Groundwater is becoming increasingly scarce while the demand for water continues to grow at a global scale. Understanding groundwater resources and their sustainable management is imperative for the future of groundwater use, conservation, and protection. This revised and updated volume, focused on sustainability, covers the economic values of groundwater production and use including: micro- and macro-economic factors, economic evaluation tools, climate change, boundary issues, and policy evaluation. It explores numerous applications and describes ways to evaluate the economics of groundwater use in the context of the larger ecosystem and the natural capital it provides.
Includes a new important chapter on groundwater sustainability management Addresses new case studies of groundwater use that are applicable at the international level Provides the foundation for policy, program, and project analysis for all major uses of groundwater Presents a range of approaches and factors for the evaluation of the economics of project proposals for future groundwater use in relation to the ecosystem and its sustainability Gives a new perspective on users' competition for the subsurface environment