This Guidebook provides the reader with a thorough analytical framework for the different policies and legislative instruments needed for sustainable management and development of national and international water resources. It is very rich in examples of actual legislation. It has about 130 examples drawn from over 20 countries from developing as well as the developed countries – from Africa, Europe, Asia, the United States of America, Russia, Latin America and others.

This Guidebook provides information not only on national legislation, but also on a number of international agreements and conventions that have been produced in recent years. Its scope is not limited to legal issues.  It addresses such issues as the precautionary principle, adaptive management, and the importance of data collection and monitoring as instruments for sustainable development. It deals with the benefits of integrating all water resources statutes under a single law, and with the merits of bringing all aspects of water use and protection under a single piece of legislation. It also addresses issues of sustainable development of multiple natural resources embracing water resources, forest resources, land use, biological communities and mineral resources.

The language in the Guidebook is simple and straightforward. This makes it readable and useful to a wide range of audience such as legal draftsmen, water and natural resources sector professionals, university professors and students, as well as policy and decision makers.