Participatory Groundwater Management
Concepts, Practices and Pathways to Sustainable Use
- 1st Edition - January 1, 2027
- Latest edition
- Author: Basant Maheshwari
- Language: English
Participatory Groundwater Management: Concepts, Practices and Pathways to Sustainable Use is an essential guide that draws on decades of research, field experience, and instit… Read more
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Description
Description
Participatory Groundwater Management: Concepts, Practices and Pathways to Sustainable Use is an essential guide that draws on decades of research, field experience, and institutional collaboration, to unravel the science of groundwater, policies, and human dimensions that shape its future. From demystifying aquifers and the water cycle for everyday users to confronting the global crisis of over-extraction and pollution, this book blends practical knowledge with inspiring real-world examples. It explores how collective action, gender equity, community empowerment, and digital technologies can transform groundwater governance, and offers hands-on guidance for building user associations, monitoring water levels, and making complex science understandable to all. With in-depth chapters on Managed Aquifer Recharge, policy frameworks, scaling successful pilots, and the ethical foundations of stewardship, this essential volume provides a blueprint for inclusive, sustainable water management. Whether you are a water professional, community leader, policymaker, or concerned citizen, this book equips students, researchers, and practitioners with the tools, frameworks, and inspiration to safeguard groundwater for generations to come.
Key features
Key features
- Provides clear explanations and practical guidance on participatory approaches to groundwater management, making complex concepts accessible to a wide audience
- Offers real-world case studies, tools, and strategies for building community-led groundwater user groups and implementing effective monitoring practices
- Includes in-depth discussions of Managed Aquifer Recharge, policy frameworks, gender equity, and ethical stewardship, empowering readers to drive sustainable water solutions
Readership
Readership
Students and researchers of groundwater and hydrology
Table of contents
Table of contents
Part I: Making Groundwater Visible
1. Seeing the Invisible – Why Groundwater Matters
2. Groundwater and Surface Water – What Every User Should Know
3. Groundwater in Crisis – The Global and Local Realities
Part II: Governing a Shared Resource – Cooperation and Commons Thinking
4. Groundwater as a Commons – What We Can Learn from Collective Action
5. Building Groundwater User Collectives
6. Gender, Equity and Community Empowerment
7. Groundwater Monitoring by the People
8. Technology for Inclusion – From Phones to Apps
9. Making Groundwater Knowledge Understandable
Part III: Recharging the Future – MAR as a Strategic Tool
10. Recharging Groundwater – Demystifying MAR
11. Field Realities of MAR – Lessons from Practice
12. Policy, Planning and Investment for MAR
Part IV: Scaling Impact and Shaping the Future
13. From Pilot to Policy – Scaling Participatory Approaches
14. Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
15. Transdisciplinary Research and Capacity Building
16. Water, Ethics and Stewardship – Reflections from the Gita
17. A Blueprint for Participatory Groundwater Futures
1. Seeing the Invisible – Why Groundwater Matters
2. Groundwater and Surface Water – What Every User Should Know
3. Groundwater in Crisis – The Global and Local Realities
Part II: Governing a Shared Resource – Cooperation and Commons Thinking
4. Groundwater as a Commons – What We Can Learn from Collective Action
5. Building Groundwater User Collectives
6. Gender, Equity and Community Empowerment
7. Groundwater Monitoring by the People
8. Technology for Inclusion – From Phones to Apps
9. Making Groundwater Knowledge Understandable
Part III: Recharging the Future – MAR as a Strategic Tool
10. Recharging Groundwater – Demystifying MAR
11. Field Realities of MAR – Lessons from Practice
12. Policy, Planning and Investment for MAR
Part IV: Scaling Impact and Shaping the Future
13. From Pilot to Policy – Scaling Participatory Approaches
14. Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
15. Transdisciplinary Research and Capacity Building
16. Water, Ethics and Stewardship – Reflections from the Gita
17. A Blueprint for Participatory Groundwater Futures
Product details
Product details
- Edition: 1
- Latest edition
- Published: January 1, 2027
- Language: English
About the author
About the author
BM
Basant Maheshwari
Basant Maheshwari is a Distinguished Professor of Water, Environment, and Sustainability at Western Sydney University, Australia, and the Director of the Australia India Water Centre. With over three decades of international experience in water resources research, teaching, and field implementation, he has worked extensively on participatory groundwater management, managed aquifer recharge (MAR), and citizen science. His leadership of large-scale projects, including village-level monitoring and groundwater cooperatives, has contributed to improving water security and equity in rural India. Prof. Maheshwari has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles and co-edited several influential books. He is known for bridging academic research and community action, advocating for locally grounded, transdisciplinary approaches to solving complex groundwater and sustainability challenges.
Affiliations and expertise
Distinguished Professor of Water, Environment, and Sustainability, Western Sydney University, Australia; Director of the Australia India Water Centre, Australia