Peter G. Brown and Jeremy J. Schmidt (Eds)

Island Press (February 2010)

Overview:

There is no question regarding the pressures being put on water resources all over the world. There is, however, a looming question regarding what ought to be done. A number of prominent water managers and scientists have argued that to answer this question we need a water ethic – a normative framework to guide decisions regarding freshwater – because actions that affect water have direct effects on both human and non-human lives. Despite these suggestions, the existing literature on water ethics is fragmented, with few assessments of how different ethical principles frame our obligations regarding water.  In this book we explore the moral dimensions of different traditions that seek to frame and manage concerns regarding water resources. We present both the context for, and original text of, each of these traditions in a manner that reflects the critical ethical decisions regarding water use.

Water’s unique characteristics in providing and sustaining the conditions for life bring the moral problems in other resource contexts such as agriculture, energy and forestry into sharp focus, as does our presentation of the competing principles upon which policy discourse and moral justification is often premised. We have assembled an original set of readings that explore and expose the limits of different conceptual frameworks under the direction of an international advisory board comprised of prominent global figures in water policy and management. The result is a project that demonstrates the relevant differences between water resource management principles, the context in which ethical discussions take place vis-à-vis broader issues in natural resource management and the need for future research on water ethics.