To Be, to Do, to Share: The Triple-Loop of Water Governance to Improve Urban Water Resilience—Testing the Benidorm’ Experience, Spain

Peri-urban interfaces tend to ensure water supply relying on their surrounding’ resources, generating water disputes when asking for collaboration. The urban-rural matrix of the Marina Baja county in southern Spain is characterized by inland irrigation and coastal tourism development, being the most water-intensive activities in Benidorm. This contribution addresses the following research question: Can a better and systematic understanding of stakeholders’ behavior and interactions increase water resilience in urban-rural interfaces? Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and questionnaires to 19 key stakeholders representing government officials, water managers, and the agricultural, tourism, and environmental sectors. Data were analyzed following the SAA and using MaxQDA® Analytics Pro 2020. A triple-loop analysis on water governance has been developed and applied to synthesize stakeholders’ behavior when addressing urban water resilience to face climate change impacts: relevance and representativeness (to be), recognition and assessment (to do), and collaboration (to share). Results highlighted how Benidorm’s urban water resilience is conditioned by four main learnings from stakeholders’ perception and interaction: (1) ‘feeling represented’ is related to stakeholders’ capacity to negotiate decisions, (2) lack of political will and Benidorm’s leading role increase stakeholders’ feelings of underrepresentation, motivating power imbalance, (3) stakeholders’ actions are less valued than stakeholders’ roles and functions, and (4) agreements are benefited by predisposition (willingness), but also by the compatibility of discourses (affinity) and the technical-management facilities (viability).

Impact of climate change on domestic water accessibility in Bamenda III Sub-Division, North West region, Cameroon

The effects of climate change are felt most at the household level, when taps and springs run dry for several weeks or months, forcing people to access potable water from doubtful sources. There has been an increase in the population of Bamenda III without a proportionate increase in the water supply capacity. This has resulted in severe water crises, even though Bamenda III municipality has water supplies from the Council, Community, CAMWATER, natural springs and streams, wells and boreholes. Household data on water accessibility against a backdrop of a changing climate was collected using 269 questionnaires to assess perceptions on the state of water resources and climate. Rainfall data were collected from 1963-2019 and results revealed that mean annual rainfall is at 182.52 mm, with a standard deviation of 29.16 and a Coefficient of Variation of 15.69%, while the mean Standardized Precipitation Index is -0.07 (mild dryness), and rainfall has reduced by -2.07 mm from 1963-2019. The population attributed problems of water accessibility to climate change, urbanization and poor water governance. It is recommended that sustainable water management through Nature-based Solutions and Ecosystem-based Adaptation should be implemented from the watershed to the community level.

Post-conflict development, reviewing the water sector in Somalia

Somali post-conflict development faces many challenges that affect the sustainability of the water sector. This paper reviews and analyses the post-conflict development activities in the water sector through local communications and reviewing published materials and databases from international players in Somalia, funding agencies and financial tracking service. The paper has shown that there has been great attention and support given to the country during its post-conflict development. However, most of these initiatives and projects have focused on emerging issues such as tackling food security and water, sanitation and hygiene services. The paper also shows that the continuous funding of emerging issues in Somalia has reduced its long-term sustainability of the water sector and limited its national and long-term benefits but has increased corruption due to increase the gap between actors and local people. Therefore, new transparent cooperative initiatives are needed based on transparent involvement and coordination among donors, local authorities and implementers to improve and develop the water sector and the livelihood in Somalia through a solid water governance system.

São Paulo’s 2013 water crisis: a socially constructed disaster risk

Frequent cases of water scarcity in Brazil reveal a water governance and administration crisis. During the water crisis (2013-2016), the São Paulo Metropolitan Region experienced a disaster scenario. This article analyses how it was constituted as a socially constructed disaster episode. A case study was carried out in the Novo Recreio neighbourhood (Guarulhos, SP) through ethnographic observations, interviews, and newspaper articles. The results were analysed based on the Pressure and Release Model (PAR). It was concluded that the water crisis period in SPMR has disproportionately affected the Guarulhos population, especially in Novo Recreio. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that public policies and the neighbourhood's territorial formation are related to its population's current frail living conditions and increased socio-environmental vulnerability in the face of continuous water scarcity, thus corroborating the social construction of the risk of water scarcity.

Examining The Evolving Environmental Protection Policy Convergence In The Ontario Municipal Drinking Water, Wastewater And Stormwater Sectors: Analysis Of State/Non-State Governance And The Value Of An Environmental Management System Standard For The Wastewater And Stormwater Sectors

The central question this dissertation attempts to answer is whether there is practical value in Ontario legislatively mandating that municipalities implement an environmental management system (EMS) standard for their wastewater and stormwater activities, to be added to the drinking water quality management system standard (DWQMS) that is already statutorily required. This research explores the evolving governance approaches of the municipal drinking, wastewater and stormwater sectors in Ontario, examining theories of governance, a review of the literature concerning policy convergence and standards as instruments of organizational innovation and the legal and policy framework within which municipal water management takes place.<div>The research method employed a combination of semi-structured interviews, case studies and a focus group as data gathering techniques. The research finds evidence in support of and wide recognition of the practical value of EMS by assisting municipalities in meeting their environmental objectives, addressing environmental and property damage risks, providing an additional mechanism of public accountability, transparency, and improving alignment with the existing legal structure. It was also apparent that there is no political appetite in the provincial government to embark on a mandated EMS, so the preferred option at this time is a provincially-endorsed, voluntary sector-specific standard for wastewater and also for stormwater, which could constitute a catalyst to boost voluntary uptake of EMS by small to medium municipalities (as it is already occurring with large municipalities). This standard could be based on a customized variation of the ISO 14001, DWQMS and other standards to address existing regulatory gaps. </div><div>The research also reveals that Ontario municipal water management governance is notable because governments are drawing on independently developed and implementing non-state forms of regulation (such as EMS standards), in which private sector, civil society and multistakeholder rule instruments, processes, institutions and actors all perform important roles in support of conventional state-based regulation, showing both horizontal and vertical policy convergence. </div><div>A limitation of the research is that it focuses on water governance of municipalities of one jurisdiction. Future research could examine the practical utility of examining water governance to other contexts (e.g., water governance for First Nations, and in non-Canadian jurisdictions) </div>

