Nor is it an activist's campaign to assert people's rights. It is a very practical explanation of how disputes have been resolved by water users and, as the title suggests, specifically the role that negotiation has, or has not, played. Indeed, if farmers were consulted earlier, it is suggested, there would be less risk of conflict being built into design of water supply projects. Large scale water supply structures are not covered. This is a book more concerned with how farming communities work out the sharing of a common source of water from small or medium size irrigation schemes, often constructed by themselves.
Land rights are a difficult and complex issue.
Water rights are worse being 'almost as fluid as the resource itself'. Most disputes about water are not resolved by courts nor by technocrats. They are worked out by the parties involved, sometimes with the help of outsiders. There is much for outsiders to learn. This book would be a good starting point.