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Dams significantly impact the environment, industries, residential areas, and agriculture. Efficient dam management can mitigate negative impacts and enhance benefits such as flood and drought reduction, energy efficiency, water access, and improved irrigation. This study tackles the critical issue of predicting dam occupancy levels precisely to contribute to sustainable water management by enabling efficient water allocation among sectors, proactive drought management, controlled flood risk mitigation, and preservation of downstream ecological integrity. Our research suggests that combining physical models of water inflow and outflow "such as evapotranspiration using the Penman–Monteith equation, along with parameters like water consumption, solar radiation, and rainfall" with data-driven models based on historical reservoir data is crucial for accurately predicting occupancy levels. We implemented various prediction models, including Random Forest, Extra Trees, Long Short-Term Memory, Orthogonal Matching Pursuit CV, and Lasso Lars CV. To strengthen our proposed model with robust evidence, we conducted statistical tests on the mean absolute percentage errors of the models. Consequently, we demonstrated the impact of physical model parameters on prediction performance and identified the best method for predicting dam occupancy levels by comparing it with findings from the scientific literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Damming can promote flood control, water supply, power generation, and shipping but often changes the downstream hydrological regimes, producing adverse externality effects. Maximizing downstream social and ecological benefits will inevitably reduce upstream power generation. This study presents two novel bi-level hybrid game models, called the non-cooperative hybrid game model (NCHG) and the cooperative hybrid game model (CHG), to facilitate integrated water resource management in reservoir systems. The performance index of propensity to disrupt is applied to evaluate the stability of CHG, and an improved reliability index and Gini coefficient are adopted to evaluate the reliability and equity of both two models. The Three Gorges Reservoir and its adjacent cities were chosen as a case to inspect the two models' performance. A range of scheduling schemes was derived by proposed bi-level hybrid game models in wet, normal, and dry years. Results reveal that (i) the RI values of the watershed system obtained by the CHG are less than those in NCHG in three typical years (for example, 0.1201 VS 0.1930 in the wet year), showing higher systemic reliability. The Gini coefficients of the watershed system obtained by the CHG are all less than those obtained by the NCHG in all typical years (for example, 0.1016 VS 0.1020 in the wet year), which shows better performance of CHG on fairness for the allocation results; (ii) in the case of a multi-function reservoir system, the CHG generates favorable allocation schemes with higher systemic characteristic values by 32.43, 34.39, and 33.54 in wet, normal, and dry years, respectively, than those in NCHG (32.03, 33.16, and 31.42 in wet, normal, and dry years, respectively); (iii) compared with NCHG, the economic benefits obtained by CHG decreased by 0.98%, 1.04%, and 5.42% in wet, normal, and dry years, respectively; the social negative benefits decreased by 3.49%, 9.84%, and 28.69%; and the ecological negative benefits decreased by 1.77%, 5.65%, and 5.59%, respectively. It indicates that a minor sacrifice of the reservoir benefit could significantly improve the welfare at the system level by the CHG. The developed CHG can provide optimal water scheduling schemes in balancing inter-regional water conflicts and can be widely used to produce an equilibrium management strategy for a multi-function reservoir system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective and sustainable water resource management requires flexibility and adaptation to local contexts. Our study analyzes the emergence and evolution of local water self-governing associations, reviewing how their struggles and conflicts, both with the public sector and among locals themselves, have been pivotal to achieving agreements and actions towards sustainable water management. Using an adapted version of the Combined Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) and social–ecological system (SES) framework, also known as CIS, we conducted a comparative analysis of two distinct Chilean cases. This research highlights the critical role of historical factors alongside institutional support, political landscapes, and financial realities in shaping current water management practices. The findings suggest that when the actors are aligned and actions are taken to support local water user management, more efficient, sustainable, and less conflict-ridden water resource management occurs. Furthermore, this study reveals how the experiences, struggles, and successes of these local user associations have shaped national policies, particularly regarding the development of monitoring mechanisms and the promotion of public–private cooperation in water governance. These efforts have not only fostered more resilient water management systems but have also demonstrated the power of grassroots organizations in shaping broader sustainable policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution of citizen scientists to environmental monitoring is notably increasing significantly. Governments worldwide establish Water Users Associations (WUAs) as a good practice model to implement Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) at local levels. These associations target different stakeholders depending on the expected outcome. However, their effectiveness, especially in East Africa, can only be determined case by case. In Kenya, Water Resources Users Associations are registered, voluntary community groups whose members are water users and land owners. Similarly, in Uganda, community-based initiatives exist, especially along degraded rivers, involving cooperation between local communities and regional water authorities. On the contrary, it has been reported that in Tanzania, many community initiatives created become non-functional within 2-3 years of induction. In general, the main responsibility of Water Users Associations or its equivalent is to manage and conserve water resources for sustainable uses. In most cases, water quality monitoring by communities through citizen science is limited to the visual appearance of water in the river channel. While this can indicate the water's esthetic value, it is insufficient for assessing the ecological status of rivers, which is influenced by a variety of physical, chemical, biological, and socioeconomic factors. The use of bioindicators has been advocated as a feasible method for community-based water quality river monitoring. Therefore, this review explores the commonly used bio-indicators and bio-assessment tools for river health assessment and their complexities when using a biomonitoring community-based approach through citizen