The sharing of water between society and ecosystems: from conflict to catchmentbased comanagement (original) (raw)
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The Economics of Water Resource Allocation: Valuation Methods and Policy Implications
GLOBAL ISSUES IN WATER POLICY, 2010
In this chapter a 'watershed economics approach' that could be applied in Cyprus is proposed which is composed of two important stages. In Stage I economic valuation techniques are used to establish the economic value of the competing demands for surface and groundwater, incorporating where necessary an analysis of water quality. The valuation exercise allows the objective balancing of demands based upon the equi-marginal principle to achieve economic efficiency. In Stage II a policy impact analysis is proposed which addresses issues of social equity and the value of water for environmental/ecological purposes. The analysis is undertaken within the confines of the watershed; the most natural unit for the analysis of water allocation and scarcity since it determines the hydrological links between competing users and thus the impacts of one user upon another. The methodology is encapsulated by a case study of the Kouris watershed in Cyprus.
Bioscience, 2021
Although a wide body of scholarly research recognizes multiple kinds of values for water, water security assessments typically employ just some of them. In the present article, we integrate value scenarios into a planetary water security model to incorporate multiple water-related social values and illustrate trade-offs among them. Specifically, we incorporate cultural values for environmental flows needed to sustain ecosystem function (rights of waters), the water requirements of a human right to food (rights to water), and the economic value of water to commercial enterprise (commercial water rights). Pairing quantitative hydrological modeling with qualitative systems of valuing, we suggest how to depict the available water for realizing various combinations of the values underlying those rights. We account for population growth and dietary choices associated with different socioeconomic pathways. This pluralist approach incorporates multiple kinds of values into a water security framework, to better recognize and work with diversity in cultural valuation of water.
Values Connecting Societies and Water Systems
2013
Water systems such as rivers and lakes have many important values for ecosystems and human societies. Both economical, social-ecological, cultural and political values are met by the water systems, connecting different activities in human society and ecosystems. Water systems with low water quality serve different values than healthy water systems and have huge impact on the society. For example, for drinking water, biodiversity or recreational open space, a healthy water system is crucial. The values of the water systems are interlinked. The interlinking and overlapping values of the water systems at the spatial and temporal scales have determined a connective capacity in the water governance, be it the coordination between the values or the competition between the values and its linked governance approach. The challenge is values of water systems change with the change in the societal development and consequently influence the water governance approach. A reverse process is also evident. Unfortunately, today water systems in many cities have slowly reduced in their total value for society. The revival of the water systems such as river and lakes is thus seem to be urgent in order to enhance the values generated by these systems for the society. The concept of connective capacity can be applied to the values generated by water systems, where these values bring activities, and on a higher level the ecological and social systems, together. With the historical development of changing values of water systems this can be illustrated. Main questions are what we can learn from the connecting capacity of values and if these values play a role in (inter)connecting societies and water systems. The chapter provides analyses of the changing values in water management in The Netherlands and in India, illustrated with examples of urban lake systems. It discusses how values of the water systems (inter)connect societies and water systems, and in turn influence the water governance and vice versa. The findings are based on literature review and broad stakeholder analysis conducted from repeated field visits to the lakes sites in Tilburg and Ahmedabad from 2005-2010. The field visits included semi-structured and open ended interviews with the stakeholders, backed by document analysis. 2. Dynamics in Values and Water Governance 2.1. Values of ecosystems The multiple objective approaches in current water management are derived from the different values of the water systems. The term 'value' is broad and multidisciplinary and has different interpretations in different disciplines. In the total economic value (TEV) framework Pearce and Moran (1994) divide values in instrumental value (or use value) and intrinsic or passive (or non use) value. The instrumental value is subdivided into direct use value, indirect use value and option value; and the intrinsic
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions
Values, defined as principles or standards of behaviour, are crucial for understanding how individuals, groups, organisations and whole societies interact with their water systems. Values can be used to judge and justify actions (ideal values) and they can be enacted in practice and embodied in water laws and water infrastructure (actual values). Moreover, they can be individual or social. Depending on the type of value, different measurement methods can be used. For research into the co-evolution of human and water systems, discourse analysis of cultural texts such as newspaper articles is a good method since such texts are often available for longer periods. For comparative research, data from the World Values Survey or the European Social Survey may be used. To achieve progress, future socio-hydrological research should take as its starting point the main social groups and organisations in the area of concern and study 1) how these have evolved, 2) how their interactions with each other and with their physical environment have evolved, and 3) how they influence and are influenced by the prevalent social values and management institutions. 1 Introduction Values play an important role in water management. Values can be described as "principles or standards of behaviour; one's judgement of what is important in life" (Stevenson, 2010). Without sufficient knowledge of the prevalent values, it will be very hard to understand human behaviour. Recently, Roobavannan et al. (2018) reviewed the role of values in socio-hydrological models. To improve the generalisability and predictive power of these models, they proposed the use of Values-Beliefs-Norms (VBN) theory (Stern et al., 1999; Stern, 2002). VBN theory has been developed to explain pro-environmental behaviour, such as environmental activism and support of environmental policies. It explains this behaviour by pro-environmental personal norms, which in turn are explained by 1) relatively stable personal values, and 2) personal beliefs that the realisation of these values is threatened and that the individual can help to alleviate the threat. VBN theory has been used to explain for instance climate change mitigation and adaptation measures by farmers (Sanderson and Curtis, 2016) and support of farmers and non-farmers for water policies (Sanderson et al., 2017). It is, however, not a complete theory of values. What is missing is proper attention for the social origin and character of values and for social mechanisms such as enforcement. In this article, a more comprehensive theory of values in water management will be developed, using both socialpsychological and political science literature, in order to inform future socio-hydrological research. The article covers both
Theory and practice of water ecosystem services valuation: Where are we going?
