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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.)

Knowledge co-production and boundary work offer planners a new frame for critically designing a social process that fosters collaborative implementation of resulting plans. Knowledge co-production involves stakeholders from diverse knowledge systems working iteratively toward common vision and action. Boundary work is a means of creating permeable knowledge boundaries that satisfy the needs of multiple social groups while guarding the functional integrity of contributing knowledge systems. Resulting products are boundary objects of mutual interest that maintain coherence across all knowledge boundaries. We examined how knowledge co-production and boundary work can bridge the gap between planning and implementation and promote cross-sectoral cooperation. We applied these concepts to well-established stages in regional conservation planning within a national scale conservation planning project aimed at identifying areas for conserving rivers and wetlands of South Africa and developing an institutional environment for promoting their conservation. Knowledge co-production occurred iteratively over 4 years in interactive stake-holder workshops that included co-development of national freshwater conservation goals and spatial data on freshwater biodiversity and local conservation feasibility; translation of goals into quantitative inputs that were used in Marxan to select draft priority conservation areas; review of draft priority areas; and packaging of resulting map products into an atlas and implementation manual to promote application of the priority area maps in 37 different decision-making contexts. Knowledge co-production stimulated dialogue and negotiation and built capacity for multi-scale implementation beyond the project. The resulting maps and information integrated diverse knowledge types of over 450 stakeholders and represented >1000 years of collective experience. The maps provided a consistent national source of information on priority conservation areas for rivers and wetlands and have been applied in 25 of the 37 use contexts since their launch just over 3 years ago. When framed as a knowledge co-production process supported by boundary work, regional conservation plans can be developed into valuable boundary objects that offer a tangible tool for multi-agency cooperation around conservation. Our work provides practical guidance for promoting uptake of conservation science and contributes to an evidence base on how conservation efforts can be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

The growing water stress both in terms of water scarcity and quality deterioration promotes the development of reclaimed water as a new water resource use. This paper reviewed wastewater reuse practices in China, and the opportunities and challenges of expanding reclaimed water use were analyzed. Rapid urbanization with the increasing of water demand and wastewater discharge provides an opportunity for wastewater reuse. The vast amount of wastewater discharge and low reclaimed water production mean that wastewater reuse still has a great potential in China. Many environmental and economic benefits and successful reclamation technologies also provide opportunities for wastewater reuse. In addition, the overall strategy in China is also encouraging for wastewater reuse. In the beginning stage of wastewater reclamation and reuse, there are many significant challenges to expand wastewater reuse in China including slow pace in adopting urban wastewater reuse programs, the establishment of integrated water resources management framework and guidelines for wastewater reuse programs, incoherent water quality requirements, the limited commercial development of reclaimed water and the strengthening of public awareness and cooperation among stakeholders. [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.)

This paper provides an assessment of the implementation of principles of integrated water resource management (IWRM) in the Inkomati River Basin (IRB), shared by South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique. A methodology with a set of principles, change areas and measures was developed as a performance assessment tool. The tool was piloted in the IRB and results from the application were used to refine and finalise the tool. Piloting of the tool did provide very useful insights into IWRM implementation in the IRB and highlighted gaps where future attention needs tofocus. Good progress has been realised with respect to creating the enabling environment and institutional frameworks as the key principles of IWRM have been successfully articulated in policy and legislation and a relatively satisfactory degree of stakeholder participation achieved. Measures related to the IWRM implementation instruments seem to be the least developed, particularly the financial enabling environment and institutional capacity building change areas. More attention also needs to be paid to conflict resolution mechanisms. The results from the pilot also showed that countries should consider a phased approach to assessment of IWRM, as implementation does seem tofollow a process of creating the enabling environment, followed by formulating and implementing the institutional framework and creation and application of IWRM management instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Multi-Stakeholder Platforms are a currently popular concept in the international water world. It is however not a very well defined phenomenon. The present article unpacks the concept, proposes to see platforms as networks, and identifies two ´schools of thought´: social learning and negotiation. It attempts a preliminary typology of platforms encountered in real life, in which the Comités de Bacia in Brazil, for all their shortcomings, come out as a relatively influential type. In closing, the article then identifies reasons for non-participation, suggesting that it is an inevitable corollary of organised participation.Arena de stakeholders múltiplos é um conceito estabelecido na área de recursos hídricos internacional. Contudo, é um fenômeno pouco definido. O presente artigo destrincha o conceito, propondo conceber as arenas como redes, e identifica duas "escolas de pensamento": aprendizagem social e negociação. O texto procura por uma tipologia preliminar das arenas identificadas na vida real, nas quais os Comitês de Bacias no Brasil, por todas suas peculiaridades, aparecem como um tipo significativo. Ao final, o artigo identifica as razões que explicam a não participação, sugerindo que esse é um corolário inevitável da participação organizada.

