Water crises have been a constant feature of human history. Yet the growing need to secure water for human consumption, to produce food and meet the demands of cities and industry has arguably run up against physical limitations. At present, only three percent of all water is freshwater, of which less than one percent remains available for human needs. As water crises demand the same attention and actions as climate change (Stern Report 2006) and biodiversity crises (Dasgupta Review 2021), this session asks for comparative historical analysis of communities’ initiatives to care for, share, or recharge surface or groundwater resources in places with response pressure.

A growing body of scholarship shows that any collective exploitation of common-pool resources tends to result in a social dilemma, requiring collective action. Groundwater as a common pool resource (CPR) faces an even greater challenge, its innate invisibility, and hence a higher propensity for overexploitation. If no action is taken for its preservation, (over)use might result in the collapse of the common in due course (Ostrom 1990). The majority of studies on these types of resources tend to be modern case studies, with limited attention to historical long-term processes. Several recent studies have significantly contributed to filling the gap providing empirical and methodological contributions to the analysis of CPRs over time (see De Moor 2015; De Moor et al. 2021; Haller et al. 2019 ). Fresh groundwater however tends to be overlooked in the field, where land, particularly in relation to enclosures, has had a predominant role (e.g. Allen 1982, 1992; Chambers 1953; Humphries 1990; McCloskey 1972, 1975,1989; Shaw-Taylor 2001; Turner 1990).

The analysis of underground water calls for a transnational and interdisciplinary approach, as the levels of water in one location are often determined by actions elsewhere which, in turn, might affect cloud formation and rainfall (a key variable in studies of water-intensive agriculture -Nath 2023, see also Hayami 1976 and Oshima 1986). Therefore, the water cycle can be used as an example to illustrate and reveal neglected dimensions of the socio - economic development of agricultural economies (Asprilla Echeverría 2023). Recent research is placing the nexus between water and economic development at the center (see Roy 2021, 2022). Yet, historical records on domestic and non-domestic water use are discontinuous, incomplete, or non-existent. Furthermore, comprehensive and consistent time series for all countries worldwide are still lacking. Thus, the aim of this session is to place the study of water into a historical context and its linkages with other local or global common-pool resources such as land, forests, and the less visible ‘ecosystem services’ over time. In general, submissions should ideally focus on sustainability challenges and how the past can guide today's decisions. The organizers particularly welcome contributions analyzing diverse collective responses (e.g. sanctioning, self-govern) to address the so-called ‘tragedy of the commons’ (Hardin 1968).