Right Based Approach for Water Governance in the Climate Change Era: A Study from Perspective of Law and Policy

The aim of this book is to understand how water governance will be affected by climate change from the perspective of law and policy and to examine the scope of a rights-based approach to address these changes so as to support efforts at adaptation to climate change. This work would firstly try to understand the impact of climate change on the water from the perspective of law and policy and would then explore the feasibility of moulding a rights based approach to water resource management and governance as an adaptation measure towards the climate change impact. Rights based approach towards water would be underlined by highlighting the increasing recognition at international level regarding water as a need based human right. Right based approach to water resource management and governance needs to ensure accessibility and equity regarding water supply and availability, which would also be dealt with in the book. The importance of accessibility and equity would require the law and policy regarding water resources to conceptualise water as a common property resource which would be governed and managed by the state using the touchstone of public trust doctrine. The significance of law and policy to conceptualising water as common resource property and imbibe doctrine of public trust would be illustrated in the dissertation. The significance of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) in the water governance sector as an integral part of climate change adaptation would also be highlighted.