Characterizing Adaptive Capacity in Water Governance Arrangements in the Context of Extreme Events

2011 ◽  
pp. 339-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margot Hill
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Governance Arrangements

The same deep water as you? The impact of alternative governance arrangements of water service delivery on efficiency

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Rodrigues ◽  
António F Tavares
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Authority ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Water Utilities ◽  
Switching Regression ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Utility Systems ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Switching Regression Models ◽  
Governance Arrangements

This work contributes to the literature on water governance by attempting to provide an answer to the question of what are the differences in efficiency of alternative governance arrangements of water utilities. We test hypotheses derived from property rights, principal–agent, and transaction costs theories using a comprehensive database of 260 water utility systems provided by the Portuguese Regulatory Authority of Water and Waste Services. Using endogenous switching regression models estimated through maximum likelihood, the study is designed in two steps. First, we investigate differences in efficiency between in-house options and externalization and find that in-house solutions as a set (direct provision and municipal companies) are more efficient than externalization options (mixed companies and concessions). Second, we test differences in efficiency within both in-house and externalization solutions, and fail to find statistically significant differences in efficiency between in-house bureaucracies and municipal companies and between mixed companies and concessions.

scholarly journals Exploring institutional adaptive capacity in practice: examining water governance adaptation in Australia

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvette Bettini ◽  
Rebekah R. Brown ◽  
Fjalar J. de Haan
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Water Governance

Adaptive capacity and regional water governance in north-western Germany

Water Policy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 794-815 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Grecksch
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Salt Water ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Salt Water Intrusion ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Coastal Zones ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Study Region

Successful adaptation to climate change requires flexible adaptation strategies which consider regional ecological, economic and social circumstances. Coastal zones are considered to be significantly vulnerable to climate change impacts. The projected impacts of climate change in the metropolitan region of Bremen–Oldenburg, Germany (a coastal area), are, for example, rising sea level, salt water intrusion, temporary groundwater scarcity in the summer and increased (heavy) rainfalls. This paper uses an existing framework, the Adaptive Capacity Wheel (ACW), complemented by two additional dimensions: adaptation motivation and adaptation belief. The objectives were first, to assess the adaptive capacity of water governance in the study region, and second, to show how the ACW can be used as an approach and a communication tool with stakeholders to identify strengths and weaknesses. Based on this, a further objective was to discover what lessons and recommendations can be drawn that could help water experts and stakeholders in the future. The results show a high adaptive capacity and that the addition of the psychological dimensions was valuable. However, it is important to look closely at each dimension assessed by the ACW. The key recommendations are: to improve public participation; to ensure better coordination; to raise awareness; and to reduce the lack of political will to overcome adaptation barriers.

scholarly journals Awareness of climate change's impacts and motivation to adapt are not enough to drive action: A look of Puerto Rican farmers after Hurricane Maria

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0244512
Author(s):  
Luis Alexis Rodríguez-Cruz ◽  
Meredith T. Niles
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Psychological Distance ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Events

Understanding how perceptions around motivation, capacity, and climate change’s impacts relate to the adoption of adaptation practices in light of experiences with extreme weather events is important in assessing farmers’ adaptive capacity. However, very little of this work has occurred in islands, which may have different vulnerabilities and capacities for adaptation. Data of surveyed farmers throughout Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria (n = 405, 87% response rate) were used in a structural equation model to explore the extent to which their adoption of agricultural practices and management strategies was driven by perceptions of motivation, vulnerability, and capacity as a function of their psychological distance of climate change. Our results show that half of farmers did not adopt any practice or strategy, even though the majority perceived themselves capable and motivated to adapt to climate change, and understood their farms to be vulnerable to future extreme events. Furthermore, adoption was neither linked to these adaptation perceptions, nor to their psychological distance of climate change, which we found to be both near and far. Puerto Rican farmers’ showed a broad awareness of climate change’s impacts both locally and globally in different dimensions (temporal, spatial, and social), and climate distance was not linked to reported damages from Hurricane Maria or to previous extreme weather events. These results suggest that we may be reaching a tipping point for extreme events as a driver for climate belief and action, especially in places where there is a high level of climate change awareness and continued experience of compounded impacts. Further, high perceived capacity and motivation are not linked to actual adaptation behaviors, suggesting that broadening adaptation analyses beyond individual perceptions and capacities as drivers of climate adaptation may give us a better understanding of the determinants to strengthen farmers’ adaptive capacity.

scholarly journals Alternative governance arrangements for modular water infrastructure: An exploratory review

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 53-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Pakizer ◽  
Eva Lieberherr
Keyword(s):  
Water Governance ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Modular Systems ◽  
The Status ◽  
Formal Policy ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Governance Arrangements

This article presents an exploratory review of alternative governance arrangements for modular systems in the urban water sector in terms of policy instruments, organizational structure, and underlying mechanisms. We develop an analytical framework to review the literature on alternative arrangements for innovative technologies. The preliminary results highlight the importance of governmental involvement and formal policy instruments to ensure public and environmental health in the context of modular water infrastructures. This is in line with the status quo of conventional water governance arrangements. However, the findings also suggest that informal instruments supplement the formal ones and that instead of political-administrative accountability more horizontal mechanisms, such as answerability toward citizens and consumers, play an important role in the context of new water technologies.

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