scholarly journals Developing a dynamic framework to examine the interplay between environmental stress, stakeholder participation processes and hydrological systems

2014 ◽  
Vol 364 ◽  
pp. 326-332
Author(s):  
G. Carr ◽  
G. Blöschl ◽  
D. P. Loucks
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Environmental Stress ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Institutional Conditions ◽  
Dynamic Framework ◽  
Environmental Events

Abstract. Stakeholder participation is increasingly discussed as essential for sustainable water resource management. Yet detailed understanding of the factors driving its use, the processes by which it is employed, and the outcomes or achievements it can realise remains highly limited, and often contested. This understanding is essential to enable water policy to be shaped for efficient and effective water management. This research proposes and applies a dynamic framework that can explore in which circumstances environmental stress events, such as floods, droughts or pollution, drive changes in water governance towards a more participatory approach, and how this shapes the processes by which participation or stakeholder engagement takes place, and the subsequent water management outcomes that emerge. The framework is able to assess the extent to which environmental events in combination with favourable contextual factors (e.g. institutional support for participatory activities) lead to good participatory processes (e.g. well facilitated and representative) that then lead to good outcomes (e.g. improved ecological conditions). Through applying the framework to case studies from the literature it becomes clear that environmental stress events can stimulate participatory governance changes, when existing institutional conditions promote participatory approaches. The work also suggests that intermediary outcomes, which may be tangible (such as reaching an agreement) or non-tangible (such as developing shared knowledge and understanding among participants, or creating trust), may provide a crucial link between processes and resource management outcomes. If this relationship can be more strongly confirmed, the presence or absence of intermediary outcomes may even be used as a valuable proxy to predict future resource management outcomes.

Scale and consequences – the limits of the river basin as a management unit

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 618-625
Author(s):  
Mike Muller
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Aquatic Environment ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Network Governance ◽  
African Experience ◽  
Basin Scale

Abstract Contrary to dominant paradigms, the river basin is not the obvious unit within which to undertake water management given the diversity of functions inherent in water resource management. The Southern African experience is presented to illustrate issues that may arise when using the river basin for different functions. Functions best addressed at a larger ‘problem-shed’ level are identified and it is explained why some other functions should rather be performed at smaller, sub-basin scales. Using recent work on water governance, which emphasise polycentricity and network governance, it is suggested that a better understanding of the appropriate scales for different functions will support activities such as planning, monitoring and the protection of the aquatic environment that may best be focused at river basin scale.

scholarly journals Bayesian belief networks as a tool for participatory integrated assessment and adaptive groundwater management: the Upper Guadiana Basin, Spain

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 69-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Jørgen Henriksen ◽  
Per Rasmussen ◽  
John Bromley ◽  
Africa De la Hera Portillo ◽  
M. Ramón Llamas
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Integrated Assessment ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Bayesian Belief Networks ◽  
La Mancha ◽  
Guadiana Basin ◽  
The Eu

Las Tablas de Daimiel, together with other wetlands in La Mancha, Spain, situated in the Upper Guadiana Basin (Fig. 1), has been catalogued as a Biosphere Reserve Area since 1981 as part of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere programme. Between the mid-1970s and late 1980s, over 150 000 hectares of new irrigation areas were established, mainly as a result of private initiative. The average recharge rate of groundwater in the western La Mancha aquifer in the Upper Guadiana Basin is estimated to be between 200 and 500 million m3 per year, in dry and wet years respectively. Rec harge also depends on the depth of the water table (Martínez-Cortina & Cruces 2003). Abstraction reached 600 million m3 per year by the end of the 1980s. Up to this time a total of 3000–5000 million m3 of the Upper Gua- diana Basin aquifer’s water reserves was withdrawn (Bromley et al. 2000; Lopéz-Geta et al. 2006). The intensive use of groundwater has been a main factor for the improvement of the social and economic situation in this region, with a population of about half a million people, and where the agricultural sector is very important (Llamas et al. 2006). Water-table drawdown due to the intensive abstraction of groundwater for irrigation has caused severe negative impacts on wetlands, streams and rivers, and has resulted in a lowering of groundwater levels by up to 50 m. The main conflicts in the area are between farmers and conservationists, between central, regional and local government water agencies, and between small farmers and big farmers. The conflicts began about three decades ago (Llamas 1988) and have not yet been settled. In 2001 the Spanish Parliament asked the Govern- ment to present a hydrological plan for the Upper Guadiana Basin within one year. More than 20 draft proposals have been presented, the last one in 2006 with a budget of almost four billion Euros. This proposal has been met with strong opposition from most farmer lobbies. The Guadiana Basin is one of seven transboundary case studies of the EU NeWater research project (New Approaches for Adaptive Water Management under Uncertainty). The prin cipal water-management issues in the project are addressed by adaptive and integrated water-resource manage ment. This includes uncertainty and risk mitigation, gov er n ance, crosssectoral integration, scale analysis, information management, stakeholder participation, financial aspects, system resilience and vulnerability. One work block in the NeWater project has the task of translating research outputs into tools for practitioners and end-users. As part of this effort, Bayesian belief networks (Bns) were selected as one possible tool to be developed as an aid to stakeholder participation in integrated assessment of gaps, being a suitable tool for dialogue in order to identify gaps in water-resource management functions, gaps to meet the goals of the EU Water Framework Directive and to analyse management potentials and constraints. The purpose of this paper is to describe the testing of Bns as a tool for participatory integrated assessment and adaptive and integrated water-resource management in the Upper Guadiana Basin.

