Your search found 15 records
1 Hopkinson, G. 1997. Water put to work: A history of Rangitata diversion race. Ashburton, New Zealand: Rangitata Diversion Race Management Ltd. 64p.
Irrigation programs ; Construction ; History ; Irrigation engineering ; Technology ; Hydroelectric schemes ; Rivers ; Pipes ; Economic benefits ; Costs ; Social aspects / New Zealand / Rangitata
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: P 4855 Record No: H022393)
2 Wichelns, D.; Drechsel, Pay; Qadir, M. 2015. Wastewater: economic asset in an urbanizing world. In Drechsel, Pay; Qadir, Manzoor; Wichelns, D. (Eds.). Wastewater: economic asset in an urbanizing world. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. pp.3-14.
Wastewater irrigation ; Economic benefits ; Cost benefit analysis ; Cost recovery ; Investment ; Urbanization ; Water reuse ; Recycling ; Resource management ; Energy ; Nutrients ; Water resources ; Households
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy SF Record No: H046958)
3 An, Q.; Wu, S.; Li, L.; Li, S. 2021. Inequality of virtual water consumption and economic benefits embodied in trade: a case study of the Yellow River Basin, China. Water Policy, 23p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2021.144]
Virtual water ; Water use efficiency ; Economic benefits ; River basins ; Water resources ; Water stress ; Water flow ; Transfer of waters ; Strategies ; Economic development ; Models ; Case studies / China / Yellow River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050703)
https://iwaponline.com/wp/article-pdf/doi/10.2166/wp.2021.144/955457/wp2021144.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050703.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050703.pdf
(1.09 MB) (1.09 MB)
The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is facing a serious water shortage. How to effectively alleviate the water crisis and achieve sustainable development in the YRB has become a widespread concern. By using the interregional input–output tables of China in 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017, we analysed the transfer of virtual water and value-added and the inequality embodied in trade between the YRB and other regions. Results demonstrated that: (1) for the YRB, the pressure on water resources was alleviated through the net inflow of virtual water after 2007. However, the economic situation deteriorated due to the net outflow of value-added in interregional trade after 2012. (2) There existed a serious inequality in virtual water consumption and economic benefits embodied in trade between the YRB and Beijing, Shanghai, etc., with regional inequality (RI) index exceeding 1. Meanwhile, agriculture faced the most serious inequality among all sectors in the YRB. Accordingly, the YRB should aim to optimise its industrial structure and improve water use efficiency to achieve a win-win situation for both economic development and net virtual water inflow. In addition, policymakers should take measures to flexibly adjust the trade scale between the YRB and other regions based on the RI index.
4 Khanal, R.; Brady, M. P.; Stockle, C. O.; Rajagopalan, K.; Yoder, J.; Barber, M. E. 2021. The economic and environmental benefits of partial leasing of agricultural water rights. Water Resources Research, 57(11):e2021WR029712. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021WR029712]
Agriculture ; Water rights ; Economic benefits ; Environmental factors ; Watersheds ; River basins ; Stream flow ; Water market ; Irrigation water ; Crop production ; Biomass production ; Evapotranspiration ; Models / USA / Washington / Walla Walla River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050766)
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2021WR029712
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050766.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050766.pdf
(2.92 MB) (2.92 MB)
Balancing out-of-stream water demands and ecological instream flows is a difficult challenge in watershed-scale management. Many watersheds already experience acute and chronic water shortages during average runoff years and may face more frequent and severe droughts in some locations due to climate and demographic change. Water markets may mitigate the economic consequences of shortages, but their potential is limited by the prevalence of all-or-nothing irrigate-or-fallow crop water use strategies. Irrigation water generally provides diminishing returns for crop productivity, so it may be possible to reduce water application at the margin with only a small loss in crop production, creating water savings that could be leased for other uses. We explore this scenario by combining a crop growth and hydrology (CropSyst) model with an economic model of farm profits and water trading, and apply it to the Walla Walla Basin in Washington State. Our results suggest that partial leasing of water rights through a deficit-irrigation strategy could economically benefit annual crop growers while meaningfully increasing water availability for stream flow augmentation.
