Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : rivers and society / Abhik Chakraborty -- Rivers as socioecological landscapes / Abhik Chakraborty, Shamik Chakraborty -- River governance : can we drought proof an entire country? / Ronnie Mackenzie -- Arid lands, saline lands : water in the form of a major river under stress, the Murray-Darling system in Australia / Malcolm Cooper -- Life, identity and work in an arid river basin : the case of the Zayandeh-Rud (life-giving river) in central Iran / Kazem Vafadari Mehrizi -- Rivers and water security : supply adaptation strategies in the city of Chennai, India / Sharanya Sethuram -- The Velho Chico : perceptions and conflicts / Lucigleide Nery Nascimento -- Rivers as vernacular landscapes / Andrea Farminer -- Keep it flowing : the restoration ecology of indigenous culture and language along the Missouri River / Dean P. Good Eagle Fox, Alesia Maltz -- The end of the Los Angeles River : a paradox / Tracy Scott Mcmillin -- The river's embrace : the Rhine-Meuse Delta (re)imagined / Eveline R. de Smalen -- Art custodians of our rivers : Basia Irland : Watershed sculpture and Ichi Ikeda / Valerie Behiery -- Hydrocitizenship : concepts and insights from the Lee Valley, UK / Graeme Evans -- River tourism / Malcolm Cooper -- Rivers and regional development : the case of the Herault River in south-western France / Jeremy S. Eades -- Rivers and society : a synthesis / Shamik Chakraborty, Abhik Chakraborty and Malcolm Cooper.

"This book brings together empirical research on the changing conditions of a range of river basin environments in the contemporary world, including the history and culture of local societies living in these river basins. It provides theoretical insights on the patterns and nature of the interaction between rivers and their use by human communities"--