Demand for water is one of the major challenges of the current century, but past approaches are no longer sufficient. Based on the "soft path" approach to the energy sector, a transition is now under way to a soft path for water. This approach starts by ensuring that ecosystem needs for water are satisfied and then undertakes a radical approach to reducing human uses of water by economic and social incentives, including open decision-making, water markets and equitable pricing, and the application of super-efficient technology, all applied in ways that avoid jeopardizing quality of life.

This book is the first to present and apply the water soft path approach. It has three aims: to bring to a wider audience the concept and the potential of water soft paths; to demonstrate that soft path analysis is analytical and practical, and not just "eco-dreaming"; and to indicate that soft paths are not only conceptually attractive but that they can be made economically and politically feasible. These goals are reflected by the scope of the book which is organized around the three aspects of any soft path: a vision of a sustainable water future based on the soft path concept; an analytic method to define alternative routes to get to that future (most literally, the soft paths), as illustrated by case studies in Canada and elsewhere: and a tool kit for planners and other practitioners.

Table of Contents:

List of Figures, Tables and Boxes
List of Contributors
Foreword—Tony Allen
Acknowledgments
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

1) Why a Water Soft Path, and Why Now—Oliver M. Brandes, David B. Brooks and Stephen Gurman
Part I: Water Soft Paths as Human Vision
2) Avoiding The Perfect Storm: Weathering Climate Change by Following Water Resources—Robert W. Sandford
3) In the Beginning: Soft Energy Paths—Susan Holtz and David B. Brooks
4) Getting it Right: Misconceptions About the Soft Path—Peter H. Gleick
5) Practising Ecological Governance—Oliver M. Brandes
6) Water Policy: Changing Course for the Soft Path—Susan Holtz
Part II: Water Soft Paths as Analytical Method
7) Getting Quantitative: The Canadian Water Soft Path Studies—David B. Brooks and Susan Holtz
8) Turning Principles into Practice: The WSP Scenario Builder—Carol Maas and Tony Maas
9) Thinking Beyond Pipes and Pumps: Water Soft Paths at the Urban Scale—Oliver M. Brandes and Tony Maas
10) Focusing on Geographic Boundaries: Water Soft Paths at the Watershed Scale—Lisa Isaacman and Graham R. Daborn
11) Focusing on Political Boundaries: Water Soft Paths at the Provincial Scale—Paul Kay and Elizabeth Hendricks
Part III: Water Soft Paths as a Planning Tool
12) Removing Institutional Barriers to Water Soft Paths: Challenges and Opportunities—Sarah Jordaan, Carla Stevens and David B. Brooks
13) Pushing the Boundaries: Shifting Water Soft Paths Philosophy toward Hard Policy in Municipal Water Management—Sarah E. Wolfe and Kurtis Elton
14) Green Buildings and Urban Space: A Water Soft Path Perspective—Andrew Hellebust
15) Water Soft Path Thinking in the United States—Peter H. Gleick
16) Water Soft Path Thinking in Other Developed Economies
Editor’s Note
A) England—Gareth Walker
B) The European Community—Simone Klawitter
C) Australia—Henning Bjornland and Geoff Kuehne
17) Water Soft Path Thinking in Developing Countries
Editor’s Note
A) South Africa—Inga Jacobs and Anthony Turton
B) India—Sara Ahmed
C) Middle East and North Africa—David B. Brooks
Conclusion
18) A Water Future Different From the Past—David B. Brooks, Oliver M. Brandes and Stephen Gurman
Annex: How to Create a Soft Path Plan for Water—David B. Brooks and Oliver M. Brandes, with Carol Maas, Susanne Porter-Bopp and Jennifer Wong
Index