History of Water and Humanity: History of Water and Civilization Series

To assemble, evaluate and promote appropriate examination of water management in history requires a bold and global initiative. To this end, the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme is pioneering a project to develop a systematic and transcultural interdisciplinary knowledge base. Water History and Humanity explores key issues and cultural developments in humanitys relationships with water in a coherent, historical framework. The strength of this volume lies in its holistic anthropological approach, which reveals how various cultures have used and conceptualized water across multiple contexts, and how our interactions with water have transformed the way we see ourselves and the world.

UNESCO was founded in 1945 and it is a specialized agency of the United Nations. Its stated purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of the law, and human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the UN Charter. The organization pursues it action through five major programs: education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information. It has 192 Member States and 6 Associate Members.