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The objective of this paper was to demonstrate that the promotion of aquaculture clusters as a policy option for developing tilapia aquaculture in Mexico, resulting from glocal externalities as competitive advantages to the global market, is necessary to further develop the sector. The farmed tilapia clusters were described using data from the Veracruz Aquaculture Census, 2010. We then utilise three theories. Firstly, we focus on North (1955) and Krugman (1995) and find that Economic geography and localisation verified that conglomeration is a function of natural resources and population zones. Secondly, we investigate the Porter value system. Cluster competitive advantage was identified in water availability and water access, electric supply coverage, product presentation, and the local market. Thirdly, we apply the Altenburg and Meyer-Stamer (1999) model to identify cluster type, which classifies typology based on natural resource access and the inputs and technologies commercial balance. The Veracruz Tilapia cluster diagnostic showed an incipient development with remarked opportunity areas, where efforts should be directed, supported by a cluster strategy. However, Mexico and the Port city of Veracruz should diversify their economy. We conclude that adopting a cluster strategy for aquaculture is necessary in Mexico to both increase global competitiveness and to supply the local market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the article is to actualize the challenges faced by Ukrainian agriculture in the context of climate change and the impact of the economic activity of enterprises on the state of natural resources, as well as to consider the ways and mechanisms of the post-war transition of Ukrainian agriculture to sustainable development. In the study, we used monographic, comparative analysis, empirical, abstract, and logical methods. The first consequences of climate change in agricultural sectors of the planet are characterized. Increasing temperatures to a maximum level, longer periods of extreme heat, more intense droughts, increased moisture deficit during the growing season, winter thaws, the spread of pests and diseases, and other manifestations of climate change have a negative impact on agricultural production. In the context of climate change, as highlighted in the paper, these negative processes will significantly intensify, requiring an immediate transition from ecologically and socially destructive monoculture to agroecological agriculture, which is recognized as one of the most affordable, low-cost, socially oriented, and environmentally relevant ways to transition to sustainable development of the industry. The principles and institutional support for such a transition are revealed, taking into account the expected climate change and post-war consequences for Ukrainian agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nepal has abundant hydropower potential and generation capacity under construction that should be able to meet the growing energy need of the country. Although access to electricity in the country is increasing, adoption and access to clean cooking facilities remains insignificant, as about 85% of the population still rely on solid fuels to meet their daily cooking needs. In this regard, energy generated from hydropower can play the dual role of providing access to modern energy as well as providing a clean cooking alternative that is clean and sustainable. Having realized this, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has issued a white paper (point 73) for the 'Electric Stove in Every House' Programme, which is expected to encourage the use of electric cooking. This gives an opportunity not only to make use of Nepal's hydropower resources but also to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuel. Our paper discusses the challenges and opportunities for introducing electricity in the cooking fuel mix in Nepal from the policy perspective. We draw upon the review of lessons learned from other countries including Ecuador, Bhutan and South Africa, to illustrate the potential pathways for the transition of fossil fuel-based products to electricity in Nepal. These countries have used a combination of approaches in including electricity in their cooking fuel mix, such as favourable electricity pricing, import tariff reductions in cooking appliances, and developing national policy and programmes to facilitate the integration of electricity in cooking fuel. These lessons from these countries are used to recommend pathways for moving from fossil fuel-based products to electricity in Nepal's context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by the United Nations and the expectations expressed by modern local populations call for universal water access through individual connections (IC), to be achieved by 2030. An ambitious target such as this presents the challenge of how best to achieve the goal of funding high-quality but expensive water supply systems, to serve populations with low incomes. This raises the question of the assessment of the relevant households' willingness to pay (WTP) for improved water service in rural areas, in particular in the context of developing countries. This paper examines this issue using a case study in Tunisia. As with other developing countries, Tunisia faces difficult challenges: the increasing demand for water and the inherent cost that is involved must be met whilst climate change is likely to increase the pressure on already stressed resources. The approach applied in this paper is to assess the households' WTP using a contingent valuation (CV) method in a dedicated field household survey in Central Tunisia. The particular governorate in which the survey was conducted was facing at the time of this study high social expectations, in particular, coming under increasing demand from inhabitants of rural communities to be individually connected to water supplies in the same way as their urban counterparts who were served by SONEDE, the national utility company. The results of the survey reveal that non-SONEDE-piped households were not willing to pay the amount required in order to have an individual connection (the average bid was USD 443 whereas the expected contribution is above USD 800). It was found that a household's WTP for an individual connection had a direct relationship with its trust in the current water management model, alternative modes of supply, and its socio-economic characteristics. However, if already connected, households would be willing to pay more than their current water expenses, although the amount they were willing to pay was still lower than the sustainable water cost enabling long-term maintenance of the system. SONEDE-piped