science. Tolerance and intolerance macroinvertebrate and fish metric protocols that utilize identification keys have been recommended. These protocols are designed to be user-friendly and require minimal taxonomic expertise, making them easy for community volunteers to use with minimal basic training. The sustainability of these citizen science initiatives relies on the motivation of volunteers, the frequency of monitoring activities, and collaboration with researchers and government agencies. These initiatives not only facilitate environmental monitoring but also foster community engagement and awareness regarding the ecological status of rivers, thereby addressing knowledge and data gaps necessary for effective policy-making. This approach provides a practical model for environmental stewardship and participatory resource management in East Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water issues have become complex and interconnected with many factors and sectors, making them too large to be handled by one single institution. Water problems can no longer be resolved solely by water professionals, the water science they provide is essential to resolve the water crisis, but the effectiveness of the solutions depends on the capability of the scientists to provide new, logical and practical visions to improve water systems, governance and communication. As part of Integrated Water Resource Management and Public Participation the current research aimed to address the knowledge gap that exists between the General Public and the Scientists by using applied theater, particularly empatheater to improve how scientific information is communicated. R-Studio was used to evaluate the effectiveness applying theater to communicate and educate the community on water resource management. Results revealed that using art to convey science is an effective environmental communication tool highly recommended by the participants to promote public participation in the rehabilitation of the Kaalspruit River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty first century faces unprecedented challenges for the management of global waterways. The Himalayan waterways in Asia are exposed to unpredictable climatic warming together with anthropogenic perturbations caused by population growth, land use change and socio‐economic development. Given the increased public concerns on the Himalayan Mountain development programmes including the hydropower and tourism, there has been a growing need of the use of interdisciplinary scientific approaches to address water resources challenges that the Himalayan region has faced during the 21st century. Ecohydrology is an emerging scientific tool that explores key hydrological processes regulating structure and function of ecosystems, as well as assessing the impact of biological processes on water cycle variables under rapidly changing environment. The International Geosphere‐Biosphere Programme and the International Hydrological Programme hosted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization have adopted ecohydrology as a sustainable development tool by linking water resources and poverty eradication and ecosystem restoration, irrigation, energy and sanitation. However, ecohydrology tool needs to be reconfigured for sustainable development of rapidly changing Himalayan waterways. Here we propose the advancement of ecohydrology by developing various integrated frameworks of ecology, hydrology, hydraulics and sociology for resilient waterways in the Asian Himalayas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios Regionales en Economía, Población y Desarrollo is the property of Estudios Regionales en Economia, Poblacion y Desarrollo 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 article explores the concept of integrated water resources management (IWRM) and its development over the past 30 years. IWRM emerged in 1992 at the Dublin International Conference on Water and the Environment as a way to address the growing pressures on water resources by integrating environmental, economic, and social dimensions. However, early criticisms of IWRM pointed out its lack of clear definitions and practical implementation. To address this, the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO) was established in 1994, proposing a definition and key actions for successful implementation. These actions include managing surface water and groundwater together, documenting water resource status, developing management plans, investing in measures, implementing sustainable financing mechanisms, and involving users and stakeholders. The article emphasizes the cyclical and iterative nature of the IWRM process and highlights the adaptability of the French water management model. The INBO has published manuals providing guidance and case studies for implementing IWRM in different contexts. The article also discusses the increasing role of IWRM at the basin level, highlighting governance and on-the-ground indicators that can be used to assess progress and challenges. The European region has been instrumental in promoting IWRM, with the adoption of the Water Framework Directive in 2000. International law, such as the Helsinki Water Convention, has also played a significant role in establishing a legal framework for cooperation on transboundary watercourses. The document stresses the importance of political and financial support for IWRM at the basin level [Extracted from the article]

Following the adoption of the Water Convention in Helsinki in 1992 and the Water Framework Directive in 2000, states located within a transboundary river basin were invited to set up basin organizations. The International Meuse Commission (IMC) was set up in 2002, under an agreement between France, Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Over the last 20 years, the IMC has been a forum for exchange, coordination and cooperation between the riparian countries, leading to improvements in the water quality of the Meuse, reduction of obstacles for migratory fish, and establishment of cross-border systems to prevent accidental pollution and flooding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Contemporary resource management paradigms within the developed world build on an understanding of human agency as ontologically distinct from the mode of existence of plants and animals. Because of this perspective, which gives priority to human agency, policies typically take their point of departure with human societies and associated ecosystems deemed of particular value. Objectives: As an alternative to this worldview, social theorists have introduced what is known as "flat ontology", where all beings are bestowed equal rights to negotiate their existence. To explore the implications of introducing such an understanding into landscape management, a participatory planning process for water allocation was developed and tested in a case study in the Eerste River Catchment in South Africa. Methods: The planning process was mediated using the approach "politics of nature" (PoN), which aims to operationalize flat ontology to renegotiate water allocation based on the