scholarly journals Assessing the Impact of Optimization Measures on Sustainable Water Resource Management in the Guanzhong Area, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Tang ◽  
Ruichen Mao ◽  
Jinxi Song ◽  
Haotian Sun ◽  
Feihe Kong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Impact

Limited water resources and rapid socioeconomic development pose new challenges to watershed water resource management. By integrating the perspectives of stakeholders and decision-makers, this study aims to identify cases and approaches to achieve sustainable water resources management. It improves and expands the experience of previous project research. The comparative evaluation provides an analytical basis to verify the importance of stakeholder participation in water policy interactions. The results show that if an effective demand management policy is not implemented, the Guanzhong area will not meet water demand in the future. Through the combination of water-saving policies, water transfer projects and other measures, the available water resources will continue into the future. Optimizing management measures, improving the ecological environment, and encouraging stakeholder participation will help change this situation, although supply-side limitations and future uncertainties likely cause unsustainable water. Therefore, decision-makers should pay attention to the application potential of water-saving and other measures to reduce dependence on external water sources. In addition, the three sustainable development decision-making principles identified in this paper can promote the fairness and stability of water policy.

Water Governance and Management in Indus Basin - Challenges & Threats

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marium Sara Minhas Bandeali
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
The State ◽  
Indus Basin

Water governance and management are important challenges for the River Indus Basin in Pakistan. Water governance refers to social, political and economic factors that influence water management. The water scarcity and water security are a major concern for the state to control its water resources. The study aims to give Sindh water policy by exploring the challenges to Indus Basin in managing water resources and to identify opportunities Indus Basin can look to improve water management. Interviews were conducted from water experts and analysts having 5 years’ experience or more in the water sector of Pakistan through a semi-structured self-developed questionnaire using purposive sampling technique and transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings show that increasing population, climatic change and rising demand of water are major challenges Indus is facing and Indus with time is getting water-scarce therefore need strong institutions, civil society and legislatures to ensure equitable distribution of water and maintain the ecosystem. The study emphasizes that water governance and management are necessary for sustainable use of water. Pakistan, the water stress country needs to address ‘governance’ at a wider scale to solve problems in the Indus Basin for the livelihood of people. The research will benefit the state, water experts, institutions as well as civil society to promote efficient use of water in Indus Basin.

Stakeholder involvement in water management: the role of the stakeholder analysis within participatory processes

Water Policy ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 675-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Sabina Lupo Stanghellini
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Stakeholder Analysis ◽  
Stakeholder Involvement ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Catchment Management ◽  
Analysis Methodology ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Future Challenges

Water is a central resource supporting human activities and ecosystems and it is required for different purposes and uses that are often conflicting. Existing water-related problems are expected to increase and conventional water resource management systems are not likely to be able to face future challenges. There is the need for an integrated water resources management, which should be participatory, technically and scientific informed and which should be based on bottom-up approach. The Directive 2000/60/EC is based on principles of integrated planning and calls for stakeholder involvement in water management. Involving stakeholders is an important step to ensure that catchment management plans take into consideration local needs, experiences and interests. This paper presents a stakeholder analysis methodology that was developed to support stakeholder participation in water management. The methodology was implemented as a preliminary step in a stakeholder participation project in an alpine sub-catchment in Northern Italy.

scholarly journals Minimizing carbon loss through integrated water resource management on peatland utilization in Pulau Burung, Riau, Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 200 ◽  
pp. 02019
Author(s):  
Nurul Ihsan Fawzi ◽  
Annisa Noyara Rahmasary ◽  
Ika Zahara Qurani
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Peat Soil ◽  
Carbon Loss ◽  
Integrated Water Resource Management ◽  
Subsidence Rate ◽  
Yearly Average

Sustainable utilization of peatland is required for balancing production and conservation efforts. On peatland, one of the main components to examine sustainability is understanding the carbon balance. This research was conducted in Pulau Burung, Riau, Indonesia, which has a long history of peatland utilization for agriculture. The sets of utilized data included historical data of water management on peatland represented by water table and subsidence rate, next to carbon density of peat soil. The results showed the function of integrated water resource management made the yearly average water table depth is 48 and 49 cm in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The range water table is between 31cm to 72 cm due to season variability and crop requirement. Consequently, the rate of annual subsidence is averaging at 1.7 cm with cumulative subsidence in 32 yr is 54.1 cm. Since the water never drained since the establishment, the subsidence rate of the first five years is averaging only at 3.3 cm yr–1. Low subsidence rates minimize annual carbon loss during the peatland utilization around (30 to 200) Mg CO2 ha–1 yr–1. In 32 yr, the water management in peatland utilization in Pulau Burung has prevented 2 000 Mg CO2 ha–1 to 4 925 Mg CO2 ha–1 loss compared to other cultivated areas in peatland. Further, this paper discusses the practice that resulted in low emission of coconut agriculture in Pulau Burung as one of sustainability dimensions, which support the other sustainability aspects, that is the thriving local livelihood.