households stated a clear WTP the amount required to keep water services for the future (average bid of USD 14 to add to their current quarterly water bill of USD 14). Based on these results, this paper concludes by highlighting several policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper presents a review of the state of the art of desalination in Mexico, with the aim of clarifying the main challenges and opportunity areas for desalination as the main solution to overcome water stress. First, the current situation and forecasts on the availability of water resources in Mexico are described, followed by the main economic, social, and legislative issues of desalination. Mexico's installed capacity for the different desalination technologies and their evolution in recent years was investigated, followed by a comparison with global trends. The current state of research and development in desalination technologies carried out by Mexican institutions was also studied. The results show that membrane technology plants account for 88.85%, while thermal technology plants account for the remaining 11.15%. Although Mexico presented a 240% increase in its desalination capacity in the last 10 years, it has not been enough to overcome water stress, so it is concluded that in the future, it is necessary to increase its capacity in greater proportion, specifically in the areas with greater scarcity, which can be achieved with the joint participation of academy–industry–government through the creation of autonomous organizations, social programs, and/or public policies that promote it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The German energy transition is not only a challenge for the technical system transformation but will also imply changes in the water system and reallocation of resource usage. This paper analyses which interactions provide valuable information for the energy system and how future water use projection could be conducted with the help of energy system modelling. It was assumed that different national climate policy scenarios for the energy system influence the water projections. The interactions considered for the German case study are: water demand for cooling technologies, irrigation practices of energy crops, as well as literature based assessments of total water demand and renewable water availability. Based on the energy scenario analysis, water use for the energy system will shift over time from cooling water use to irrigation water use for energy crops and the amount of irrigation water use is dependent on the demand of biomass which increases for stricter climate targets. There is a small risk of future water stress that can be eliminated through the use of recycled water for irrigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of the special issue on "Water policy, productivity and economic efficiency". In particular, it includes an overview of key topics on the future of water as a productive factor, in the context of alternative uses and perspective scenarios. The selected papers cover a wide range of relevant economic issues and are presented in three categories: productivity assessment, institutional framework and mechanisms, and governance aspects. The paper concludes by discussing future research challenges in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Eastern Snake Plain of Idaho, increasing rates of groundwater extraction for irrigation have corresponded with the adoption of more efficient irrigation technologies; higher use and lower incidental recharge have led to increasing groundwater scarcity. This paper assesses farmer vulnerability to a water resource policy that responds to that scarcity by reducing availability of groundwater for irrigation by 4–20%. Using results from a household survey of impacted farmers, we examine vulnerability in two stages, contributing to theorization of farmer vulnerability in a changing climate as well as producing important regional policy insights. The first stage, multimodel selection and inference, analyzes the primary predictors of two forms of vulnerability to groundwater scarcity among this population of farmers. The second stage, a segmentation analysis, highlights policy-relevant variation in adaptive capacity and in vulnerability predictors across the population. Individual-level results indicate that key indicators of vulnerability include several dimensions of adaptive capacity and sensitivity. At the population level, we find that reductions in sensitivity may play an important role in reducing farmer vulnerability. Accelerating global environmental change will require agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions to adapt to shifts in water availability. As water resources shift, institutional contexts and policy landscapes will shift in parallel, as seen with the reduction in groundwater availability in our case study. These institutional shifts may change the face of adaptation and farmer vulnerability in unexpected ways. Our results indicate that such institutional shifts could lean on efforts to enhance farmer adaptive capacity or reduce farmer sensitivity as mechanisms for reducing farmer vulnerability to adaptation policy changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing water and food systems in South Africa is complex given the factors involved in sustainably managing the sector. To ensure sustainable management of water and agricultural systems, equal access to natural resources, and economic equality, the government has implemented policies to regulate the systems and ensure economic growth. However, the unintended consequences of these policies on the sustainability of water and agricultural systems have not been fully understood in South Africa. This paper identified and analysed four system archetypes believed to have implications for current water and agricultural development policies in South Africa. These are 'Limits to Growth', 'Fixes that Fail', 'Shifting the Burden', and the 'Attractiveness Principle'. The results show that policies implemented by the government ensure inclusiveness, equal access to natural resources, and improve productivity in the short‐term; the unintended consequences will ultimately undermine sustainability and food security over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Ateliê Geográfico is the property of Revista Atelie Geografico and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper highlights challenges of water access in towns and cities of the global South and explores potential policy responses. These challenges are not new, although, we argue that they have been underestimated by policy makers due to a focus on global data, thus, resulting in decision makers paying insufficient attention to these problems. Policies