5 Leiva, E.; Rodríguez, C.; Sanchez, R.; Serrano, J. 2021. Light or dark greywater for water reuse? Economic assessment of on-site greywater treatment systems in rural areas. Water, 13(24):3637. (Special issue: Urban Wastewater Reuse – Challenges, Risks and Opportunities) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/w13243637]
Wastewater treatment ; Water reuse ; Economic analysis ; Rural areas ; Costs ; Economic benefits ; Economic indicators ; Environmental factors ; Willingness to pay ; Filtration ; Sensitivity analysis / Chile / Coquimbo
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050781)
(0.49 MB) (504 KB)
Water scarcity is causing a great impact on the population. Rural areas are most affected by often lacking a stable water supply, being more susceptible to the impact of drought events, and with greater risk of contamination due to the lack of appropriate water treatment systems. Decentralized greywater treatment systems for water reuse in rural areas can be a powerful alternative to alleviate these impacts. However, the economic feasibility of these systems must be thoroughly evaluated. This study reports an economic analysis carried out on the viability of greywater reuse considering scenarios with light greywater or dark greywater to be treated. For this, data obtained from the assembly and monitoring of greywater treatment systems located in the north-central zone of Chile, supplemented with data obtained from the literature were used. The results showed that both scenarios are not economically viable, since the investment and operating costs are not amortized by the savings in water. In both evaluated cases (public schools), the economic indicators were less negative when treating light greywater compared with the sum of light greywater and dark greywater as the inlet water to be treated. The investment and operating costs restrict the implementation of these water reuse systems, since in the evaluation period (20 years) a return on the initial investment is not achieved. Even so, our results suggest that the best alternative to reuse greywater in small-scale decentralized systems is to treat light greywater, but it is necessary to consider a state subsidy that not only supports capital costs but also reduces operating and maintenance costs. These findings support the idea that the type of water to be treated is a factor to consider in the implementation of decentralized greywater treatment systems for the reuse of water in rural areas and can help decision-making on the design and configuration of these systems.
6 Eriyagama, Nishadi; Smakhtin, V.; Udamulla, L. 2022. Sustainable surface water storage development: measuring economic benefits and ecological and social impacts of reservoir system configurations. Water, 14(3):307. (Special issue: Relationship of Energy and Water Resource Availability) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/w14030307]
Surface water ; Water storage ; Economic benefits ; Ecological factors ; Social impact ; Water reservoirs ; River basins ; Sustainability ; Equity / Sri Lanka / Malwatu Oya Basin / Kalu Ganga Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050900)
(5.43 MB) (5.43 MB)
This paper illustrates an approach to measuring economic benefits and ecological and social impacts of various configurations of reservoir systems for basin-wide planning. It suggests indicators and examines their behavior under several reservoir arrangement scenarios using two river basins in Sri Lanka as examples. A river regulation index is modified to take into account the volume of flow captured by reservoirs and their placement and type. Indices of connectivity illustrate that the lowest river connectivity in a basin results from a single new reservoir placed on the main stem of a previously unregulated river between the two locations that command 50% and 75% of the basin area. The ratio of the total affected population to the total number of beneficiaries is shown to increase as the cumulative reservoir capacity in a river basin increases. An integrated index comparing the performance of different reservoir system configurations shows that while results differ from basin to basin, the cumulative effects of a large number of small reservoirs may be comparable to those with a few large reservoirs, especially at higher storage capacities.
7 Li, M.; Yang, X.; Wu, F.; Babuna, P. 2022. Spatial equilibrium-based multi-objective optimal allocation of regional water resources. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 44:101219. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2022.101219]
Water resources ; Water allocation ; Spatial equilibrium analysis ; Water conservation ; Water supply ; Water demand ; Towns ; Water use ; Decision making ; Socioeconomic development ; Environmental impact ; Economic benefits ; Indicators ; Case studies ; Models ; Uncertainty / China / Guangdong
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051484)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581822002324/pdfft?md5=b291269772a0b77d86b7fb377373fd73&pid=1-s2.0-S2214581822002324-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051484.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051484.pdf
(9.30 MB) (9.30 MB)
Study region: Guangdong Province in China.
