The Role of Place in Rural Policy: The Importance Of Considering the Human Dimensions of Place.

Agricultural water management is important to the development and success of agricultural production. The economies of many rural communities in Saskatchewan, Canada, rely on agricultural production, so agricultural water management and local rural economies are linked. However, the economy is not the only dimension of agricultural water management. Moving water off agricultural lands can result in habitat destruction, decreased biodiversity, increased flood risks, and decreased water quality, so physical and socioeconomic factors influence agricultural water management as well. Many of these factors are locationally unique and linked to place. This paper explores the role of place in agricultural water management policy in Saskatchewan, Canada, by investigating the environmental, economic, and social manifestations of place and considering how they are reflected within existing agricultural water management policies. We find that policies governing agricultural water management in Saskatchewan, Canada, lack explicit consideration for the human dimension of place. Our findings highlight a policy gap between place-based development concepts from the literature and the management of natural resources. There is a need for vertical and horizontal integration and coordination between different levels of government and actors to make the human dimension of place part of natural resource policy. This is especially true when policy makers (often in urban centres) are removed from the impacted setting (often rural). Designing and implementing policy based on the broad engagement of diverse stakeholders across rural communities is necessary to account for place. Specific recommendations for incorporating the human dimension into place-based agricultural water management policies are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]