needs of all beings instead of the desire of a subset of humans. PoN allowed participants to playfully co-develop a common ontology and value-set. Data documenting these processes were collected digitally and analysed. Results: Results indicate that the approach engendered a rethinking of key relationships between human agency and ecosystem functionality, illustrating a potential for PoN-approaches to be deployed for governance of complex landscapes. Conclusions: On the basis of experiments using PoN-methodology in the context of watershed management, it is discussed how the introduction of a flat ontology in landscape research, could inspire new ways of designing and intervening with collaborative resource management processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water quality and quantity decline due to anthropogenic factors and climate change, affecting 2.3 billion people in water-scarce areas, of whom 733 million reside in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Therefore, this review paper examined sustainable global water management by focussing on four sustainable development goal (SDG #6) indicators, including water use efficiency in agriculture, integrated water management, transboundary water cooperation, and water user participation. The review covered articles from 2016 to 2023, using Scopus and Web of Science databases with specific selection criteria. A total of 216 sources were downloaded, and after data screening, 72 articles were analysed along with additional supplementary materials such as books, conference papers, and United Nations documents. The finding indicates emerging trends in sustainable water management for agriculture, including water-efficient technologies like alternate wetting and drying, drip irrigation, mulching, etc. However, careful implementation is required to address environmental concerns, prevent water pollution, minimise yield reductions, and ensure long-term sustainability. Moreover, integrated water resource management has faced challenges in practical implementation due to governance structures, economic circumstances, cooperation, and collaboration among stakeholders. While over 600 treaties aim to promote international water cooperation, only a few have been effective. In addition, out of 500 transboundary groundwater sources shared by countries, only six have dedicated treaties to govern their use. Thus, clearly defined rights, responsibilities, and sustainable management practises for each shared aquifer would foster the sustainability of these resources. Moreover, engaging communities through inclusive policies, dialogue, and empowerment is vital for sustainable water management. Investment in community education and capacity-building fosters transformative change and addresses global water management challenges, securing the future of precious water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper responds to the significant challenges to Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and clarifies its practical value as a theoretical framework. Through thorough theoretical analysis, this paper examines how IWRM can be applied to distinguish water resource management (WRM) as an observable domain with an open boundary and foster sustainable ecosystem management by emphasizing the functional differentiation of WRM. Compared to the examination made solely from the WRM perspective, an IWRM perspective can better develop the structural complexity of the WRM domain and help expose misunderstandings regarding integration issues. Most importantly, IWRM is not merely an explanatory theoretical framework but also a defensive one. It can facilitate structural coupling between WRM and other domains to reduce conflicts and enable concerted action. However, this role of IWRM has been overlooked for a long time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interpretations of integrated water cycle management (IWCM) differ across jurisdictions. This paper discusses 10 interpretations of the IWCM concept globally, in Australia and in jurisdictions similar to Australia. Five interpretations of many IWCM versions in Australia are reviewed. This strategic concept aims to address the internal challenges of managing water demand and supply, achieving appropriate disposal and/or wastewater recycling for re-use and distribution networks and providing services at an affordable rate, per changing community needs. The IWCM concept is also recognised as a resource planning tool to address external challenges, such as the uncertainties of climate change, the circular economy and resilience. All 10 IWCM concepts reviewed in this paper acknowledge governance and stakeholders to be of primary importance: governance to drive the conceptual interpretation and stakeholders to develop, drive, implement and promote IWCM as adept at addressing local challenges. The two global interpretations place primary importance on governance, stakeholder engagement and natural resource management, whereas the local interpretations place equally high importance on water critical infrastructure and water economy. Technology, which is changing at an unprecedented pace, is considered, but not as an immediate or primary challenge. These differences are mainly attributed to the organisations' responsibilities and constraints, which drive IWCM concept design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban waterways are an important part of urban ecosystems, and well-managed urban waterways can support diverse benefits to communities and nature. The literature suggests that collaborative engagement is a pathway to unlocking broader benefits. There is, however, an intention–implementation gap, limiting the adoption of community collaboration in urban waterways governance. This paper reports on two case studies based on interviews and analysed with the aim of better understanding the factors that cause this dilemma. The case studies are in Melbourne, Australia, and are examples of where such community participation practices have been attempted. Our analysis includes twenty-three semi-structured interviews from these two cases. Data were analysed using the Values–Rules–Knowledge framework, a heuristic to help decision-makers analyse how social systems shape decision contexts. The results from the case study highlight three key factors that hinder effective community involvement. Bureaucratic processes act as de facto gatekeepers, reinforcing existing power dynamics. Inclusivity is difficult to define and achieve, highlighting the limited availability of appropriate tools. Finally, implementing participatory practices is resource intensive in terms of time, staff skills, and funding, leading to inadequate resourcing. Overcoming these challenges requires a comprehensive change in bureaucratic procedures, choice of engagement methods, and improved resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Torrents play an essential role in water resources through rainfall in arid to semi-arid mountainous regions, serving large populations worldwide, and are also crucial in maintaining the downstream environment. The natural flows (floods, ephemeral flows) in arid hill regions result in potential hydrological fluctuations caused by climate change. However, the feasibility of eventual storage in remote hilly catchments would force a more sudden change. The current study was conducted in the lower part of the Khirthar National Range in the Sindh province of Pakistan, with the aim to explore spatial runoff storage sites for sustainable development to mitigate the impacts of climate change in arid areas. In total, 83 years of precipitation data were used to estimate water availability, along with satellite imagery for LULC pre- and post-monsoon conditions, delineation of watersheds, and identification of potential runoff storage locations and return periods, using Remote Sensing (RS)/Geographical Information System (GIS) 10.5.1, HEC-HMS 3.1, and Origin Pro 9.0 for statistical approaches. The model delineated two potential watersheds: Goth Sumar, covering an area of 61.0456 km2, wherein ten cascading reservoirs were identified, and Goth Baro, covering an area of 14,236 km2, wherein two cascading reservoirs were identified. Different storage capacities were determined for the cascade-type reservoirs. The maximum live volumetric potential storage of the reservoirs varies from 0.25 to 1.32 million cubic meters (MCM) in the villages of Baro and Sumar. The return periods have been estimated at 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, and 75 years, corresponding to 12.35, 16.47, 21.43, 21.72, 25.21, and 40.53 MCM for Goth Sumar, while Goth Baro's storage capacity has been estimated at 2.88, 3.84, 5.00, 5.06, 5.88, and 9.45 MCM, respectively. All results obtained were authenticated using accuracy assessment, validation, and sensitivity analysis. The proposed potential storage sites were recommended for a planning period of five years. The live storage capacity of the identified cascade reservoirs can be improved by raising the marginal banks and developing the spillways to control inlet and outlet flow in order to maintain internal pressure on the reservoir banks. The stored water can be used for climate-friendly agricultural activities to increase crop production and productivity. The proposed study area has extensive experience with flood irrigation systems and rainwater harvesting to sustain agriculture due to rainfall being the only water resource (WR) in the region. However, the study area has enormous potential for surface runoff WRs, especially during the rainy season (monsoon); the current 2022 monsoon is showing flooding. The modeling approaches of Remote Sensing, GIS, and HEC-HMS play an important role in delineating watershed areas, developing hydrographs, and simulating water availability for different return periods by minimizing cost and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interlinking rivers (ILRs) is a recent global initiative towards sustainable and equitable distribution and utilization of water resources. However, there are diverse, uncertain, and conflicting viewpoints of various water resource planning and management stakeholders towards ILR approach and its outcomes. On one hand, policy makers are seeing ILR as advantageous to the economic development of the nation; on the other hand, there is a growing concern about the negative environmental impacts of ILR. To ensure sustainable development, watershed planners across the globe need a decision support system (DSS) to effectively plan the implementation of ILR projects while considering the diverse stakeholder's perspectives and conflicting socio-economic, environmental, and several technical criteria. Therefore, it is essential to identify and mathematically evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of ILR projects to achieve economic and environmental objectives. It is indeed a challenge for watershed managers to simultaneously address the uncertainty associated with multiple criteria and group of decision-makers (stakeholders) involved in developing the SWOT model. To address these concerns, the present study proposes an advanced entropy-based SWOT fuzzy decision support system to evaluate the feasibility of ILR on a case study of 'Ken-Betwa project', India. The novel aspect of the advanced approach is its ability to devise seven hybrid mechanisms, which give the flexibility to reach the best solutions along with nominal, optimistic and pessimistic perspectives of the stakeholders while addressing uncertainty issues. Results demonstrate that adopting measures to minimize impact on biodiversity and climate change and implementation of sustainable construction techniques are pivotal for successful implementation of ILR project with a score of 0.12 and 0.11, respectively. The DSS provides a platform to the state and federal agencies to systematically achieve socio-economic and environmental objectives while incorporating suggestions of all decision-makers towards ILR projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rivers and their surrounding lands are focal points of human development in the landscape. However, activities associated with development can greatly affect river processes, causing significant and often unintended environmental and human impacts. Despite the profound and varied environmental impacts that development-related alterations cause through hydrological, geomorphic, and ecological processes, they are not widely acknowledged outside of river management and affect resource availability and hazard exposure to people. In this paper, we propose a novel, interdisciplinary conceptual framework of river–land process interactions to support sustainable management and development. We introduce the term 'land–river interface' (LRI) to describe areas of the landscape in which river processes affect land, vegetation, and/or fauna, including humans, directly or indirectly. The multiple links between LRI processes and factors at the river basin, valley, and river channel (i.e. reach) scale are synthesized and a conceptual zonation of the LRI based on the process is proposed to serve as a framework to understand the impacts of human activity. Three examples of development-related activities (urbanization, dams and aggregate mining) illustrate how alteration to the form and functioning of river basins, valleys, and channels cause a range of impacts to be propagated throughout the landscape, often spatially or temporally distant from the activity. The diversity and severity of these impacts on the environment and people underscore the need to incorporate river processes, as represented in the LRI concept, into broader environmental management to better anticipate and mitigate negative impacts and maximize positive outcomes to deliver the benefits of sustainable development across society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Models that can integrate aspects of society such as institutions, perceptions and behaviours with aspects of the natural system such as rainfall, runoff and water quality may help us understand and manage complex human–water systems. In this paper, a socio-hydrological model is developed for the Black Volta (Mouhoun) watershed in Burkina