An evaluation of Australia's water market as a new global standard for managing water resources. As the world's driest continent - and with a rapidly growing population - Australia faces serious and urgent questions over the management of its water resources. The influences of climate change and global warming have already been felt and are not likely to diminish. Manabu Kondo believes water, the most vital of all our resources, needs to be nurtured, controlled and managed. A professor of theoretical economics at Japan's Shiga University, Professor Kondo has spent considerable time studying the Australian situation while a visiting fellow at the Australian National University. He suggests the introduction and improvement of a water market is the key to becoming a sustainable society. To do otherwise is to threaten the survival of future generations. Professor Kondo uses penetrating economic analysis to call for policies that conserve the resource while ensuring economic growth. He examines for the first time the economic surplus effect of a water market and presents solutions that also consider the environmental, legal, agricultural, industrial, political and social implications.
By defining and exploring the unique character of Australia's water market Professor Kondo helps not only further mutual understanding between Japan and Australia but also provides a solution for the global society. This extremely detailed and thoroughly researched work is therefore essential reading for all concerned with the preservation and management of the world's most vital resource.