Proposals to address water shortages are usually based on two assumptions: water is a commodity that can be bought and sold; ""states,"" or other centralized entitles, should control access to water. This book criticizes these assumptions from a socio-legal perspective. Eleven case studies examine laws and distribution in regions around the world.

Legal complexity in the analysis of water rights and water resources management / Rutgerd Boelens, Margreet Zwarteveen, and Dik Roth
Prescribing gender equity? the case of the Tukucha Nala irrigation system, central Nepal / Prantia Bhushan Udas and Margreet Zwarteveen
Defending indigenous water rights with the laws of adominant culture : the case of the United States / David H. Getches
In the shadow of uniformity, Balinese irrigation management in apublic works irrigation system in Luwu, South Sulawesi, Indonesia / Dik Roth
Anomalous water rights and the politics of normalization, collective water control and privatization policies in the Andean region / Rutgerd Boelens and Margreet Zwarteveen
Complexities of water governance : rise and fall of groundwater for urban use / Amreeta Regmi
Special law : recognition and denial of diversity in Andean water control / Rutgerd Boelens, Ingo Gentes, Armando Guevara Gil, and Patricia Urteaga
A win-some lose-all game, social differentiation, and politics of groundwater markets in north Gujarat / Anjal Prakash and Vishwa Ballabh
Redressing racial inequities through water law in South Africa : interaction and contest among legal frameworks / Barbara Van Koppen and Nitish Jha
Routes to water rights / Bryan Bruns
Analyzing water rights, multiple uses, and intersectoral water transfers / Ruth Meinzen-Dick and Rajendra Pradhan
Water rights and legal pluralism : beyond analysis and recognition / Margreet Zwarteveen, Dik Roth, and Rutgerd Boelens