Governance for navigating the novel freshwater dynamics of the Anthropocene

The focus of this chapter is the transformation of water governance required for living with the new water dynamics in the Anthropocene, and the expansion needed from the conventional blue water perspective. It discusses the integrated governance and management required for resilience building, including desirable landscape patterns of ecosystem services, and how to overcome past governance failures from a sustainability perspective. It stresses that resilience building comprises precautionary management for stewardship of precipitation, the need for cross-sectoral integration, and the overcoming of inertia of rigid or dysfunctional bureaucracies, making good use of emerging windows of opportunity.