Tony Allan: An Intellectual Journey(Routledge Special Issues on Water Policy and Governance)

This book follows Tony Allan’s journey through the maze of water management and global awareness of the risks of mismanagement, tracing the trajectory of the hydraulic mission from a time of infinite possibilities—fiat panis and piped water—to risk aversion, loss of confidence and political will, and post-water societies. Part I, spanning fifteen chapters, explores Tony Allan’s formative years at SOAS, his groundbreaking work in remote sensing, and his Middle Eastern studies. It examines his influential contributions to understanding the political economy of water, the concept of virtual water, and the intricacies of transboundary water disputes. His keen insights into power dynamics shaped his perspective on regional agriculture, environmental issues, and cross-border water management. Part II investigates two decades of profound societal and economic transformation. It highlights the expanding influence of the private sector and showcases Tony Allan's transdisciplinary collaboration with diverse stakeholders, from institutions to communities. The narrative follows his strategic pivot from conventional water issues to food systems—the primary water consumer—culminating in the comprehensive Oxford Handbook of Water Food and Society. Through sixteen detailed chapters, this book examines the mixed legacy of privatization and the complex politics of the water-energy-food nexus. It tackles contentious issues of sustainability and governance, ultimately advocating the rebalancing of power dynamics within food systems and broader society. This book offers critical insights for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners in the fields of water management, agriculture, and the environment. Most of the chapters in this volume were originally published in Water International.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: A life exploring blind corners: Tony Allan’s legacy 1. ‘Tony here!’ Reflections on Professor Tony Allan 2. Scalable Water Balances from Earth Observations (SWEO): results from 50 years of remote sensing in hydrology 3. Professor Tony Allan and Libya 4. Of intellectual friendship in fin-de-siècle London 5. Recollections of a peacemaker 6. Sanctioned discourse and the power of hegemonic imaginings 7. Water wars, conflict and cooperation – how the virtual water concept helped change the discourse 8. How virtual water saved the Middle East from water wars 9. From zero-sum to variable-sum on the Nile 10. Egypt’s water balancing act 11. Contested baselines and transboundary water resources management, with illustrations from the Nile 12. Water and complex problemsheds in Karamoja, Uganda 13. Ozymandias in the desert: irrigation in Saudi Arabia 14. Locating the channel and other tales from the river bank: constants and change in river boundary delimitation 15. Power plus: Tony Allan’s contributions to understanding transboundary water arrangements 16. I remember Tony 17. The role of the private sector in sustainable development 18. The private sector and water services: a reflection 19. Water governance and system coordination across diverse risk-management cultures 20. Chronic crisis: 30 years on from the Dublin Principles and still no market to value water 21. When the virtual water runs out: local and global responses to addressing unsustainable groundwater consumption 22. The problem with water footprints outside of irrigated drylands 23. Virtual water, international relations and the new geopolitics of food 24. The role of virtual-water decoupling in achieving food–water security: lessons from Egypt, 1962–2013 25. Unexpected bright spots: how the pandemic, climate change and biodiversity loss are shaping the evolution of the nexus 26. Tony Allan: a magic toolbox of theoretical frameworks, a never-ending story 27. Accountants will save the world! 28. Irrigated agriculture: more than ‘big water’ and ‘accountants will [not] save the world’ 29. Farmers will save the world! 30. Crossed wires: public regulation and private action for water stewardship and sustainable farming 31. How decisions are made by politicians through the advocacy of peer reviewed research: the lens of advocacy coalition theory 32. The cost of food. Consequences of not valuing soil and water and the people who manage them

About the Author :
David Dent graduated from University of Durham, UK. A soil surveyor, he has dug in every continent. Turning to land evaluation, land use planning, and the science-policy interface, he has advised national governments, international organisations, and multinationals. He is former Director of ISRIC-World Soil Information. Martin Keulertz is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Food Security at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Michael Gilmont is a Research Affiliate at the Institute or Science and Innovation and Society at the University of Oxford, focusing on interdisciplinary hydrological, political economy approaches to water management. Subsequent to work on this book, he has been an adviser to the UN Environment Programme.