Rivers, Technology and Society Learning the Lessons of Water Management in Nepal - Softcover

Dipak Gyawali

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9993343498 ISBN 13: 9789993343493

Synopsis

This examination of what has happened to Nepal's premier natural resource has a significance that far transcends both the specific experience of the author's own country and the water sector. Dipak Gyawali is a water engineer and economist who has developed a local and international reputation as one of the most profound thinkers as well as socially engaged activists around the issues of water and development. In this book he draws on a lifetime of experience to argue for the necessity of moving away from a technocratic (whether in engineering or economic terms) approach, and instead taking full account of the social and political context of any development intervention, and the necessity of focusing on the costs and benefits borne by ordinary people. He shows that both analytical comprehension and effective policy action require a holistic conceptualisation of the interface between water (or any natural resource), technology and social context. In a series of fascinating examples and case studies, including the notorious World Bank-promoted Arun 3 hydro scheme, he makes clear the complexity of the development process, the extent of institutional distortion that external donor policies can induce in recipient societies, and the anti-developmental impacts which the state, unrestrained by the countervailing power of civil society, can have.

Edition details

• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9993343498
• ISBN 13: 9789993343493
• Binding: Paperback