The Ganges is one of the most complex yet fascinating river systems in the world. This book is unique in presenting a comprehensive inter-disciplinary overview of the key issues and challenges facing the region.

Foreword Ravi Chopra Part 1: Resources and Uses 1. Introduction Luna Bharati, Bharat Sharma and Vladimir Smakhtin 2. Surface Water Resources Sharad Kumar Jain, Marc A. Jeuland, Luna Bharati and Zahirul Haque Khan 3. Groundwater Resources Dipankar Saha, Anwar Zahid, Surendra Raj Shreshtha and Paul Pavelic 4. Climate Change and the Ganges Basin Marc A. Jeuland 5. Managing Variability: Floods and Droughts Giriraj Amarnath, A.K.M. Saiful Islam and M. S. Shrestha 6. Agriculture and Water Use: Implications for Sustainable Intensification Bharat Sharma, Alok K. Sikka, Ram Pratap Sah and Xueliang Cai 7. Hydropower: The Status and Challenges Dwarika N. Dhungel, Santa Bahadur Pun, Sonali Mittra and M. Monirul Qader Mirza 8. Water-Food-Energy Nexus: Challenges and Opportunities Christopher A. Scott, Arica Crootof, Bhuwan Thapa and Rashmi Kiran Shreshtha 9. Ganges Water Machine: One Solution to Basin Water Problems? Upali A. Amarasinghe and Lal Mutuwatte Part 2: Environment 10. Environmental Flows: Keeping the Basin Rivers Alive Vladimir Smakhtin and Luna Bharati 11. Ecosystem Services and Conservation Assessment of Freshwater Biodiversity Asghar Nawab, Ravindra Kumar Sinha, Paul M. Thompson and Subodh Sharma 12. Arsenic in the Eastern Ganges Basin: Extent and Impact on Food Chain and Human Health Rajmohan Natarajan, Dipankar Chakraborti and Sanmugam Prathapar 13. Ganges Water Quality: Dirty Past, Promising Future Javier Mateo-Sagasta and Vinod Tare Part 3: Governance and Livelihoods 14. Institutions and Policies Governing Water Resources Management M. Dinesh Kumar, Dwarika N. Dhungel, M. Monirul Qader Mirza and Diana Suhardiman 15. Poverty, Inequalities and Vulnerability of the Rural Poor Upali A. Amarasinghe, Fraser Sugden and Floriane Clement 16. Gender, Agricultural Investment and Productivity in an Era of Out-migration Fraser Sugden, Panchali Saikia, Niki Maskey-Amatya and Paras Pokhrel 17. Can there be Progress on Transboundary Water Cooperation in the Ganges? Mark Giordano, Dipak Gyawali, Ainun Nishat and Uttam Kumar Sinha 18. Basin Water Challenges: An Agenda for Accelerated Reform Tushaar Shah, Prachanda Pradhan and Golam Rasul