* This is a new title in Polity's Resources' series - a range of short, accessible books designed to introduce readers to the geopolitical battles over the world's most crucial resources. * Examines key issues such as the impact of climate change on supply, water pollution, and efforts to privatize water supplies.

Figures and Tables vi Acknowledgements vii 1. Freshwater: Facts, Figures, Conditions 1 2. Geopolitics and Sustainability 28 3. Threats to Freshwater 59 4. Who's in Control? 92 5. Water Ethics and Environmental Justice 124 Notes 156 Selected Readings 178 Index 189

"Feldman's useful and clear overview of the modern world of water makes a very strong case overall for the involvement of scientists and local people in planning." The Guardian "David Feldman has thoughtfully tackled one of the most important global issues of our time - water sustainability - by broadly integrating useful data and examples, clear and accessible writing, and systematic analysis of the problem's human dimensions, including environmental justice, privatization, conflict resolution, stewardship, and conservation." Tony Arnold, University of Louisville "Feldman eschews the simplistic characterization of water scarcity as an engineering problem, instead framing the challenge in the language of sustainability, and implicating issues of inequity, poverty, and geopolitics shaped by growing populations, climate change, environmental destruction, and food and energy shortages. It’s ambitious and skillfully executed - and immensely entertaining." Doug Kenney, University of Colorado "David Feldman demonstrates an impressive depth and breadth of knowledge of the functional, geopolitical and policy dimensions involved in dealing with water as a precious, multi-faceted natural resource in its contemporary context of a planet increasingly perceived under pressure." Theo Toonen, Delft University of Technology ''Feldman innovatively reframes the issue of water management as an ethical challenge and gives the reader a good idea of how water management involves the integration of various areas of human activity. Yet, the book’s most important contribution lies in the the discussion beyond economic and political explanations and concentrates on the ethical and human rights aspects of water.'' Nick W. Verouden, Delft University of Technology