This engaging examination of the fate of Nepal's premier natural resource has a significance that transcends both the specific experience of Nepal and the water sector. Water engineer, economist and social activist, Dipak Gyawali has an international reputation as one of the most important thinkers around the central issues of water and development. In this book he argues for the necessity of moving away from a technocratic approach, to take full account of the social and political context of any development intervention, 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. A series of fascinating 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.
- ISBN10 1842772767
- ISBN13 9781842772768
- Publish Date 1 February 2003
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 16 April 2010
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Zed Books Ltd
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 300
- Language English