26) |
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5 From Multi-level Governance to Scalar Politics: Water Community Networks Challenging Neo-Extractivist Governmental Institutions in Ecuador |
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97 | (26) |
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6 Exploring the Democratic Legitimacy of Privatization in the Water Sector: Two Cases in Switzerland |
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123 | (24) |
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7 Governing Water with Market-Based Instruments: Preferences and Skepticism in Switzerland |
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147 | (30) |
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8 Climate Change Adaptation as a New Global Norm in the Water Sector? Between Symbolism and Dilution |
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177 | (24) |
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9 Water Security as a Normative Goal or as a Structural Principle for Water Governance |
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201 | (32) |
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10 Politicizing the Water-Energy Nexus: Hydropower and Instream Values in Two Swiss Cantons' Water Strategies |
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233 | (36) |
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11 From the Promises of International Water Management Trends to the Reality of Policies and Practices: Some Conclusive Thoughts |
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269 | (26) |
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| Index |
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295 | |
Christian Bréthaut is a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland. He leads the Education and Knowledge component of the Geneva Water Hub and co-leads the UNESCO Chair on Hydropolitics from the University of Geneva. Rémi Schweizer is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the University of Lausanne and ETH Zürich. His research focuses on environmental and food governance, with a particular interest on power relations, policy implementation and innovation, and local community governance.
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