Centralized, top-down management of water resources through regulations has created unnecessary economic burdens upon users. More flexible decentralized controls through the use of economic incentives have gained acceptance over the past decade. The theme of this book is the increasing efforts...

"The chapter highlights the structure of the book, explains its approach and summarizes its main message. Increased water scarcity intensifies the tradeoffs inherent in allocating water to competing uses and turns the policy challenge of managing water resources ever more crucial. The book...