This UN Environment Programme (UNEP) publication explores the notion and the benefits of greening water law by presenting and assessing a variety of legal, procedural and policy mechanisms, for both national and international arenas, that can help to elevate the status and importance of environmental concerns in relation to other societal interests and harmonize the water needs of both people and the natural environment. It recommends that governments take environmental issues into consideration when drafting laws on the use of water to avert an impending water crisis