need to be based on a more accurate assessment of challenges, specifically the need for continuous and affordable water service, and the need to provide services to informal settlements. We share findings from research on 15 cities across Latin America, Asia, and Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research on policy-making under uncertainty in the water sector has contributed to our understanding of types and sources of uncertainty as well as to the development of tools and approaches to manage uncertainty. This paper reviews the literature and identifies several strands of systematic bias, notably an emphasis on natural sources of uncertainty over human sources; a tendency to treat sources of uncertainty as independent and a corresponding neglect of interaction between sources; and a focus on tools to reduce or contain uncertainty rather than to accommodate it. The papers in this issue contribute to overcoming these biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban sanitation in India faces many challenges. Nearly 60 million people in urban areas lack access to improved sanitation arrangements, and more than two-thirds of wastewater is let out untreated into the environment, polluting land and water bodies. To respond to these environmental and public health challenges, urban India will need to address the full cycle of sanitation, i.e. universal access to toilets, with safe collection, conveyance and treatment of human excreta. This paper outlines these concerns, and highlights the need for focusing on access to water and the full cycle of sanitation for the urban poor, as fundamental to addressing the sanitation challenge. Priorities for policy and financing for urban sanitation in India are discussed, and the paper concludes with an examination of key policy initiatives in the last decade, assessing the extent to which these priorities are gaining attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban food system addressed here centers on urban food processing, distribution and consumption (including food packaging and waste disposal) and as such addresses how food moves from processing and distribution centers to points of consumption and ultimately waste disposal within cities. The Food‐Energy‐Water Systems (FEWS) Nexus extends to and through urban boundaries. Energy and water resource use are vital along these routes and are interdependent with one another and with food processing in ways that differ from those in agricultural production systems outside urban boundaries. This paper addresses how the urban food system affects the intensity of energy and water resource use and how these interdependencies can be altered by abrupt changes or extreme events. The urban food system is significantly affected by resource disruptions such as power outages, water contamination or disruption due to droughts or distribution line breakages. The system must be able to be resilient to these changes to be sustainable. FEWS flows and usage concepts presented in this paper are based on system characteristics analogous to one of the largest food distribution centers in the U.S. and the largest city, the Hunts Point Distribution Center in New York City. The Center handles a large share of the perishable food supply, involves numerous utilities that support one another, and a wide range of products, and thus provides a framework for evaluating urban FEWS relationships. In addition to direct energy for refrigeration, lighting, heating and cooling, indirect energy resources consumed by transportation systems that deliver food to Hunts Point exemplify interdependencies. Network models are used to describe scenarios for the interrelationships in the urban food system, including changes in the mix of resources due to conservation and other resource decisions as well as disruption of those resources in an extreme event. Selected food consumption and production practices are also considered. The modeling framework provides a generalizable network model that captures extreme weather event effects and enables the quantitative static and resilience analysis and planning. The extreme weather event component uses both static and dynamic formulations for resilience to portray changes in network topology and network changes over time respectively. The nodes of the network capture urban FEWS resources and the linkages between the nodes capture network characteristics. The network models that correspond to different scenarios are integrated to understand the interdependencies from processing through resource consumption as a basis to identify the patterns of interdependencies that lead to cascading failures, pinpoint nodes and links that are the weakest components of the network, and support resilience planning for the disruptive events. The analysis and design of the network will inform the planning and recovery policies to enhance the resiliency of the FEW critical infrastructures of New York City and potentially transferrable to other large urban areas and prepare them for future anticipated and unanticipated extreme events. The modeling used for the scenarios is considered generalizable to other areas and scalable to urban food systems of different sizes and configurations. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 37: 122–131, 2018 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we adapt the decision-making model proposed by Leroux and Martin (2016) to include an additional water resources type to make it suitable for Hong Kong's current and proposed water supply mix. More precisely, we broaden the model to account for purchased water (from China) which is currently the primary source of water for Hong Kong. In addition, purchased water price uncertainty has been integrated, which differs from the uncertainty on water inflows and quality. Harvested stormwater and manufactured water, although not currently used in Hong Kong, may be sources for the future and are therefore considered in a 4-pronged scenario. The objective is to derive the optimal shares for each water supply. We obtain the optimal water mix and consumption levels for several scenarios, the current scenario, the proposed 4-pronged scenario, a drop in water quality, and self-sufficiency. The 4-pronged scenario advocates for a large-scale development of desalination plants in Hong Kong; however, it is also significantly more expensive and therefore results in a lower optimal water consumption which has implications regarding the current water tariff approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many parts of the world the combined pressures of population growth and a drying climate have resulted in the proliferation of water focused policies which aim to increase the resilience of socio-ecological systems. Until