This study examines the problems of water resource management in South Asia, including policy approaches, resource sharing, and water quality issues.

Stolen forests is a book of images and critical text about the state of the forests of Bangladesh. Author Philip Gain has been through the forests in hills, coast and plains at different times for about two decades. This book reflects his predilection for images of forests; and to him forests are not just trees and the wildlife they support but also the communities that live in the forests, their knowledge, education, history, traditions, technology, culture and lots more.

Conflicts over water are a grim reality today, and this volume traces the reasons for these conflicts from the micro to the global level. The essays look at how the cumulative effect of gross negligence and mismanagement of water resources over the years have created water scarcity. They point out that the problem is not due to shortage of water, but due to the absence of proper mechanisms for its conservation, distribution, and efficient use. The essays are organized under three sub-themes--irrigation water, drinking water and sanitation, and gender and decentralization in water management.

This document is intended to provide an overview of the major components of surface and ground water quality and how these relate to ecosystem and human health. Local, regional, and global assessments of water quality monitoring data are used to illustrate key features of aquatic environments, and to demonstrate how human activities on the landscape can influence water quality in both positive and negative ways. Clear and concise background knowledge on water quality can serve to support other water assessments.

Water resources are vital to all human activities from basic survival to the most complex industrial production. In recent years, a broad set of national and international water issues has begun to receive significant attention. This paper provides a snapshot of current global water issues, assesses the water-related risks and opportunities most relevant for the private sector, and describes the general kinds of activities the business community could and should be taking to address them.

This paper analyzes the institutions and markets that govern groundwater allocation in the sugarcane belt of Uttar Pradesh, India, using primary plot-level data from a village which shares the typical features of this region. Electricity powers tubewell pumps, and its erratic supply translates into randomness in irrigation volumes. The paper finds that plots are water-rationed, owing to inadequate supply of power.

This report offers the vision of a different future - a revolution in development thinking that could see poor regions using renewable energy to power a new and clean era of prosperity. The report analysis focuses on sub-Saharan Africa - which has the highest concentration of the world's poorest people. By using Kenya as a case study, the report examines how climate change is fuelling violence in drought-hit areas. The report also looks at Bangladesh, where virtually the entire population is precariously perched just above sea level.

This report provides estimates of drinking water and sanitation coverage in 2004, by country and MDG region. It shows how many people have gained access since the MDG baseline year (1990) and identifies the challenges to meet the MDG drinking water and sanitation target over the coming decade. It compares progress towards the target, identifying which regions are on track, which are making progress but where progress is insufficient to reach the target, and which are not on track.

Forestry is the second largest land-use in India after agriculture, and an estimated 275 million people in rural areas depend on forests for at least part of their livelihoods. This study focusing mainly on community-based forestry outside protected areas, indicates that forests offer vast potential for poverty reduction and rural economic growth in India while also supporting critical national conservation goals. It debates the continued evolution of joint forest management in India by presenting research conducted within India and relevant examples from other regions.

Forestry is the second largest land-use in India after agriculture, and an estimated 275 million people in rural areas depend on forests for at least part of their livelihoods. This study focusing mainly on community-based forestry outside protected areas, indicates that forests offer vast potential for poverty reduction and rural economic growth in India while also supporting critical national conservation goals. It debates the continued evolution of joint forest management in India by presenting research conducted within India and relevant examples from other regions.