Study focus: Water shortages due to the spatially uneven distribution of water resources have become the main obstacle to the sustainable development of regional society and the economy. To alleviate this problem, this study developed a framework including prediction, optimization, and decision-making models to allocate available water resources among the different sectors of the cities in the region. The framework was advantageous in efficiently predicting future water demand and supply for multiple cities, quantitatively reflecting the level of the spatial equilibrium of water allocation (SEWA) through coupling coordination degree (CCD), and achieving a higher level of SEWA rather than just the equitable water distribution.
New hydrological insights for the region: The results indicated that: (i) by 2030, the deficit of water supply and demand of Guangdong Province would be further aggravated, with a water shortage rate of 4.18%; (ii) by optimal water allocation, the water shortage rate of Guangdong Province decreased to 1.56% and the level of SEWA improved significantly from moderate equilibrium to good equilibrium; and (iii) from 2018 to 2030, key water-saving sectors in different cities were identified, while the industrial sector had a higher water-saving intensity than other water use sectors. This study could provide references for integrated water allocation strategies to realize the coordinated development of socioeconomic and environmental systems in other regions of the world.
Study focus: Water shortages due to the spatially uneven distribution of water resources have become the main obstacle to the sustainable development of regional society and the economy. To alleviate this problem, this study developed a framework including prediction, optimization, and decision-making models to allocate available water resources among the different sectors of the cities in the region. The framework was advantageous in efficiently predicting future water demand and supply for multiple cities, quantitatively reflecting the level of the spatial equilibrium of water allocation (SEWA) through coupling coordination degree (CCD), and achieving a higher level of SEWA rather than just the equitable water distribution.
New hydrological insights for the region: The results indicated that: (i) by 2030, the deficit of water supply and demand of Guangdong Province would be further aggravated, with a water shortage rate of 4.18%; (ii) by optimal water allocation, the water shortage rate of Guangdong Province decreased to 1.56% and the level of SEWA improved significantly from moderate equilibrium to good equilibrium; and (iii) from 2018 to 2030, key water-saving sectors in different cities were identified, while the industrial sector had a higher water-saving intensity than other water use sectors. This study could provide references for integrated water allocation strategies to realize the coordinated development of socioeconomic and environmental systems in other regions of the world.
8 Islam, M. R. 2023. Factors influencing economic benefit of rainwater harvesting: an empirical analysis. AQUA - Water Infrastructure, Ecosystems and Society, 72(1):32-48. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2022.040]
Rainwater harvesting ; Economic benefits ; Household surveys ; Poverty reduction ; Poverty alleviation ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Climate change ; Water supply ; Water use ; Infrastructure ; Water management / Bangladesh / Khulna / Bagerhat / Mongla
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051623)
https://iwaponline.com/aqua/article-pdf/72/1/32/1163987/jws0720032.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051623.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051623.pdf
(0.46 MB) (472 KB)
This study examines key factors influencing the economic benefit of rainwater harvesting on the household at the Mongla Upazila in the Bagerhat district of coastal Bangladesh. The household survey questionnaire was used to collect primary data from 1040 households. The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression analysis was applied to understand the relationship between economic benefit and factors that can affect economic benefit in the household. The empirical result shows that income (1.103**), storage capacity (0.574***), water price (32708.9***), age of rainwater harvesting (100.083***), and total cost (1.627***) positively impact economic benefit while the number of children (35.531**) has a negative relationship. The finding confirms the validity of statistical hypotheses. In addition, heterogeneity analysis was employed to test the model's strength and robustness check to validate the structural function and efficiency of the regression model. The finding concludes with policy recommendations, especially for rain-intensive countries that focus on (i) formulating and implementing rainwater harvesting policy; (ii) integrating rainwater harvesting as a tool for poverty reduction and achieving sustainable development goals; (iii) minimizing mismanagement of (rain) water that causes floods; (iv) initiating programmes and taking the necessary steps for providing financial and non-financial incentives for rainwater harvesting in commercial, and non-commercial buildings.