recently, these policies often reflected surface water centric views of water resources, with groundwater receiving scant attention. In this paper we provide an introduction to the importance of groundwater for water-dependent socio-ecological systems and why it needs to be better incorporated into environmental water management policies. Specifically we highlight the key role of groundwater in buffering the environment and socio-economic activities against drought. We also outline some of the key challenges that face policy-makers and managers implementing groundwater management policies. These include dealing with groundwater resources that are spatially and temporally mismatched with surface water resources; transboundary governance issues; challenges between focusing on either preventative or restorative actions and most importantly limited knowledge about groundwater resources and groundwater–ecology relationships. We hope that the information in this paper will assist in the development of sustainable surface-groundwater water management policies, as well as highlight important challenges that should be considered before implementing groundwater related policies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Community management has been widely criticized, yet it continues to play a significant role in rural drinking water supply. In India, as with other ‘emerging’ economies, the management model must now adapt to meet the policy demand for ever-increasing technical sophistication. Given this context, the paper reviews the history and concepts of community management to propose three typologies that better account for the changing role of the community and external support entities found in successful cases. It argues that external support entities must be prepared to take greater responsibility for providing ongoing support to communities for ensuring continuous service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Four major paradigm shifts in water management include the shift from: government to governance, centralization to decentralization, water as a gift of God to water as an economic good, and sectoral to integrated water resource management. Are these paradigm shifts compatible with cultural/institutional practices in Ghana? Using theoretical and empirical arguments, this paper affirms that Ghana often adopts such paradigm shifts due to exogenous pressures but the absence of domestic ownership, inadequate resources, and institutional mismatches, often result in limited implementation. This paper recommends water governance which focuses more on prioritization, indigenizing exogenous ideas, and working within existing cultural practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water pricing policy is determined by multiple, though conflicting objectives. This paper analyzes flat water charges for households based on property values, using Trinidad as a case study. A major finding is that this tariff is economically inefficient and encourages water wastage which becomes environmentally unsustainable. Also, while social equity is a main objective in using this method of water pricing, in reality this is compromised. A key contribution of this paper is that water supply is regular in many countries where flat rates are used, but Trinidad consumers suffer from water shortages. The politics of water pricing and poor governance explain this anomaly in service, economic inefficiency, social inequity, and environmentally unsustainable water management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safety of medium- and large-scale dams is addressed in many countries, but limited attention is paid to problems associated with smaller farm dams, particularly potential cumulative threats posed in larger catchments. Farmers in Australia often overlook the common law obligation to review and design dams in line with current standards. The result is downstream communities, property and environment placed at risk. This paper demonstrates the significance of this problem with case studies undertaken in policy-absent South Australia, policy-driven Victoria and policy-strong New South Wales, including empirical evidence on attitudes and responses of landholders and key policy actors. This demonstrates need for supervision of small dams. Tasmania is included as a case study as it represents a policy-model state on how this can be best achieved in line with international best-practice. The four cases provide useful comparative lessons. Policy guidelines applicable to any jurisdiction are included; their application is illustrated with the case studies. The paper considers the policy implications of these lessons for Australia in particular and the world in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptation aims at increasing the resilience of natural and human systems to current and future impacts of climate change. The main objective of the current research is to introduce an innovative methodological framework which can effectively assess adaptation measures in basins with severe water deficits by coupling hydrology, climate change and management scenarios, leading to accurate decision making. In this paper, both supply and demand adaptation measures were proposed in line with various regional, national and European policies in order to improve the severe water problem of the Mygdonia basin. The overexploitation of the surface water systems (Lakes Koronia and Volvi) and groundwater resources of the Mygdonia basin during the previous decades, along with the projected decrease of the future water availability, due to climate change, accentuate the need for concerted action towards adaption to climate change. The measures include the increase of a stream diversion towards Lake Koronia, the increase of the embankment elevation at the outfall point of Lake Volvi, the restructuring of crops and their combinations. The measures were examined in terms of their sustainability and effectiveness in the short-term (2020–2050) and long-term (2050–2080) future periods under the most reliable climatic model. The results indicate that the application of demand management measures is more efficient compared to supply oriented solutions for addressing the future water deficit of the Mygdonia water system. The combination of crop restructuring and the decrease of agricultural land proved to be the most efficient and sustainable solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a large-scale social entrepreneurship model to help address the growing need for the development of an international water resource sustainability system within a world water economy. We explore the relationships between government policy, geopolitical impacts, and business interests. In particular, we investigate why past policy