Author Description

This book illustrates the interactions of local-level actors and institutions which govern the management of resources at regional and national levels. It discusses irrigated agriculture, an ideal illustration of resource management's linkage of political power, technology, and the influence of unpredictable, uncontrollable forces of nature. The work attempts to delineate processes of change in a complex geopolitical and economic environment, where crises of various origins--climatic, political, technological and economic--present both obstacles and opportunities to resource managers at all levels. By placing the study of ecological management practices in time, the study directs our focus to accounting for change. The emphasis of this book is on opportunistic responses to crises which arise inevitably in the course of events. The case examined here, the water crisis in Israel, is closely connected to global conflict centered in the Middle East. The information provided in this study is important to an understanding of the local actors in this situation.