Water Management In Islam

In the Middle East and North Africa, water is rapidly becoming the key development issue. The region has one of the highest population growth rates in the world and scarce natural water supplies. In this region and others, policy makers have often proposed or even tried to implement policies such as higher water tariffs or privatization without considering local culture, including religion; which clearly influences how people perceive and manage a resource, such as water. In addition to supporting large minorities following various faiths, the region is home to 300 million Muslims. Therefore, developing an understanding of the Islamic perspective on proposed water management polices is a key for sustainable and equitable development for Muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and elsewhere.This volume presents Islamic perspectives on a number of proposed water-management policies, including water demand management, wastewater re-use, and higher tariffs. The book opens avenues for wider dialogue amongst researchers working at identifying the most promising water management policies; adds to our knowledge of some of the influences on formal policy and informal practice; and makes these ideals available to a broader public. It serves as a concrete example of the benefit of examining development in the context of values and culture. It also dispels common misconceptions about the Islamic view on water management practices such as selling water and wastewater reuse.Water Management in Islam will interest researchers, scholars, and students in natural resource management, Islamic studies, Middle Eastern studies, development studies, and public policy. It will also be of interest to professionals, including policy makers in donor organizations, development organizations, NGOs and government departments; and agencies, both North and South, working in the area of water management.

In water-scarce areas of the Middle East, greywater (household wastewater excluding toilet waste) is commonly used by poor communities to irrigate home gardens. This both supplements the water available to the household and improves food security. This book draws together material presented at a conference in Jordan in 2007, and examines the technical approaches to treating and using greywater for irrigation, including its associated risks to health and the environment. It discusses many of the non-technical issues that influence effectiveness and sustainability of greywater use. It also takes a hard look at economic issues, arguing that more clarity and consistency from policymakers is essential if low-income, water-stressed communities are to make better and safer use of their existing water supplies. The book concludes by offering suggestions for where donor efforts and research could best be focused in the near future.Greywater use in the Middle East is important reading for researchers, donors, implementing agencies, and policymakers, in the fields of water supply, water reuse, livelihoods and agriculture.

At the heart of these conflicts are complex water networks.

Transboundary Water from Afghanistan: Climate Change, and Land-Use Implications brings together diverse factual material on the physical geography and political, cultural, and economic implications of Southwest Asian transboundary water resources. It is the outgrowth of long-term deep knowledge and experience gained by the authors, as well as the material developed from a series of new workshops funded by the Lounsbery Foundation and other granting agencies. Afghanistan and Pakistan have high altitude mountains providing vital water supplies that are highly contentious necessities much threatened by climate change, human land-use variation, and political manipulation, which can be managed in new ways that are in need of comprehensive discussions and negotiations between all the riparian nations of the Indus watershed (Afghanistan, China, India, and Pakistan). This book provides a description of the basic topographic configuration of the Kabul River tributary to the Indus river, together will all its tributaries that flow back and forth across the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the basic elements that are involved with the hydrological cycle and its derivatives in the high mountains of the Hindu Kush and Himalaya. Synthesizes information on the physical geography and political, cultural, and economic implications of Southwest Asian transboundary water resources Offers a basic topographic description of the Indus River watershed Provides local water management information not easily available for remote and contentious border areas Delivers access to the newest thinking from chief personnel on both sides of the contentious border Features material developed from a series of new workshops funded by the Lounsbery Foundation and other granting agencies

Techno-Anthropological approach has been formulated in researching a traditional settlement of Bhaktapur City, Nepal. The practices of indigenous people have been analyzed by juxtaposing the science along with the indigenous technology. It has been significantly concluded that, the impetus behind the city sustainability is primarily the indigenous knowledge and sometimes this knowledge is overwhelming to even the modern scientific aspects too. Indigenous technology of water management in the historic city of Bhaktapur has been also found to be significant not only in terms of supply rather in terms of quality of water too. The reusability of water resources has given an excellent paradigm even to the modern approaches too. The lifestyle in terms of culture and religion has been associated with water for this city, and water management is also facilitated through cultural practices and religious establishments. A city regarded as ‘City of Devotees’ has disseminated a remarkable approach for the water management by keeping aside the modern scientific approaches. The city was established in the 13th century and practices are continuously adopted since then as indigenous practices through unrelenting trial and error, the indigenous technology of water management has been found to be rational hence revitalization of some components might be more energy efficient and economic for present day water scarcity solution in the city.

This book provides a knowledge base of the existing indigenous and local water knowledge, values, and practices, and how this water knowledge can be mainstreamed into the decision-making process. The book not only demonstrates the perks of using indigenous knowledge but also illustrates the barriers and gaps that should be considered while planning for mainstreaming traditional knowledge and values at a local scale. The chapters incorporate case studies from various parts of the world demonstrating how indigenous, and religious and cultural values of water have translated into water use and conservation behavior among indigenous people ensuring resource sustainability over a long period of time. There has been global attention towards combining indigenous and local knowledge with new information and innovation to attain future water security. In this regard, this book is timely, relevant, and significant as it is the first attempt, as per the best of our knowledge, to publish a book that solely addresses indigenous and local knowledge, values, and practices regarding water management, quality monitoring, use, and conservation. With increasing emphasis on the inclusion of indigenous and local knowledge into natural resource governance and conservation by international agencies like the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the proposed book will significantly contribute to the existing knowledge base and demonstrate the importance of mainstreaming indigenous water knowledge and practices into water governance and decision making. The UN SDGs, recognizing the significance of indigenous knowledge systems, emphasized its inclusion in most aspects and principles of SDGs. Apart from direct links with SDGs like zero hunger (SDG 2), no poverty (SDG 1), and climate action (SDG 13), indigenous and local knowledge system is considered to be directly connected to clean water and sanitation (SDG 6). The book will be useful to researchers and students in the field of indigenous knowledge and education, water governance, community-level planning, and water sustainability. The book can be referred to for postgraduate courses and beyond, as well as policymakers, conservationists, non-governmental organizations, development practitioners, and local government officials.