has largely failed, while proposing an emerging entrepreneurial model that introduces a new perspective for largescale green business start-up capability. We believe an appropriate overlay of multiple stakeholder interests and alternative structuring may be employed in innovative entrepreneurial start-ups that require complex manufacturing and distribution networks. Comprehensive longterm water shortage planning and short-term interventions coupled with an emerging prototype large-scale green entrepreneurship model may help to advance the conversation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As cholera spread from Haiti to the Dominican Republic, Haitian migrants, a largely undocumented and stigmatized population in Dominican society, became a focus of public health concern. Concurrent to the epidemic, the Dominican legislature enacted new documentation requirements. This paper presents findings from an ethnographic study of anti-Haitian stigma in the Dominican Republic from June to August 2012. Eight focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with Haitian and Dominican community members. Five in-depth interviews were held with key informants in the migration policy sector. Theoretical frameworks of stigma's moral experience guided the analysis of how cholera was perceived, ways in which blame was assigned and felt and the relationship between documentation and healthcare access. In FGDs, both Haitians and Dominicans expressed fear of cholera and underscored the importance of public health messages to prevent the epidemic's spread. However, health messages also figured into experiences of stigma and rationales for blame. For Dominicans, failure to follow public health advice justified the blame of Haitians and seemed to confirm anti-Haitian sentiments. Haitians communicated a sense of powerlessness to follow public health messages given structural constraints like lack of safe water and sanitation, difficulty accessing healthcare and lack of documentation. In effect, by making documentation more difficult to obtain, the migration policy undermined cholera programs and contributed to ongoing processes of moral disqualification. Efforts to eliminate cholera from the island should consider how policy and stigma can undermine public health campaigns and further jeopardize the everyday 'being-in-the-world' of vulnerable groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water users wish to achieve the highest benefits from water resources. Rules limit the manner in which water users may utilise the water resources occurring within their constituencies or territories. However an asymmetrical situation exists whereby downstream users may not affect upstream users but upstream users do cause downstream impacts. Because of this asymmetry the equitable sharing of water resources between upstream and downstream users will always imply that upstream users have to forego some potential water benefits. The general question that this paper addresses is: which institutional arrangements can be devised to (re-)establish an equilibrium between up- and downstream entities within a catchment area or river basin? The paper addresses this question by first focusing on some local and national water allocation arrangements. After briefly reviewing the different management regimes, customary and colonial, that co-evolved in Southern Africa, it assesses the water management principles that are currently being espoused. The focus then turns to the principles in international water law that deal with the allocation of water in transboundary river basins. It is concluded that it often proves difficult to reach agreement over how to share the scarce resource. The paper then discusses the current trend to look beyond water and beyond the river basin when seeking peaceful means to share a common water resource. The concept of "hydrosolidarity" emerges as a normative value that may help to recreate a balance between the various (asymmetrical) interests that exist within a river basin. The paper concludes that water resources can only be governed wisely is there is capacity to understand and monitor the water fluxes within a river basin. If such capacity is wanting, priority should be given to strengthen it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the optimal division of environmental policymaking functions among the different levels of government. Using fiscal federalism theory, we identify the most appropriate level of decentralization in each case. The paper focuses on water resources policies, with an application to Spanish regions during the 1996–2001 period. A simulation allows the implementation of more efficient policies in the context of water resources. The results of the empirical exercise show that a decentralized scenario is preferred under strong differences among preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the hydrological and socio-economic complexity of water use within river basins and even sub-basins, it is a considerable challenge to manage water resources in an efficient, equitable and sustainable way. This paper shows that multi-agent simulation (MAS) is a promising approach to better understand the complexity of water uses and water users within sub-basins. This approach is especially suitable to take the collective action into account when simulating the outcome of technical innovation and policy change. A case study from Chile is used as an example to demonstrate the potential of the MAS framework. Chile has played a pioneering role in water policy reform by privatizing water rights and promoting trade in such rights, devolving irrigation management authority to user groups, and privatizing the provision of irrigation infrastructure. The paper describes the different components of a MAS model developed for four micro-watersheds in the Maule river basin. Preliminary results of simulation experiments are presented, which show the impacts of technical change and of informal rental markets on household income and water use efficiency. The paper also discusses how the collective action problems in water markets and in small-scale and large-scale infrastructure provision can be captured by the MAS model. To promote the use of the MAS approach for planning purposes, a collaborative research and learning framework has been established, with a recently created multi-stakeholder platform at the regional level (Comisión Regional de Recursos Hidricos) as the major partner. Finally, the paper discusses the potentials of using MAS models for water resources management, such as increasing transparency as an aspect of good governance. The challenges, for example the need to build trust in the model, are discussed as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the impact of