Faso. The model captures the relationships between the awareness of water quality issues and capacity of local organizations, land use in the riparian zone, agricultural practices and suspended sediment concentration as an indicator of water quality. Scenarios are generated for the current situation and for plausible pathways to achieve improved water quality through different riparian land management strategies. Scenario comparison show how water quality improvements are generated if institutional support, resources and capacity of local level organizations are substantially increased compared to current levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water crises in Latin America are more a consequence of poor management than resource scarcity. Addressing water management issues through better coordination, identification of problems and solutions, and agreement on common objectives to operationalize integrated water resources management (IWRM) could greatly improve water governance in the region. Composite indices have great potential to help overcome capacity and information challenges while supporting better IWRM. We applied one such index, the Freshwater Health Index (FHI) in three river basins in Latin America (Alto Mayo, Perú; Bogotá, Colombia; and Guandu, Brazil) to assess freshwater ecosystem vitality, ecosystem services, and the water governance system in place. The approach included convening management agencies, water utilities, planning authorities, local NGOs and industries, community groups and researchers to co-implement the FHI. The results provide detailed information on the ecological integrity of each basin and the sustainability of the ecosystem services being provided. All three basins show very low scores for governance and stakeholder engagement, thus improving both in the region should be a priority. The results also shed light on how the FHI framework can help inform decision-making to improve IWRM implementation by facilitating stakeholder engagement while contributing to coordination, identification of problems and solutions as well as agreement on common objectives. Because implementation of IWRM is part of the solution for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.5 ("By 2030, implement IWRM at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate"), our case studies can serve as examples to other Latin American countries to achieve SDG 6.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated water resource management contributes significantly in addressing the upsurge in water demands and challenges. The Global Water Partnership (GWP) defined the overall concept based on economic growth, accurate coordination, food security, health improvement, and social equity without compromising the sustainability system. Therefore, a need for consensus development and stakeholder involvement at every level becomes very paramount. However, the integration of sectoral organization within a particular river basin and effective management information appears imperative but complex to achieve due to political differences, individual interests, institutional influence, and objectives. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sustainability of water resource management in Aceh Meureudu River Basin in a multidimensional and integrated approach by considering the social, economic, environmental, engineering, legal, and institutional frameworks. Furthermore, multi-dimensional scaling by a modified Rapfish software known as Rap-river basin was employed to calculate the percentage sustainability of several dimensions and reviewed attributes. The results of the MDS analysis on the Aceh Meureudu River Basin show the value of the sustainability of the technical (43.15), legal (43.07), and institutional (43.87) dimensions that fall into the less sustainable category. Some attributes do not indicate the direction of sustainable integrated water resources management. Value of sustainability the social (54.35), economic (53.40), and environmental (53.13) dimensions can be said to lead to the sustainability of the system even though the value is still low. Great efforts are needed to overcome this inequality so that the IWRM of the Aceh Meureudu River Basin is sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary water-governance approaches lack an understanding of the differences revealed when land and water governance interact. Conflicts arise because the spatial component is less regarded in water-governance approaches. This explorative paper introduces an analytical framework for the common management of land and water along three frontiers: the vertical frontier concerns the interaction between subsurface groundwater and land uses on the surface; the horizontal frontier refers to coastlines or riverfronts; and the fluent frontier is about inundations and flood events. Rather than a panacea for all governance issues, this paper proposes a more differentiated perspective on integrative water-governance approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa is a water-scarce country, a challenge which has been exacerbated by reduced precipitation and high levels of evaporation. Despite this state of affairs, water use and consumption has increased three folds in the past 25 years and this is projected to continue increasing in the next 50 years. As a response to the current and projected water crisis, South Africa, has developed and started implementing progressive water resource policies and strategies to optimise its water resources. Post-independence in 1994, the government introduced the National Environmental Management Act of 1998, Water Service Act 108 of 1997, National Water Act (NWA) 36 of 1998 and National Water Resource Strategy 2004 (1), 2013 (2), 2020 (3), and numerous other strategies to improve the management of water resource. While some of these policies and strategies have achieved significant successes, a majority of them have failed to address the structural and systemic challenges of sustainably managing water resources in the country. This paper, using data obtained through an empirical investigation, presents and discusses systemic and structural processes and mechanism which hamper the sustainable management of water resources for socio-economic and national development. A key point of discussion for this paper revolves around the silo approach used in the management of water resources in South Africa which give rise to massive fragmentations in the policy framework. It is, thus, recommended that for South Africa, to achieve some of the sustainable development targets, there is an urgent need for the country to adopt and implement principles of water resource management embedded in the integrated water resource management (IWRM) framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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.)

Copyright of World Water Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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.)

Copyright of World Water Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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.)