Scope/need of soft path water resource management in developing countries

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 185-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.T. Amin ◽  
M. Han
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Efficient Technology ◽  
Environmentally Sound

The goal of this paper is to identify the major outlines of innovative, integrated and decentralized water management practices, training, research, and development needs in various aspects of soft path water resource management in developing countries of Asia. The decentralized water strategies including science, regulations, training, government policies, and funding for some of the developing countries in Asian region are reviewed. There are two primary ways or paths of meeting water-related needs; one the “hard” path, and the other “soft” path that complements mainly decentralized and open decision-making, application of efficient technology, and environmental protection. One of the soft path decentralized solution being implemented in many developing countries of Asia is small scale rainwater harvesting and management and both government and non-government sectors are promoting the practice on a regional community and family basis. Overall, the paper aims to contribute to the ongoing development of environmentally sound and economically viable approaches to water management in the developing world.

scholarly journals Integrated water resource management for mega city: a case study of Dhaka city, Bangladesh / Zintegrowane zarządzanie zasobami wodnymi dużych miast: przykład miasta Dakka w Bangladeszu

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasir Hossain ◽  
Khalid Md. Bahauddin
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Integrated Water Resource Management ◽  
Ground Water Recharge ◽  
Daunting Task

Abstract Dhaka the capital of Bangladesh is facing a serious water scarcity problem due to the big gap between demand and supply of water system. When accelerating water scarcities and pollution in and around urban centers are superimposed on issues like continuing urbanization, lack of investment funds for constructing and maintaining water infrastructures, high public debts, inefficient resources allocation processes, inadequate management capacities, poor governance, inappropriate institutional frameworks and inadequate legal and regulatory regimes, water management in the megacities poses a daunting task in the future. To overcome these water related problems, water can be a designing element for structuring future development with the combination of sustainable approaches for social and physical transformation, open up opportunities for water management system. Therefore an integrated approach like integrated water resource management (IWRM) system is required that responds to problems that are all interrelated. Alternate supply and demand management tools such as ground water recharge, rainwater harvesting, effective water pricing, reclaimed water use are suggested to meet the deficit of current supply system through the efficient use of the scarce resources available. Institutional reform and improved water planning are required to facilitate economic growth and social development. Finally, human resource development is identified as key factor for the sustainable effective management of this valuable resource.

Social learning in an environmental justice context: a case study of integrated regional water management

Water Policy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (S2) ◽  
pp. 97-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina L. Balazs ◽  
Mark Lubell
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Environmental Justice ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Disadvantaged Community ◽  
Project Study ◽  
Regional Water

California recently implemented a statewide effort to learn how best to outreach to and involve ‘disadvantaged communities’ in integrated regional water management (IRWM) planning. Using the case of the Kings Basin Water Authority's Disadvantaged Community Pilot Project Study, we argue that social learning is a key mechanism through which the procedural and distributive justice goals of environmental justice are integrated into water resources planning. Using interviews, focus groups and survey results, we find that social learning has short- and medium-term effects of increasing access to information, broadening stakeholder participation and developing initial foundations for structural changes to water governance. However, long-term change in the structure of IRWM institutions is, at best, in its early phases. Social learning provides a basis for changing water governance and management outcomes in ways that promote representation of traditionally marginalized groups and the water challenges they face.

scholarly journals Determinants of farmer awareness of water governance across gender dimensions in smallholder irrigation schemes in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa

Water SA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (2 April) ◽  
Author(s):  
SF Dlangalala ◽  
M Mudhara
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Water Institutions ◽  
Smallholder Irrigation

Water is a vital resource for irrigated agricultural production. Its availability and accessibility are critical for alleviating poverty and achieving food security in rural households. However, smallholder irrigated agriculture in South Africa faces limited water supply emanating from scheme governance problems, with weak institutional arrangements that fail to equitably and effectively govern water resources. South African water policy has been transforming over the years. However, statutory laws remain unknown in smallholder irrigation schemes. This study sought to assess farmer awareness of water governance and identify the determinants of farmer awareness of water governance dimensions across gender dimensions in Mooi River, Tugela Ferry, and Ndumo irrigation schemes. The study employed principal component analysis to generate water governance indices, that is, formal institutions, the existence and effectiveness of scheme constitutions, scheme committees and enforcement of informal rules in the scheme. The ordinary least square regression technique was then used to identify factors determining farmer awareness of formal and informal water institutions in the three irrigation schemes. The findings suggest that formal water institutions are unknown and factors such as household characteristics, scheme location, stakeholder participation and involvement in scheme decision-making processes significantly influence awareness of governance. Therefore, there is a need to raise farmer awareness of formal water institutions and to strengthen the informal institutions which are functional, recognised and in line with irrigation management transfer.

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