The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

   PDF

2. Introduction

   1. The Evolution of Global Water Law

      • Joseph W. Dellapenna, Joyeeta Gupta

      Pages 3-19

   2. Mesopotamia: A History of Water and Law

      • Itzchak E. Kornfeld

      Pages 21-36

   3. Islamic Law and the Politics of Water

      • Thomas Naff

      Pages 37-52

   4. Water in the Jewish Legal Tradition

      • Richard Laster, Rabbi David Aronovsky, Dan Livney

      Pages 53-66

3. Evolving National Law and Politics

   1. Brazil: The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water

      • Paulo José Leite Farias

      Pages 69-86

   2. South Africa: The Development of Water Law

      • Michael Kidd

      Pages 87-104

   3. East African Water Regimes: The Case of Kenya

      • David Nilsson, Ezekiel Nyangeri Nyanchaga

      Pages 105-120

   4. Israel: The Evolution of Water Law and Policy

      • Richard Laster, Dan Livney

      Pages 121-137

   5. Russia: Historical Dimensions of Water Management

      • Vladimir Kotov

      Pages 139-155

   6. India: Evolution of Water Law and Policy

      • Philippe Cullet, Joyeeta Gupta

      Pages 157-173

   7. Australia: The Problem of Sustainability in Water

      • Jennifer McKay, Simon Marsden

      Pages 175-188

   8. United States: The Allocation of Surface Waters

      • Joseph W. Dellapenna

      Pages 189-204

   9. United States: The Emergence of Environmental Considerations

      • Sandra Zellmer

      Pages 205-223

4. Evolving Supranational and Regional Water Law and Politics

   1. European Community Water Policy

      • Paulo Canelas de Castro

      Pages 227-244

   2. Southern Africa: Evolving Regional Water Law and Politics

      • Pieter van der Zaag

      Pages 245-261

   3. The Jordan Basin: Evolution of the Rules

      • Robbie Sabel

      Pages 263-280

   4. The North American Great Lakes

      • Noah D. Hall

      Pages 281-297

   5. The Río de la Plata Basin

      • Griselda D. Capaldo

      Pages 299-315

5. Current Trends in International Water Law

   1. Case Law on International Watercourses

      • Lilian del Castillo-Laborde

      Pages 319-335

According to a famous Talmudic story (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat: 31a), a gentile once approached Rabbi Hillel and asked to be taught the entire Torah while standing on one foot. Hillel replied, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself. That is the entire Torah. The rest is simply an explanation. Go and learn it!’ In much the same way, Jewish law can be described in one word—Torah. All the rest is simply an explanation. The Torah, also known as the Bible, the five books of Moses, and the Pentateuch, was written over 3,000 years ago. Since then, Jewish law has developed various interpretations and applications of the Torah, interpretations of those interpre- tions, and so on. Jewish law contains civil dictates as well as religious protocol. Problems that arose in the framework of religious life and problems surrounding civil relationships both found solutions in the same legal source—the Torah and the Halacha, the Jewish legal interpretations and rulings. This chapter on water law in the Jewish tradition provides insight into Jewish law and custom in general, and rules related to the protection of water sources in particular. One should not look, however, to find a written code of Jewish law, as there is none.

• Governance
• Policy
• Politics
• international water cooperation
• law
• sustainability
• water governance
• water law
• water policy
• water politics
• water quality and water pollution

From the reviews:

“The volume contains articles on case law on international watercourses, on the concept of international cooperation, on public participation, and on water markets. … The value of The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water lies primarily in the individual articles. … all articles contain interesting information for those interested in the specific case and some articles are relevant for anyone interested in the evolution of water law in general.” (Erik Mostert, Water History, Vol. 1, 2009)

“This edited book is a welcome addition to the existing scholarly knowledge on water law and policy. It can serve as a useful reference volume as it provides the reader with a wide range of cases to consider the evolution of water law and policy through varied lenses. It is a useful resource for scholars, academic researchers, practitioners, and members of the public who are interested in exploring the evolution of water law over different spatial and temporal scales.” (Lovleen Bhullar, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, Vol. 29, 2011)

• Villanova University School of Law, Villanova, USA

  Joseph W. Dellapenna

• Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

  Joyeeta Gupta

• UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft, The Netherlands

  Joyeeta Gupta

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