Ecosystem Services
Water resources have been widely cited as a prime example of ecosystem services (ES), especially when the issue is valuation. Because of the importance of water ecosystem services (ESw), they are being effectively evaluated in at least three aspects: clarity about the type of valuation employed; adoption of a strong theoretical basis guided by ecological knowledge; and the inclusion of analytical elements that ensure social control and direction in decision making. Our study sought to determine whether these prerogatives are actually relevant, by assessing the emphasis in the valuation of ESw among ES publications. From the literature, we define five types of valuation and five major theoretical principles that can be broken down into 14 indicators that we used in our analysis of ESw studies. Our results indicated that the current knowledge about ESw carry the false impression that the ecosystem services valuation is sufficiently consolidated to support decisions about payments for ESw.
Two watersheds, one in north western Syria and the other in south east Zimbabwe are looked at. Both locations are water scarce and food insecure. In both areas field work has found households making multiple and highly productive uses of small amounts of water. These are usually small-scale, informal systems of water use. Within both watersheds, there are also large-scale irrigation schemes. These large systems are much more formal, and are viewed as the providers of national food and economic security. But, research indicates that water is used more productively in the smaller, more informal systems. These small schemes also create far fewer environmental costs and externalities. They also provide most of the inputs which maintain household food, water and income security on a day to day basis. Due to various resource constraints, both regions need to develop water management strategies whereby water is treated much more as an economic good. In the Syrian watershed, the problem is to not only improve the supply of potable water, but also to arrest a declining water table. In the Zimbabwean watershed, the problem again is not only to improve the supply of potable water, but also to meet stringent cost recovery targets in the water supply sector. It has been suggested that both regions need to move towards more realistic valuation strategies for water. In both locations, some formal charges for water currently exist, but these prices do not pass on the economic cost of using the water to the consumer. The challenges inherent in adjusting the management systems of water in these two watersheds to reflect the water's economic value are examined. There are several institutional, cultural and property rights related difficulties. A key issue is striking the balance between ensuring access to water to promote food and income security and valuing the water to incorporate its environmental, opportunity and scarcity costs. The similarities in the difficulties faced and the recommendations suggested for each location are assessed. The paper discusses whether economic systems for water resource management are bound to be unique to each environmental, cultural and political location, or could (and should) economic research and experience on water resource valuation in such locations be generalised?
Linking water quality and well-being for improved assessment and valuation of ecosystem services
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012
Despite broad recognition of the value of the goods and services provided by nature, existing tools for assessing and valuing ecosystem services often fall short of the needs and expectations of decision makers. Here we address one of the most important missing components in the current ecosystem services toolbox: a comprehensive and generalizable framework for describing and valuing water quality-related services. Water quality is often misrepresented as a final ecosystem service. We argue that it is actually an important contributor to many different services, from recreation to human health. We present a valuation approach for water quality-related services that is sensitive to different actions that affect water quality, identifies aquatic endpoints where the consequences of changing water quality on human well-being are realized, and recognizes the unique groups of beneficiaries affected by those changes. We describe the multiple biophysical and economic pathways that link actions to changes in water qualityrelated ecosystem goods and services and provide guidance to researchers interested in valuing these changes. Finally, we present a valuation template that integrates biophysical and economic models, links actions to changes in service provision and value estimates, and considers multiple sources of water quality-related ecosystem service values without double counting.