increasing environmental concerns on the UK water industry over the 30 years from early research in the 1970s to the present. From being supply driven 30 years ago, with demand being regarded as an exogenous variable, the focus is now very much on demand management. The sustainability of the freshwater environment is now the central concern. After laying down some basic principles, the impacts of this switch in focus are identified in the context of the present situation. Some key areas of environmental pressure are analysed together with current policy stances in relation to bothdemand management and system expansion. The impact of the introduction of domestic metering and related pricing strategies is a particular concern in relation to the former as is new water saving technology. The paper concludes with some thoughts for water resource planning in the 21st century, particularly in the context of new housing provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 30 years leading thinkers have taken us beyond mechanistic and reductionist analysis into systems theory and the critical boundary judgements that are fundamental to systems analysis. In defining and discussing boundary conditions, we also redefine values and facts imposed on hydrological and economic analysis that underpins decisions about government policy in water resources. The repeal of legislation for distributed interventions (water-efficient appliances and rainwater harvesting) that was previously enacted to improve the security of a regional water supply system is examined as a case study. The results of the analysis were defined by the costs and benefits that are inside or outside of the boundaries of legitimate and recognized consideration. This paper refers to those differences as boundary conditions and considers how those boundary conditions affect the outcome of analysis. Setting of boundary conditions (what is included, what is excluded and assumptions) in engineering and economic analysis dominates outcomes of decisions about government policy. These insights have general application to development of government water policy. The investigations outlined in this paper were combined to create an enhanced version of a systems analysis of a policy for setting targets for water savings on all new dwellings. It was established, using appropriate boundary conditions, that a 40% target for water savings is feasible for South East Queensland (SEQ) and provides a cost-benefit ratio of 2.1. These results indicate that a policy of mandating targets for sustainable buildings would provide substantial benefits to the state of Queensland, water utilities and citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper, a conceptual framework to measure the benefits of groundwater "protection" policies is reviewed and expanded. This benefitcost framework is based on the premise that the probabilistic value of protection is at least as great as the expected costs of contamination. The theoretical construct also reveals the interrelationships that exist between the three generic types of groundwater policy: containment ("prevention"), detection (monitoring), and corrective action (remedial response). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Textual is the property of Universidad Autonoma Chapingo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper presents the use of environmental benefits in the policy-making process in nine European countries. Growing competition for financial resources suggests that a precise understanding of the benefits provided by policies is needed. In particular, the environmental co-benefits that environmental policies offer must be more thoroughly investigated. Yet because there is often a focus on systems rather than individual species or specific environmental factors it becomes more difficult to characterise benefits. This paper shows that the role of environmental benefits to advise policy action differs across selected European countries. Environmental benefits are used at different stages of the policy cycle and for different purposes. In many cases they are not used to inform high level decision making but to stimulate public debate or to develop more targeted legislative proposals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Climate change adaptation (CCA) has recently emerged as a new fundamental dimension to be considered in the planning and management of water resources. Because of the need to consider the already perceived changes in climate trends, variability and extremes, and their interactions with evolving social and ecological systems, water management is now facing new challenges. The research community is expected to contribute with innovative methods and tools to support to decision- and policy-makers. Decision Support Systems (DSSs), have a relatively long history in the water management sector. They are usually developed upon pre-existing hydrologic simulation models, providing interfaces for facilitated use beyond the limited group of model developers, and specific routines for decision making (e.g. optimization methods). In recent years, the traditional focus of DSS research has shifted away from the software component, towards the process of structuring problems and aiding decisions, thus including in particular robust methods for stakeholders' participation. The paper analyses the scientific literature, identifies the main open issues, and proposes an innovative operational approach for the implementation of participatory planning and decision-making processes for CCA in the water domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research analyzes the local implementation of China's central clean water policies over the recent decades. Based on a series of panel data analyses on Chinese provinces between 2004 and 2015, this study empirically examines the impact of decentralization and interest groups on water policy implementation, leading to three main findings. First, fiscal decentralization has a significant positive effect on policy output as measured using per-capita provincial expenditures on industrial wastewater. But it has no significant influence on policy outcome as measured by per-capita emissions of chemical oxygen demand. Second, while increasing environmental decentralization at the provincial level tends to increase provincial expenditures, wastewater discharge also increases. Third, increased industrial contributions to the provincial economy are associated with increased environmental spending from the province, yet foreign trade and environmental petitions do not have the expected impact. The results suggest that China's decentralization reforms appear to have increased provincial policy responses without improving the actual environmental