Climate is a very decisive factor in water resource availability of a region. Warming of the climate system in recent decades is evident from increase in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global sea level. The hydrological cycle is intimately linked with changes in atmospheric temperature and radiation balance. A warmer climate may lead to intensification of the hydrological cycle, resulting in higher rates of evaporation and increase of liquid precipitation. These processes, in association with a shifting pattern of precipitation, may affect the spatial and temporal distribution of runoff, soil moisture, groundwater reserves etc. and may increase the frequency of droughts and floods. Agricultural demand, particularly for irrigation water is considered more sensitive to climate change. A change in field-level climate may alter the need and timing of irrigation. Increased dryness may lead to increased demand, but demand may be reduced if soil moisture content rises at critical times of the year. It is projected that most irrigated areas in India would require more water around 2025 and global net irrigation requirements would increase relative to the situation without climate change by 3.5–5% by 2025, and 6–8% by 2075. The effect of climate change on water resources may be mitigated through better water harvesting through the creation of micro-storage facilities in watersheds. These would not only provide supplemental irrigation but also recharge the groundwater aquifers.

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]

Understanding linkages between human well-being and ecological stewardship at the land-water nexus is needed in order to develop effective, equitable, and resilient institutions to govern watershed resources. In this paper, we argue that payments for ecosystem services (PES) plays a useful role for achieving integrated and adaptive water resource management, but only if attention is drawn to: (a) nested governance arrangements which reflect horizontal coordination across space according to the economic characteristics of watershed goods and services as well as hierarchical legitimacy between higher and lower levels of governance; (b) ‘payments’ that are socially negotiated rather than designed according to oversimplified efficiency claims for watershed services and (c) ‘payments’ that are well placed to overcome the individual, social and physical constraints associated with watershed goods and services so that capabilities or the freedom to do and be can be enhanced. This paper illustrates the impossibility of effectuating sheer market-based trades for regulating, cultural and supporting ecosystem services due to their inherent non-rival characteristics. Furthermore, a heuristic approach to characterising watershed goods and services clearly demarcates the extent to which PES can serve as an implementation tool for integrated and adaptive water resources management. [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: Using a system dynamics approach, an integrated water resources system model is developed for scenario analysis of the Saskatchewan portion of the transboundary Saskatchewan River Basin in western Canada. The water resources component is constructed by emulating an existing Water Resources Management Model. Enhancements include an irrigation sub-model to estimate dynamic irrigation demand, including alternative potential evapotranspiration estimates, and an economic sub-model to estimate the value of water use for various sectors of the economy. Results reveal that the water resources system in Saskatchewan becomes increasingly sensitive to the selection of evapotranspiration algorithm as the irrigation area increases, due to competition between hydropower and agriculture. Preliminary results suggest that irrigation expansion would decrease hydropower production, but might increase the total direct economic benefits to Saskatchewan. However, indirect costs include reduction in lake levels and river flows. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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.)

