Review of River Basin Trajectories: Societies, Environments and Development by François Molle and Philippus Wester: CABI, Oxfordshire, UK; 2009; ISBN 978-1-84593-538-2; 311 pp. Price: $161.50.

This book is volume 8 in the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture series, but its scope is in no way limited to agriculture. The series editor, David Molden, sets the tone for this volume by reminding readers of water’s role in the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs were designed to eliminate income poverty, hunger, maternal and child mortality, disease, inadequate shelter, gender inequality, and environmental degradation, and to improve global partnership (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/). The goals were adopted in 2000 and are set to be achieved in 2015, i.e., only five years from now (http://www.undp.org/mdg/basics.shtml). It is almost certain that none of these goals can be achieved by the deadline, and it is highly unlikely that they will be achieved in the near future. Nevertheless, it is good to keep them in front of us and to keep working toward their accomplishment. Of course water is intrinsic to a number of these goals. Thus, managing water in order to provide access to the billions of people who still live without a safe source of this precious resource is crucial.

River Basin Trajectories, edited by F. Molle and P. Wester, comprises 12 chapters. The editors have assembled a cluster of experts (27, including themselves) who are known for their contributions in the water resources subject area to write the chapters. In chapter 1, the editors highlight human influence on watersheds. They argue that the hydrological cycle is not an independent entity; it is intertwined with the socioeconomic cycle, thus creating a hydro-social cycle. The human relationship with water, and vice versa, has not always been positive. Humans have had to deal, for example, with extreme events, such as droughts, floods, and water quality degradation. On the other hand, water resources have not always been developed and managed well. Indeed abuse and misuse of water resources is widespread throughout the world. The unambiguous link to and dependency on water have directly influenced society and have prompted an ongoing set of institutional changes. From the perspective of integrated water resources management, the watershed is the geographical unit from which everything else branches out. This ranges from surface and groundwater interaction to water quantity and quality management to conflict resolution. While denoting the basin as a starting point has several benefits, it also carries a number of drawbacks. Often the physical boundary of the watershed has to be expanded to include external observers in order to manage the resource more effectively. Chapter 1 goes on to discuss drivers of change and competing paradigms, major processes at work in river basin trajectories, and major societal responses and problems.

Chapter 2, by Aken et al., narrates an interesting story of the anthropogenization and complexification of a river basin in one of the most water-scare areas in the world. The lower Jordan River, a transboundary watershed, has undergone major demographic changes. Only $60\text{years}$ ago, a limited area of the basin was under irrigation. Currently, both surface and groundwater are being overexploited. The migration pattern and associated water management impacts the basin has experienced are pretty unique. The region has a long history of nomadism, from tribal pastoral groups to agricultural settlements, the slave trade, workers, and the major flux of Jordanian and, more recently, Iraqi refugees. The agricultural landscape surrounding the basin has also changed over the decades, and this has made water management in the watershed more difficult. The authors discuss how water projects have become a tool for stability, both among neighboring countries competing for scarce water resources and among different population groups in Jordan.

Chapter 3, by Merrey et al., discusses water management challenges in postapartheid South Africa, more particularly in the Olifants basin. In the nineteenth century a tiny wealthy minority population monopolized the water in the basin and exploited it for economic benefits through large-scale agriculture and mining and industrial activities. Meanwhile, the majority was forced to survive on a very small share of the resource. When apartheid was abolished, the new democratic regime enacted the Water Act, which guaranteed water as a constitutional right. However, despite this laudable initiative, two decades later the majority of South Africans have limited access to water, and progress in making the resource more widely available has been slow. The authors give an extensive description of the Olifants basin, highlighting the physical characteristics, hydrology, and ongoing agricultural and mining activities there. Race-based control by the minority created a false water scarcity problem around the basin. Several steps have been taken to reverse this trend and to conserve water and ensure its sustainable use. The task at hand is not easy. The authors discuss several challenges that have yet to be tackled despite institutional changes.

Chapter 4, by Wester et al., discusses the challenges surrounding reducing consumptive use in a closed basin, with the current unsustainable water use in the Lerma-Chapala basin in Mexico as their case study. The basin experienced a shift from small-scale local water management to large dams and irrigation schemes funded and operated by the state. The authors give an account of historical development in the region that has led to the overexploitation of this closed river basin. Currently, the basin is facing environmental degradation and overexploitation of water, and this is leading to increasing social conflict. A number of factors, including overconcessioning of water rights and large changes in annual precipitation, have led to the basin’s closure. Further, the belief that the maximum economic benefit has to be squeezed out of every single drop in the basin has hindered conservation efforts. Despite a suite of water reforms and modifications of surface water allocation mechanisms, the transition from unsustainable to sustainable use remains an enormous task.