outcomes. Experiences from authoritarian China may provide lessons for other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Projections of future water availability are required by water managers and policy makers in order to take action to mitigate some of the potentially negative impacts of climate change on water supplies in the urban, agricultural and environmental sectors. However, in order to do this, these projections must have some level of confidence associated with them, and even if this is the case, the research community must make the data and/or information available in a format that is directly usable by water managers and policy makers. This paper presents results from a water availability study recently carried out across southeastern Australia as part of the South Eastern Australian Climate Initiative. More importantly, it shows how the results of this study have been used in defining a range of plausible future streamflow scenarios to be used by water resource managers in the state of Victoria in updating its water supply-demand strategies for the next 50 years. Climate change projections for this region were summarised by creating "dry", "wet" and "median" future runoff scenarios for 2030 and 2060 based on the second driest, second wettest and median global climate model (GCM) results. These results were then averaged across 27 catchments covering the state of Victoria. We contend that in areas such as the state of Victoria where there is near-unanimous agreement among GCMs as to the direction of climate change impacts on rainfall, along with theoretical understanding consistent with changes in large scale circulation in a warmer world, projected changes in water availability can be used by water resource planners to assist them in better planning for future changes in supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Santa Cruz Watershed, located on the Arizona-Sonora portion of the U.S.-Mexico border, an international wastewater treatment plant treats wastewater from cities on both sides of the border, before discharging it into the river in Arizona. These artificial flows often subsidize important perennial surface water ecosystems in the region. An explicit understanding of the benefits of maintaining instream flow for present and future generations requires the ability to assess and understand the important trade-offs implicit in water-resource management decisions. In this paper, we outline an approach for modeling and visualizing impacts of management decisions in terms of rare terrestrial and aquatic wildlife, vegetation, surface water, groundwater recharge, real-estate values and socio-environmental vulnerable communities. We identify and quantify ecosystem services and model the potential reduction in effluent discharge to the U.S. that is under scrutiny by binational water policy makers and of concern to stakeholders. Results of service provisioning are presented, and implications for policy makers and resource managers are discussed. This paper presents a robust ecosystem services assessment of multiple scenarios of watershed management as a means to discern eco-hydrological responses and consider their potential values for future generations living in the borderlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Water resources and management have become a critical global issue. During the half-millennium of its existence, the Roman Empire developed numerous strategies to cope with water management, from large-scale urban aqueduct systems, to industrial-scale water mills designed to cope with feeding growing city populations. Roman engineers encountered, adopted and adapted indigenous hydraulic systems, and left lasting imprints on the landscape of the Mediterranean and temperate Western Europe by employing a range of water technologies. A recent academic study has enabled the identification of remains of and references to seventy-two dams from the Roman era, constructed in Spain between the 1st and 4th century AD. Such unique heritage, without comparisons in the Mediterranean makes Spain an emblematic case study for the analysis of Roman hydraulic engineering and water management policies. Fifty dams have been located and detailed. The twenty-two outstanding, although identified on the ground, have not been able to be acceptably characterized, due in some cases to their being ruins in a highly degraded state, others due to their being masked by repairs and reconstructions subsequent to the Roman era. A good example of such neglected dams is the buttress dam of Consuegra , in Toledo province (Castilla-La Mancha). Dating to the 3rd - 4th century AD, the Dam of Consuegra, on the basin of the Guadiana, with its over 600 metres length and 4,80 metres height, is a remarkable case of Roman engineering mastery. It had a retaining wall upstream, numerous buttresses and perhaps an embankment downstream, of which no remains are left. The application of 3D digital imaging technique to create a high quality virtual model of such monuments has proved to be successful especially for the study of the technological aspects related its construction. The case study of the Roman dam of Muel (Zaragoza) has shown, in fact, as best practices in digital archaeology can provide an original and innovative perspective on a long time studied monument. In this paper it will be explored how deploying recent computer technologies to the Roman dam at Consuegra can advance our understanding of the history of local and regional landscape change and the technology of water management. In summer 2016, the dam has been documented with terrestrial laser scanning with two FARO Focus 3D x330 and aerial photogrammetry image capturing with a DJI Phantom 4 drone. Data was processed in various 3D software applications to generate 3D representations of the dam including 3D point clouds, animations, and meshed models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the stagnation of macro-level development theory in development studies, attributed to a mainstream denial of systemic transformation beyond capitalism. It reports the micro-level issues like healthcare and water provision, neglecting fundamental systemic change. It highlights the lack of challenge to capitalism in mainstream discourse leads to a lack of consideration for socialism as a viable alternative.