This paper analyzes the capabilities of introducing cultivation (conservation cultivation, direct sowing) and planning (afforestation, change of arable land and permanent grassland under intensive use into extensively used grassland, introduction of midfield tree planting, establishment of midfield boundary strips with perennial grasses and herbaceous plants, formation of buffer zones for surface water) measures in polish planning documents at local level due to the needs of flood control and drought prevention based on improvement of the natural water-retaining capacity of catchments. Analysis was conducted on an example of uniform water body of surface waters in the Odra River basin (Wielkopolska region) by the application of a GIS-based decision support system. Matrix of the decision-making process includes 9 factors (land use, size of fields, fall of land, inundation areas, water-retaining capacity, dominant component of runoff, drained areas, distance from waters, and Natura 2000 areas). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The integration of onsite, decentralized, and satellite wastewater treatment systems into existing urban water infrastructure is an attractive option for recovering water and nutrients locally for multi-purpose reuse. To facilitate wastewater treatment and reuse, tailored to local needs, a hybrid membrane treatment process is proposed that couples sequencing batch reactors with a membrane bioreactor (SBR-MBR). In this study, we explored the flexibility and robustness of this hybrid membrane system at a demonstration-scale under real-world conditions by tightly managing and controlling operation conditions to produce effluent of different qualities for multipurpose reuse. Results suggest that an SBR-MBR treatment configuration is flexible, robust and resilient to changing operating conditions. The hybrid system was capable of producing different effluent qualities within 1 week of changing operating condition with no adverse effects on membrane performance. This work reinforces the need for a new paradigm of water reclamation and reuse and introduces a new treatment concept facilitating tailored nutrient management for a sustainable urban water infrastructure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] We strengthen theories on adaptive governance with policy integration theory. [•] Polycentric policy regimes can support adaptive IWRM. [•] Participatory processes help overcome limitations of polycentric governance. [•] Informal participatory processes may not be sufficient to ensure collaboration. [•] Statutory procedures may create inter-dependence and secure commitment for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated water resource vulnerability in the US portion of the Columbia River basin (CRB) using multiple indicators representing water supply, water demand, and water quality. Based on the US county scale, spatial analysis was conducted using various biophysical and socio-economic indicators that control water vulnerability. Water supply vulnerability and water demand vulnerability exhibited a similar spatial clustering of hotspots in areas where agricultural lands and variability of precipitation were high but dam storage capacity was low. The hotspots of water quality vulnerability were clustered around the main stem of the Columbia River where major population and agricultural centres are located. This multiple equal weight indicator approach confirmed that different drivers were associated with different vulnerability maps in the sub-basins of the CRB. Water quality variables are more important than water supply and water demand variables in the Willamette River basin, whereas water supply and demand variables are more important than water quality variables in the Upper Snake and Upper Columbia River basins. This result suggests that current water resources management and practices drive much of the vulnerability within the study area. The analysis suggests the need for increased coordination of water management across multiple levels of water governance to reduce water resource vulnerability in the CRB and a potentially different weighting scheme that explicitly takes into account the input of various water stakeholders. RÉSUMÉ [Traduit par la rédaction] Nous étudions la vulnérabilité de la ressource en eau dans la partie étatsunienne du bassin du fleuve Columbia à l'aide d'indicateurs multiples représentant l'apport d'eau, la demande en eau et la qualité de l'eau. En nous basant sur l’échelle des comtés des États–Unis, nous avons fait une analyse spatiale à l'aide de divers indicateurs biophysiques et socio-économiques qui déterminent la vulnérabilité de l'eau. La vulnérabilité de l'apport d'eau et la vulnérabilité de la demande en eau ont exhibé un regroupement spatial similaire de points chauds dans les régions où il y avait beaucoup de terres agricoles et une grande variabilité dans les précipitations mais où il y avait une faible capacité de stockage par des barrages. Les points chauds de vulnérabilité de la qualité de l'eau étaient regroupés autour du bras principal du fleuve Columbia, où sont situés les principaux centres urbains et agricoles. Cette approche basée sur des indicateurs multiples de poids égaux a confirmé que différents facteurs étaient associés à différentes cartes de vulnérabilité dans les sous-bassins du bassin du fleuve Columbia. Les variables de qualité de l'eau sont plus importantes que les variables d'apport d'eau et de demande en eau dans le bassin de la rivière Willamette alors que les variables d'apport d'eau et de demande en eau sont plus importantes que les variables de qualité de l'eau dans les bassins des parties supérieures de la rivière Snake et du fleuve Columbia. Ce résultat donne à penser que la gestion et les pratiques courantes en matière de ressources en eau déterminent en grande partie la vulnérabilité à l'intérieur de la région étudiée. L'analyse semble indiquer le besoin d'une plus grande coordination de la gestion de l'eau entre plusieurs ordres de gouvernance de l'eau pour réduire la vulnérabilité de la ressource dans le bassin du fleuve Columbia et d'un schéma utilisant des poids différents qui prendrait explicitement en compte les commentaires de différents intéressés en matière d'eau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides varied examples of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and public participation interaction in South Africa. It critically examines the inadequate application of IWRM, and shows how the unbalanced interpretations of IWRM as well as a lack of good development practice and participatory rights manifest in negative outcomes for the poorest and most vulnerable. This paper, first, highlights that if decision-makers are primarily fixed on economic concerns, they induce inefficient IWRM framework that fails to balance water as a social, economic and ecological concern. Second: when the state fails to consult people and violate human and environmental rights, court battles ensue between the state and the people. These court cases are generally expensive for both sides and marred with delay. Third: positive outcomes can be attained through multi-stakeholder dialogue platforms which can oper-ate as a sort of conflict resolution mechanism encompassing divergent views, but still offering beneficial outcomes. The frameworks and practical examples set by the Water Dialogues South Africa can facilitate public participation and capacity building if applied at local levels by decision-makers. IWRM with public participation at its heart engenders an ultimate objective for better water sustainability and water security in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]