Water resources and water-related ecosystem services are vital to social–ecological systems, yet in many parts of the world water as a finite resource is revealed by its unsustainable and inequitable use. Increased threats to water security and supply of ecosystem services arise due to increasing and contested demand and declining supply due to climate change and other stressors. Trade-off decisions need to be made between competing sectors of food production, hydropower generation and environmental needs: the water–food–energy–environment nexus. New approaches are needed to address how water resources and ecosystem service benefits are shared among competing interests. One approach involves changes to decision contexts, shaped by the values, rules and knowledge which decision makers draw upon when considering options. By changing decision contexts, new opportunities become available. Here, we describe Nexus Webs; a knowledge framework designed to promote collaborative exploration of synergies and trade-offs and enable changes in decision contexts for water use. As part of the process of shifting this framework from concept to operation, we apply Nexus Webs to contrasting water use scenarios in the Pangani Basin (Tanzania and Kenya), where water is over-allocated and highly contested. Under each scenario, we detail linkages between different water uses and their effects on assets (ecosystems, biodiversity and built infrastructure), the effects on assets for the supply of ecosystem services and how these affect livelihoods and wellbeing. We outline how Nexus Webs can be developed and used to change the decision context to consider options for more socially inclusive and equitable use of water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Norway is the largest hydropower producer in Europe and provides currently 96% of domestic electricity supplies. Hydropower is a renewable and climate friendly source of energy, but causes an impairment on local environmental conditions, recreational use and aesthetics in and along impacted watercourses and lakes. Around 70% of the larger Norwegian watercourses and half of the country's total water-covered areas are regulated for hydropower production. By 2022, up to 430 hydropower licences will come up for revisions to implement the European Water Framework Directive in Norway. These have considerable potential to increase environmental and aesthetic conditions in Norwegian watercourses. We examine the decision-making of five completed licence revisions by means of document analyses of all relevant written sources, showing the content, methods and procedural qualities of the revision process. Despite case-specific differences, there are significant commonalities which form the basis for recommendations. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) can be used to improve the documentation of physical impacts and value judgements in hydropower decision-making processes. We analyse the perception of main interest groups with regards to the use of MCDA in future revisions. There exists a rather strong resistance to using MCDA due to a variety of political and regulatory reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake Victoria Basin is a very important resource for the five riparian countries: Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The Lake Victoria Basin provides resources for fishing, agriculture, medicine, forestry, water transport and other economic activities. However, its surrounding is affected by population growth, urbanization, industrialization, increasing commercial activities and inadequate provision of sanitation services among others. These grossly affect the landscape and water resources around the lake basin. In this paper, a web based integrated solution prototype is presented. The system consists of web access, mobile access, web service handler, mobile service handler and a database. It can be used to address communication challenges by enhancing stakeholder's participation, information sharing and enforcement of laws by timely communication and coordination of activities of good governance. The test results confirm that the system is effective and can be used to operate in real world environment in the management of water resources by providing the key actors with relevant information to facilitate decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated Water Resources Management has gained prominence in British Columbia due to growing concerns about drinking water quality and supply and risks from cumulative land-use and climate change. Experiences are examined in the upper Kiskatinaw River of the Peace River basin and the source watershed for the city of Dawson Creek. Though there is no formal decision-making capacity, efforts led by the city have focused on balancing intensive resource industry development activity with its stewardship objectives despite not having a formal role in watershed governance. Through investments in planning, characterization and monitoring, the city is well positioned now to further achieve facilitating interest-based solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that a systems' thinking and explicit modeling approach is needed to address noted weaknesses (in terms of practicality and usefulness) in integrated water resource management. A process of coupling complex regional land use, economy, and water system interactions in integrated modeling is demonstrated with proof‐of‐concept applications to two urban cases (Chicago and Stockholm). In this uniquely coupled systems model, urban land use scenarios are considered a complex urban system represented by dynamic systems models of land use, economics, and water with a focus on urban environments that include drivers and system feedbacks with implications focused on urban water systems. The integrated model results reveal that the physical availability of land for economic activities (forecasted via a bottom‐up land use change model) and their locations differ sharply from top‐down sectoral‐based economic forecasts. This shows that both human systems (economic and land use planning) and natural systems (land use limitations and associated water implications) need to be considered in order to accurately account for system(s) impacts. For example, flood zone regulations divert land use to other locations, whereas land cover changes can greatly affect the water infiltration characteristics of land surfaces and thereby alter hydrological outcomes. Our results indicate that modeling social and natural processes using a systems approach can provide a more comprehensive understanding of coupled causal mechanisms, impacts, and feedbacks in applications of integrated water resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the acute socioecological crisis in the Minqin region of China's Gansu province beginning in the 1980s and the multilevel, governmental response to that crisis in the first two decades of the 21st century. Drawing on extensive field research and interviews in the area, supplemented by analysis of available data, the paper presents a detailed case study of the development and implementation of the Shiyang River Watershed Restoration Plan in the period 2007-15. The case illustrates how conflicting policy objectives of the central state-led conservation project shaped patterns of interaction between local government officials, cadres, and farmers in Minqin County as well as ensuing outcomes and challenges in policy implementation. The study finds that top-level declaration of ecological and social issues in the watershed as a national security issue incentivized local government officials and cadres to overlook the Plan's provision for local consultation, in favor of meeting binding ecological and economic targets. It contributes to scholarship on environmental authoritarianism, illuminating structural factors and institutional constraints that shape local government officials' and cadres' behavior in a centrally administered environmental policy context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated water resource management ( IWRM) requires accounting for many interrelated facets of water systems, water uses and stakeholders, and water management activities. The consequence is that project analysis must account for the nonseparability among the component parts of IWRM plans. This article presents a benefit-cost (B-C) analysis of a set of projects included in the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan proposed for the Yakima Basin in south-central Washington State. The analysis accounts for interdependence among proposed water storage projects and between water storage and water market development