Introduction

Abstract

This chapter introduces the reader to the purpose and contents of the book. Beginning with a brief outline of history and concept of the human right to water, it argues that the current scenario indicates that measures for implementation of the right are not always able to deliver the goods as planned. Therefore, the central question is identified as: How to enable translation of the human right to water from concept to reality? The central contention in the chapter and hence the book is that human right to water questions cannot be addressed through mere legal formulations. Instead, if the interest lies in enabling people to realize their right, then the need is to look beyond law, linking it to the interdisciplinary fields of water resources management and water governance. Toward this end, concepts of “realization” and “implementation” of the right are differentiated, and the relevance of the “context” of action is explained. The chapter concludes with a description of the aim and contents of the book.