Water Resources* : a guide to library resources
*Note that Australian Water Resources are located in the Water Resources section of the Environmental Studies Australia guide
Contents:
Starting Points
The following is a selection of overviews and introductory texts
Encyclopedia of hydrology and water resources (1998) [print]
[An overview of the diverse field of hydrology. Additional dictionaries/encyclopedias of hydrology & water resources are listed here]
Handbook of hydrology (1993) [print]
[A compendium of hydrologic knowledge & practice]
History of water (3 volumes, 2006) [print]
[History of water from ancient to contemporary times]
Water resources handbook (1996) [print]
[Handbook on water resources management & issues]
Water: science and issues (4 volumes, 2003) [print]
[Encyclopedic coverage of water in its broadest sense]
World water crisis : the failures of resource management (2009) [print]
[Re-appraisal of the development of global water resources]
World's water : the biennial report on freshwater resources [print]
[A comprehensive reference on worldwide freshwater resources & the political, economic, scientific & technological issues associated with them]
Finding Books Using The Library Catalogue
Books can be found by searching the library catalogue. Keyword searching is probably the best way of identifying material, and your results will be maximised by using keyword searching techniques such as truncation and Boolean searching, and by incorporating subject headings into your search where appropriate.
Here are some examples on how to construct searches:
groundwater and health
"water resources" and "sustainable development"
water and (hydropolitics or conflict)
water and ("geographic? information systems" or gis)
Finding Journal Articles Using Databases & Bibliographies
Journal articles can be found through databases listed in the Databases for Geography guide - see especially Water Resources Abstracts which is an index to the world's literature on water resources.
Researchers needing to undertake a more comprehensive literature search should note the following specialised sources:
Geraghty and Miller's Groundwater bibliography (5th edition, 1991) [print]
[International coverage (but with a strong North American emphasis) of books, journal articles & technical reports on groundwater topics]
Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database [web access]
[Provides access to The International freshwater treaties database; The Transboundary Freshwater Spatial Database; The International water events database, and the International river basin register]
Water & conflict bibliography [web access]
[A bibliography from the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security]
There are also printed bibliographies held by the library which are probably most useful for identifying earlier material on water/hydrology topics.
Web Resources
The following are starting points for locating resources on the Web
Global Hydrology & Climate Center
[The primary focus of the centre is to understand the Earth's global water cycle, the distribution and variability of atmospheric water, and the impact of human activity as it relates to global climate change]
Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA)
[The aim of GIWA is to produce a comprehensive and integrated global assessment of international waters]
Global Water Partnership
[The mission of the Global Water Partnership is to support countries in the sustainable management of their water resources]
Hydrology Technical Group
[A comprehensive list of links to Hydrology and related Hydrology resources. From the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory]
International Water Association
[Global network of water professionals]
International Water History Association
[An forum for debate on water history]
International Water Law Project
[Resource for international water law and issues]
International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
[A non-profit organisation which aims to improve the management of land and water resources for food, livelihoods and nature]
International Water Resources Association
[Actively promotes the sustainable management of water resources around the globe]
United Nations GEMS/Water Programme
[Provides data and information on the state and trends of global inland water quality as a basis for the sustainable management of the world's freshwater. GEMS also includes GemStat - which provides access to surface and groundwater quality data and statistics]
Water Portal (UNESCO)
[The objective of the UNESCO Water Portal’s objective is to improve access to information on freshwater on the web. It includes the International Hydrological Programme- UNESCO's international scientific cooperative programme in water research, water resources management, education and capacity-building]
World Bank: Water Resources Management
[Serves as a central organising point for water as a cross-cutting issue throughout the World Bank]
World Meteorological Organization Hydrology & Water Resources Programme (HWRP)
[HWRP is concerned with the assessment of the quantity & quality of water resources, both surface and groundwater]
World Water Council
[The mission of the World Water Council is to draw attention to world water issues]
Last update: 21 May 2009 Helen Attar
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