1. Water and cultural diversity -- 2. Culture and Water in Diverse Environments -- 3. Water value, access, use, and control: sociocultural contexts of water scarcity -- 4. Hydrodevelopment, Cultural Diversity and Sustainability -- 5. The Ways Forward -- 6.Water, Cultural Diversity and Biodiversity: United Nations statements, resolutions and treaties.

A product of the UNESCO-IHP project on Water and Cultural Diversity, this book represents an effort to examine the complex role water plays as a force in sustaining, maintaining, and threatening the viability of culturally diverse peoples.  It is argued that water is a fundamental human need, a human right, and a core sustaining element in biodiversity and cultural diversity. The core concepts utilized in this book draw upon a larger trend in sustainability science, a recognition of the synergism and analytical potential in utilizing a coupled biological and social systems analysis, as the functioning viability of nature is both sustained and threatened by humans.