Examining The Evolving Environmental Protection Policy Convergence In The Ontario Municipal Drinking Water, Wastewater And Stormwater Sectors: Analysis Of State/Non-State Governance And The Value Of An Environmental Management System Standard For The Wastewater And Stormwater Sectors

The central question this dissertation attempts to answer is whether there is practical value in Ontario legislatively mandating that municipalities implement an environmental management system (EMS) standard for their wastewater and stormwater activities, to be added to the drinking water quality management system standard (DWQMS) that is already statutorily required. This research explores the evolving governance approaches of the municipal drinking, wastewater and stormwater sectors in Ontario, examining theories of governance, a review of the literature concerning policy convergence and standards as instruments of organizational innovation and the legal and policy framework within which municipal water management takes place.<div>The research method employed a combination of semi-structured interviews, case studies and a focus group as data gathering techniques. The research finds evidence in support of and wide recognition of the practical value of EMS by assisting municipalities in meeting their environmental objectives, addressing environmental and property damage risks, providing an additional mechanism of public accountability, transparency, and improving alignment with the existing legal structure. It was also apparent that there is no political appetite in the provincial government to embark on a mandated EMS, so the preferred option at this time is a provincially-endorsed, voluntary sector-specific standard for wastewater and also for stormwater, which could constitute a catalyst to boost voluntary uptake of EMS by small to medium municipalities (as it is already occurring with large municipalities). This standard could be based on a customized variation of the ISO 14001, DWQMS and other standards to address existing regulatory gaps. </div><div>The research also reveals that Ontario municipal water management governance is notable because governments are drawing on independently developed and implementing non-state forms of regulation (such as EMS standards), in which private sector, civil society and multistakeholder rule instruments, processes, institutions and actors all perform important roles in support of conventional state-based regulation, showing both horizontal and vertical policy convergence. </div><div>A limitation of the research is that it focuses on water governance of municipalities of one jurisdiction. Future research could examine the practical utility of examining water governance to other contexts (e.g., water governance for First Nations, and in non-Canadian jurisdictions) </div>

Where Do We Stand Now? A Bibliometric Analysis of Water Research in Support of the Sustainable Development Goal 6

The connections between the scientific findings and SDG 6 are often not clear, which results in increasing the gap between technical developments and academic discourse, and the policy practitioners and/or implementers. The present paper explores the existing scientific research on water that directly connects to SDG 6 using a bibliometric analysis. The 637 scientific articles published between 2015–2021 (till 13 May 2021) were investigated for temporal development, scientific collaboration, existing research focus and the gaps. Interdisciplinary journals such as Science of the Total Environment and Journal of Environmental Management are found to be dominant sources along with water specific journals such as Water Research and Water (Switzerland). Open access journals make a dominant footprint and majority of author collaborations are found among authors from countries such as USA and UK while the research connections among authors from Global South are observed to be weak. Targets 6.1 (safe and affordable water), 6.3 (treatment and reuse of wastewater) and 6.5 (IWRM including through transboundary cooperation) are identified to be the highest referred to targets in scientific research in support of SDG 6. Though a significant evolution of scientific research is observed in connection to SDG 6 with increasing studies on groundwater, water governance, wastewater treatment, etc., in recent years, scientific studies connecting emerging concepts such as water security, water-energy-food nexus and ecosystem based approaches are still in an infant stage which calls for more research connecting these concepts and approaches to SDG 6 targets to attain a sustainable water environment by 2030 and beyond. This paper significantly contributes to tracking the progress in scientific research in connection to SDG 6 as well as highlights the hotspots where more collaboration between scientific communities and policy makers are required.

Development of A Comprehensive Model for Erosion and Sediment Control towards Good Water Governance: UKM Campus as A Watershed Model

This study was carried out to develop a whole ecosystem-based erosion and sediment transport control management system of UKM Campus Watershed which is a sub-basin of Langat River Basin catchment. This is done through the development of an Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) model for the UKM campus watershed that includes localised technology, information and communication system, as well as awareness and community participation for the greening and rehabilitation of UKM Campus. The management system was developed to give a strong participatory element and to ensure that the model will be placed into a user friendly context to make data input and model operation simple for stakeholders with limited resources and training in the use of the models. The application of hydromulching (bioengineering technology) is adopted as part of the ESC study by using the local components to recover most landslides occurred in UKM Campus. It is also as an option where the post-landslide restoration works involving conventional civil designs are costly and sometimes not practical at remote sites. Therefore (due to cost constraints), the remoteness of the sites and low risk to lives and property, bioengineering was the option taken for erosion control, slope stabilization and vegetation establishment.