Urban water conflicts manifested first in Europe in the 19th century and are observed nowadays in various forms throughout the world; in particular, in developing countries. Main causes of these conflicts are characterized by complex socioeconomic and institutional issues related to urban water management. The debate about public water services versus private water supplies is frequently associated with conflicts over water price and affordability. On the other hand, the issue of centralization versus decentralization of water utilities is also often discussed in the context of institutional aspects of urban water management. These issues are intertwined and, thereby, a critical examination of socioeconomic and institutional aspects of urban water management in a holistic way is important for better understanding water conflicts in urban areas.

Urban Water Conflicts – the output of a project by UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme on “Socioeconomic and Institutional Aspects in Urban Water Management” – presents a collection of essays on socioeconomic and institutional aspects of urban water management, focusing on water and sanitation services. The book examines interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and analyzing conflicts that arise from inadequate urban water management. Conflict analysis is addressed in some essays by taking into account economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability. The issue of institutional conflicts between different levels of government is also discussed in some case studies.

Bernard O. Barraqué is a French civil engineer holding a city planning degree from Harvard University, and a PhD in urban socio-economic issues from Paris University. He started his career as a consultant in urban environment policies, and progressively turned to research and teaching. He now is full time Research Director in the CNRS (French Science Centre), with the rank of professor, in environmental policies, in particular water. He is attached to CIRED, Centre International de Recherches sur l’Environnement et le Développement, which is co-tutored by AgroParisTech, PontsParisTech, Univeristy of Paris-Est and Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, and associated to the CNRS. Due to his inter-disciplinary profile, he also was the chair of the French National Committee of the UNESCO International Hydrological Program until 2010. He recently co-ordinated a collaborative project on payments for ecosystem services by water utilities to farmers in France and other developed countries (EVEC, acronym for Eau des Villes, Eau des Champs). He now co-ordinates EAU&3E, a research project on the sustainability of water and sanitation services in large cities in France, in particular with the city of Paris: environmental, economic, social and governance dimensions (see http://eau3e.hypotheses.org). He is member of the editorial boards of Water Policy, Espaces et Sociétés and Water Alternatives.