in the context of historical and more adverse projected future climate scenarios. Focusing on irrigation benefits from storage, we show that the value of a given proposed storage project is lower when other proposed storage projects in the basin are implemented, and when water markets are functioning effectively. We find that none of the water storage projects satisfy a B-C criterion, and that assuring proposed instream flow augmentation is less expensive by purchasing senior diversion rights than relying on new storage to provide it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Spercheios river basin-coastal marine area is a complex natural and interdependent ecosystem, highly affected by human activities and interventions. Such sensitive systems are even more vulnerable to alterations of the hydrological cycle components and it is likely to be rapidly and severely affected by climate change. In order to examine the climate change impacts on water resources of the study area, the interaction between the hydrology of the river basin and the hydrodynamic of the coastal marine area was examined using two models. Based on the results, although the irrigation needs decrease for the years 2050 and 2100 due to corresponding decrease in cultivated areas, temperature increase and precipitation decrease are both expected to influence the water resources of the Spercheios river basin, which will directly affect the Maliakos Gulf hydrodynamics. The necessity to adopt a holistic approach which will treat river basins and coastal marine areas as an integrated whole, with regard to environmental, socio-economic and political framework, is evident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combined actions of natural and human factors change the timing and availability of water resources and, correspondingly, water demand in metropolitan areas. This leads to an imbalance between supply and demand and, thus, an increase in the vulnerability of water supply systems. Accordingly, methods for systematic analysis and multifactor assessment are needed to estimate the vulnerability of individual components in an integrated water supply system. This paper introduces a new approach to comprehensively assess vulnerability by integrating water resource system characteristics with factors representing exposure, sensitivity, severity, potential severity, social vulnerability, and adaptive capacity. These factors provide a way to consider broader system elements beyond the traditional vulnerability evaluation methods solely on the basis of the magnitude of failure (i.e., severity). In this way, the new vulnerability index gives a more detailed assessment with the potential to recognize critical conditions and components in an integrated system. The effectiveness and advantages of the proposed approach are checked using an investigation of the water supply system of Salt Lake City (SLC), Utah. First, an integrated water resource model was developed using a system simulation software to allocate water from different sources in SLC among designated demand points. The model contains individual simulation modules with representative interconnections among the natural hydroclimate system, built water infrastructure, and institutional decision making. The results of the analysis illustrate that basing vulnerability on a sole factor may lead to insufficient understanding and, hence, inefficient management of the system. For example, ranking of different water sources on the basis of the traditional vulnerability index (i.e., severity) in SLC is not consistent with the ranking on the basis of the proposed integrated vulnerability index. Therefore, during a failure event in the system, such as a water shortage, incomplete understanding of the system's performance may lead to incorrect decisions by managers. The new vulnerability index and assessment approach was able to identify the most vulnerable water sources in the SLC integrated water supply system. In conclusion, use of a more comprehensive approach to simulate the system behavior and estimate vulnerability provides more guidance for decision makers to detect vulnerable components of the system and ameliorate decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated water resource management (IWRM) has long been advocated in academia and politics but appears difficult to pursue in practice. Defenders of IWRM call for governance institutions adapted to hydrological boundaries, but these would be at odds with existing administrative ones. In this paper, we investigate how coordination platforms at sub-basin scale can contribute to IWRM. Most IWRM literature focuses on the catchment scale. It is however acknowledged by several authors that coordination is also needed at a lower level. Through document analysis and semi-structured interviews, a comparison is made of the Flemish sub-basin boards and the Walloon river contracts, two types of coordination platform in different regions of Belgium. Belonging to the same federal state, they form valuable cases to compare divergent systems rooted in similar administrative settings. A number of key factors appear to contribute to the effectiveness of the coordination platforms, as it is perceived by their stakeholders. These factors are a clear but flexible legislative framework, (financial) support of a higher government rather than command-and-control steering, the personal commitment of their coordinators, an independent status of their staff, a sense of urgency and a good connection with civil society and the wider public. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated water resource management (IWRM) is widely accepted and has been implemented though international, national and regional water management guidelines. Nonetheless, concrete implementation of IWRM gives rise to new questions for policy analysis. Scholars interested in water regulation, the design of effective and efficient policy instruments, and structures of participative and multi-level policy processes face challenges regarding research design, concepts and empirical approaches. This special issue integrates research about regional, national and transboundary policy perspectives on water management in seven countries, four continents and two transnational water bodies. From the six articles presented in this special issue, we learn more about how to define integration, to think about borders and scales and to theoretically and empirically study collaborative management in water policy analysis. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water resource governance, much like the systems it endeavors to manage, must be resilient and adaptive. Effective, resilient and adaptive water resource governance requires continuing stakeholder engagement to address the complex nature of human and natural systems. Engagement is an adaptive and iterative process of education and empowerment, building relationships and trust, and facilitating collaboration. Collaborative modeling is a methodology that integrates diverse stakeholder perspectives, fosters discussions, and creates space for problem identification and consensus-based strategies and solutions to current water resource challenges. We define collaborative modeling broadly, such that it includes a wide range of systems thinking exercises, as well as dynamic models. By focusing on the relationships and interconnections in the system, collaborative modeling facilitates clarification of mental models and the communication of science. We will describe our work in two interstate basins and how it has evolved over time as these basins strive to develop collaborative governance, and find solutions for their water resource challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the value of using Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to account for the spatially and temporally diverse and diffuse potential impacts of hydropower development in South Asia's Koshi basin. A policy and practice review and key stakeholder interviews identified opportunities for SEA to improve existing planning procedures, and also barriers to effective adoption. Whilst stakeholders are interested in employing SEA to evaluate cumulative impacts, institutional blockages and an economic development imperative for power generation leave little space for consideration of alternative scenarios as part of SEA. The analysis is conducted through the formulation and application of a conceptual framework (CFW) for SEA best practice which is then used to identify priority next-steps for a more dynamic application of SEA in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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.)