Chapter 5, by Pietz and Giardano, deals with the Yellow River in China. The river is a driving force behind agriculture in the North China Plain, dubbed the breadbasket of China. Increasing pressure on the basin’s resources resulting from the country’s rapid economic development has led to speculation that diverting water in the basin from use in agriculture to use in manufacturing may affect the global food supply. The Yellow River also has significant cultural importance. The authors highlight the cultural evolution that has occurred within the basin—from the traditional river-control practices to current water management schemes. As the country’s political economy changes, institutional changes have to be made to meet new challenges. The authors argue that historical water management practices should not be discounted in the contemporary management of the basin.

Chapter 6, by Kenney, covers the Colorado River basin. The watershed has, over a very short time, gone from what has been described as an inhospitable region to one of great value. The Colorado River basin is undoubtedly one of the most important river basins in North America. While it is home to 30 million residents, it also provides water for electricity production and agriculture. Water in the basin is already overallocated, being shared between several states in the United States and between the United States and Mexico. The author gives an extensive description of the major stakeholders and their impacts on the basin and how the future of the basin may seem dim. He points out that a large share of the water is currently diverted for agricultural purposes, often toward the production of low value crops. This represents an opportunity to save the basin and make it more sustainable, as it may give rise to market-based allocation. The hidden costs of water marketing, however, should not be discounted.

Chapter 7, by Le Goulven et al., is another case study from a water-scarce region. In this chapter, the authors discuss water management in Wadi Merguellil in Central Tunisia. They give an account of the transformations that have occurred in the basin since the eighteenth century. The basin was managed by a tribe-society until the French colonized the region. Major changes, however, occurred after Tunisia’s independence. Several projects, such as the soil and water conservation works, and policy changes have been designed and implemented without the participation of local stakeholders. This has caused more harm than good. Now the battle to contain the damage seems difficult but still imperative if the watershed is to achieve sustainability.

Chapter 8, by Lankford et al., discusses the Great Ruaha River in southern Tanzania. The authors describe the historical changes in the basin with respect to three dynamic behaviors that have had significant impacts, namely, “parageoplasia” (a term coined by the authors to describe “nonlocal externalities created by the upstream depletion in the river”), nonequilibrium behavior, and share modification. Water management in the basin is analyzed against these three factors. The authors also highlight concerns related to climate variability, the resulting change in water availability, and associated water management challenges.

Chapter 9, by Molle et al., relates the challenges of water management for the city of Esfahan and its relation with the Zayandeh Red River basin in Iran. The authors describe the ancient and modern water management practices in the basin. The basin has reached a state of closure, in which the available water resources are already being harnessed. The hydrological, social, and institutional consequences of the basin closure are discussed. These include redefining the allocation mechanisms, conserving water, controlling groundwater pumping, and safeguarding water quality. The region is semiarid and therefore highly vulnerable to droughts. Every single drop of water has to be utilized judiciously. This further complicates the challenges in achieving sustainable use.

Chapter 10, by Venot, provides another example of a river basin that has been overutilized in order to meet the needs of a burgeoning population, rapid industrial development, and ever-thirsty agricultural production. The author tells the story of the Krishna River basin in southern India, which is moving rapidly toward closure. There is an ever increasing conflict in the region between meeting human needs and maintaining a minimum flow for the environment. The author gives an account of the historical development of the basin and presents a water accounting method comparing past and present water uses and policies that have affected the basin. The author lists new challenges that the basin will face in the future. On a more national level, India has to find ways to increase supply in areas where it is most needed, and interbasin transfers seem to be a preferred option. This calls for a paradigm shift in resources management.

Chapter 11, by Lannerstad and Molden, gives an account of water management in the semiarid southern region of India, the Bhuvani Basin. The region has shifted to using groundwater as surface water cannot meet demands, especially for irrigation purposes. Farmers’ electricity use was subsidized so that they could pump groundwater for irrigation purposes. This has led to the rapid depletion of aquifers and by ricochet the allocation of surface water. The authors describe major changes that have occurred within the basin since the thirteenth century and the environmental impact of substantial changes that took place in the previous century. He also elaborates on a number of challenges the basin may face in the future and how the complex interaction between surface water and groundwater may complicate water resource management.

Chapter 12, by Turral et al., tells the story of water management in the famous Murray-Darling basin in Australia. Agriculture takes the lion’s share of water from the basin, often at the expense of environmental considerations. A growing urban center, Melbourne is increasing the pressure on water allocation, and this further threatens the ecosystem in the basin. The authors describe the hydrology of the basin and the institutional and political history of the region. They highlight the major efforts toward sustainable management of the water resources in the basin. The experience and lessons learned from the Murray-Darling basin are applicable to a number of river basins in the world.

All in all, the volume is a valuable collection of stories about water management from different parts of the world. Even though there are differences, be they hydrological, climatological, environmental, institutional, political, or cultural, the experiences and lessons learned from different efforts to save river basins are to a large extent universal. The basins considered in this book are in countries with different economic backgrounds, political systems, and social and cultural ethos and are in different phases when it comes to balancing human against environmental water needs. Water managers, policymakers, and decision makers will at some point in their careers be faced with similar difficulties, and this book gives a good account of successes and failures. It will be up to the water professionals to select, adapt, and innovate as they aim for sustainable water management.