With Africa's water resources constantly threatened by an increasing population and the resultant rise in water demand, together with the stresses of water use for various activities, desertification, climate change, and other interventions in the water cycle by man, it is vital that the water resources in arid and semi-arid regions are developed and managed in a sustainable and integrated manner. In Water Resources of Arid Areas, these key factors are explored and examined by leading experts, concentrating in particular upon the question of groundwater recharge and dividing discussion into the following sections: natural and artificial groundwater recharge; socio-economic aspects of water demand management; geophysical, GIS and remote sensing techniques for groundwater exploration; climate change and its impact on water resources; vulnerability and risk assessment; and water management. Comprising the Proceedings of the International Conference on Water Resources of Arid and Semi-Arid Regions of Africa held in Gaborone, Botswana, August 3-6, 2004, this is a vital text for researchers and practitioners in the fields of surface water hydrology, groundwater hydrology, environmental engineering, agricultural engineering and earth sciences, as well as for those involved in water resources planning, development and management in arid and semi-arid areas.