Water, societies and sustainability: A few anthropological examples of non-market water values

In a sustainable development research context, how can the anthropological literature on social management of water be reread? This article proposes to recall—in the context of a certain number of studied societies, in cases where water management is entrusted to local users—why and how the economic argument is not primary. It will then examine the nature of a possible link between anthropology and economics, specifically identifying differences in rationales, and inviting us to take a closer look at the most enduring technical systems, in their relationship to the land and to the people who use them.