This paper analyzes the intermittent water distribution system in the West Bank, Palestine. It quantifies the impacts of reduced supply duration on the hydraulics and costs of water distribution. It shows that designing systems based on intermittent supply criteria implies increasing the diameters of pipes significantly, which is expensive and infeasible. The paper recommends that studying the local conditions should precede the design of new systems to avoid reduced supply duration and related negative impacts. In addition, improving governance, revising tariffs, reducing leakage, saving water, involving the private sector, and improving water diplomacy should be considered in any water policy reform. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Scarcity will affect nearly two-thirds of the world in the near future. The impacts of climate change are likely to exacerbate these problems and unless appropriate adaptation strategies are adopted, resilience is difficult to achieve. The paper surveys the water resources available in South Asian countries and takes into account the projected climate change impacts on these resources. The paper also analyses the water policies and formulates a conceptual water policy framework in which adaptation is central. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Canadian Water Resources Journal / Revue Canadienne des Ressources Hydriques is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper investigates two market-based policy instruments, short-term water trading and volumetric water pricing, in a jurisdiction where historical water allocations are based on the seniority of appropriative water rights. The analysis identifies the potential effects of alternative surface water allocations on crop choices and on producer incomes in three irrigation districts in the Bow River Sub-basin of the South Saskatchewan River. The short-run effects of these alternative policy instruments are examined in scenarios where seasonal water supplies are reduced by 10–30% relative to the 2003 water usage levels. An important contribution of the paper is to present a computational, positive mathematical programming model that integrates both irrigation decisions and specific crop choices when characterizing agents' optimal responses to moderate water scarcity. The numerical results illustrate the manner in which the use of these market-based economic instruments can increase the irrigated land area and economic welfare relative to the allocations made based only on the seniority of water rights. Under full information with no transactions costs, the use of water pricing for allocation purposes can achieve the same production outcomes as could be reached under short-term water trading. However, the distribution of potential monetary gains and losses among agents would vary considerably across policies. Le présent article étudie deux instruments de politique fondés sur le marché, soit le commerce de l'eau à court terme et l'établissement du prix de l'eau en fonction du volume, dans une province où l'attribution de l'eau est historiquement fondée sur l'ancienneté des droits d'appropriation de l'eau. L'analyse a exposé les effets potentiels de divers moyens d'attribution de l'eau de surface sur le choix des cultures et le revenu des producteurs dans trois districts d'irrigation situés dans le sous-bassin de la rivière Bow qui s'écoule dans le sous-bassin de la rivière Saskatchewan Sud. Nous avons examiné les effets à court terme de ces moyens dans des scénarios où les approvisionnements saisonniers en eau ont été réduits de 10 à 30 p. 100 par rapport aux niveaux d'utilisation de l'eau établis en 2003. Le présent article visait, entre autres, à présenter un modèle de programmation mathématique positive intégrant à la fois les décisions concernant l'irrigation et le choix de cultures spécifiques au moment de caractériser les réactions optimales des agents face à une rareté modérée de l'eau. Les résultats numériques ont montré de quelle façon l'utilisation de ces instruments économiques fondés sur le marché pouvait accroître les superficies irriguées et le bien-être économique comparativement à l'attribution de l'eau fondée sur l'ancienneté des droits d'appropriation de l'eau. Selon les renseignements complets sans coûts de transaction, le recours à l'établissement du prix de l'eau en fonction du volume et le commerce de l'eau à court terme peuvent permettre d'obtenir les mêmes résultats en matière de production. Toutefois, la répartition des pertes et des gains éventuels entre les agents varieraient considérablement d'une politique à l'autre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, a number of governments have made moves towards evidenced-based policymaking justified by the assertions that scientific understanding makes for better-informed and more effective legislative and regulatory decisions. Some of these governments have produced generic, almost step-by-step recipes, for the use of evidence in policymaking in the form of ‘science–policy guidelines’. The usefulness of these somewhat linear procedures has not been assessed in the actual process of policymaking. Using as a benchmark the guidelines developed by the European Commission, this paper examines the collection and use of scientific advice in the development of the European Water Framework Directive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water has become a critical issue in Australia. Who has it and who determines priorities have become highly politicised. Yet the basis on which priorities are set and stakeholder views incorporated is less well defined. The commodification of water through the introduction of a water trading policy and the use of market principles suggest a prioritising of the economic over environmental and social concerns. In this paper we discuss the way water decisions are determined, outlining the myriad bodies through which the decisions about water priorities are determined and noting an inherent economic bias in the rationale behind water decisions. We introduce the notion of social flow to indicate a largely overlooked aspect of water use - the social good resulting from water use by community members - to argue that this factor should be given greater priority in the way water allocations are determined, priorities set and stakeholder views incorporated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rapid growth in demand for water, the resource is increasingly being transferred from agriculture to cities and industries. This paper examines trends and expected future changes in sectoral water demand, which drive water transfers. It then describes alternative mechanisms for water reallocation, including administrative reallocation, market-based reallocation, collective negotiation, and other means, including combinations of mechanisms, and illegal transfers. Transfer mechanisms and implications for rural livelihoods and the environment are illustrated for case studies in the western United States and Asia. The paper concludes with a series of suggestions for alternative policies and institutions for reallocation that could help reduce adverse consequences for the poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]