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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 article examines the unfolding of integrated water resource management ( IWRM) reforms in southwest Burkina Faso, where water resources are subject to conflicting claims by a diversity of users. We first describe the establishment a local water user committee, showing how choices regarding composition and operations grant varying levels of recognition to different stakeholders. We then discuss the implications for key dimensions of decentralized governance, namely representation and accountability. In particular we focus on: (a) how the interplay of political agendas and policy disconnects shapes the committee's viability and credibility and (b) how tensions between techno-scientific and local knowledge affect participation and transparency. We argue that in contexts defined by contentious politics and neo-patrimonial practices, representativeness is better ensured by the direct inclusion of user groups rather than elected officials. Though limited discretionary power, information access, and technical capabilities of committee members inhibit accountability, rural producers uphold their claims through social mobilization and reliance on local knowledge. Recognizing the opportunities offered by the country's recent democratic turn, we formulate recommendations aimed at addressing structural drivers and enabling citizen agency in decentralized water governance. At the same time, further research is needed on local people's understandings of representation and accountability, to ensure that they are involved in institutional design and practices in ways that affirm what they value and what they know. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability is commonly recognized as an important goal, but there is little agreement on what sustainability is, or what it requires. This paper looks at some common approaches to sustainability, and while acknowledging the ways in which they are useful, points out an important lacuna: that for something to be sustainable, people must be willing to work to sustain it. The paper presents a framework for thinking about and assessing sustainability which highlights people working to sustain. It also briefly discusses Integrated Water Resource Management and the example of the California Water Plan to explore what such a perspective brings that is overlooked in other approaches, and how this approach might be pursued. Ultimately, this framework argues that a system can only be described as sustainable if people's work to sustain the system is biophysically possible, socially possible, and if people would freely choose to do the sustaining work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Innotec is the property of Laboratorio Tecnologico del Uruguay 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.)

Rivers in Malaysia play an important role in regional economic development as well as water source for industrial, domestic, agricultural, aquaculture, hydroelectric power generation, and environment. Te aim of this research is to examine the applicability of lessons drawn from the Tsurumi River Basin for improving the management of the Muda River Basin in Malaysia as well as highlighting the major problems in existing water resources management in Muda River Basin address the problems. There is little or no stakeholders' involvement in Muda River Basin and water resource management is not holistic and not integrated as it should be. Besides that, there is little or no Integrated Resources Water Management, a pre-requisite for sustainable water resources. It is concluded that full support and participation from public stakeholders (meaning the non-government and non-private sector stakeholders) are important factors towards an integrated water resources management (IWRM) approach for sustainable water use in Muda River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade, water security has emerged as a new discourse in water governance challenging the more traditional dominant discourse of integrated water resources management (IWRM). This review article applies the 'ways of knowing' approach to study the relationship between these two discourses. In doing so, we uncover how IWRM has been narrowly construed as a prescriptive way of knowing water based largely on technical-scientific knowledge, while water security represents a discursive way of knowing water with a greater consideration of human values, ethics and power. We argue that these two ways of knowing are complementary rather than conflicting. As both discourses are pursued at multiple levels, the practical way of knowing will emerge to represent how these concepts interact in a specific policy context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many years there has been a general consensus on the need to consider surface and groundwater together to achieve the more general paradigm of integrated water resource management. Nevertheless, in many countries this goal is far from being achieved in practice as in Spain, presented here. Much of continental and insular Spain conditions are semi-arid, making it the most arid country in the European Union (EU). The use of groundwater for urban water supply and irrigation is therefore relevant, especially along the Mediterranean coast, the south and the center, and in the islands. There is however divergence between the reality of groundwater use and the attitude of many policy makers who do not consider it and favor other water resources, traditionally surface water and recently seawater desalination, in many parts of Spain. This mindset of the governmental water planners influenced the 1985 water code and also affected the implementation in Spain of the EU Water Framework Directive 2000. Although some improvements have been made, overall groundwater management is still chaotic in some aspects. A significant handicap is that although in theory groundwater is in the public domain, most of it remains in private hands. Water planning also relies on concessions and this creates stressful situations and problems which are difficult to solve. In this paper some significant aspects of groundwater policy are outlined, such as its role in mitigating the effects of climate variability and change, the water mining of aquifers, the associations of groundwater users, and the groundwater ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]