9 Xu, X.; Chen, Y.; Zhou, Y.; Liu, W.; Zhang, X.; Li, M. 2023. Sustainable management of agricultural water rights trading under uncertainty: an optimization-evaluation framework. Agricultural Water Management, 280:108212. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108212]
Water rights ; Uncertainty ; Optimization methods ; Evaluation ; Water resources ; Irrigation water ; Hydrological cycle ; Models ; Evapotranspiration ; Economic benefits ; Water supply ; Water demand ; Water use ; Indicators ; Water footprint ; Carbon footprint ; Water allocation ; Sustainable development ; Rice / China / Heilongjiang
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051718)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037837742300077X/pdfft?md5=3053b49293b0c5e8a5380876d7685ede&pid=1-s2.0-S037837742300077X-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051718.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051718.pdf
(5.41 MB) (5.41 MB)
The optimal allocation of agricultural water rights is of great importance in promoting the efficient management of water resources in irrigation areas. In the process of agricultural water rights allocation, problems develop when the dynamics and uncertainties caused by changes in water cycle elements are ignored. To balance socioeconomic development and environmental protection, this study develops a model framework for evaluating and optimizing the synergistic management of agricultural water rights allocation trading under multiple uncertainties (AWRAS-TCME). The model is capable of reflecting the dynamic changes in meteorological and hydrological factors such as rainfall, evapotranspiration and runoff and quantitatively measures the synergistic effect of multidimensional objectives of the economy-society-resources-environment on water rights allocations and transactions. The AWRAS-TCME model integrates a two-level multiobjective nonlinear programming model and a projection tracking model into a framework to measure the fairness and economic benefits of water rights allocation based on an analysis of the sustainability of water rights prices in multiple dimensions, fully considering the influence of uncertainties in hydrological and social systems. The model was applied to an actual irrigation area, and the results showed that (1) total optimized water rights allocation was reduced by 4.7–20.9% at different levels of water supply and demand; (2) the total volume of water rights transfer among regions was increased by 4.8%-12.9%, and the trading volume of the water rights market was increased to account for 5%-16.2% of the total revenue; and (3) the optimal net income of water rights allocation was increased by 1.2%-3.3%, and the equity of water rights allocation was increased by 0.06–0.09. The developed model promotes the sustainable utilization of agricultural water resources in irrigated areas.
10 Telwala, Y. 2023. Unlocking the potential of agroforestry as a nature-based solution for localizing sustainable development goals: a case study from a drought-prone region in rural India. Nature-Based Solutions, 3:100045. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2022.100045]
Agroforestry ; Nature-based solutions ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Drought ; Climate change adaptation ; Farmers ; Economic benefits ; Developing countries ; Ecosystem services ; Food security ; Poverty alleviation ; Land degradation ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Resilience ; Land management ; Ecosystem restoration ; Case studies / India
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051900)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772411522000374/pdfft?md5=2ff3fe5193ce4622c3a6babc9511d76f&pid=1-s2.0-S2772411522000374-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051900.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051900.pdf
(10.50 MB) (10.5 MB)
Agroforestry enhances farmers’ ability to adapt to climate change and delivers multiple ecological, social, and economic benefits. However, scientific evidence linking agroforestry as a Nature-based Solution (NbS) to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular the localization of these goals, is limited. Using a case study from a drought-prone region of southern India, this paper uses a qualitative research methodology to demonstrate how agroforestry offers NbS that localize 10 of the 17 SDG targets. In doing so, it identifies farmers' intrinsic motivations, barriers to the adoption of agroforestry practices as means to adapt to climate hardships, and the role of the carbon market in rewarding environmental stewardship.
This case study focuses on the farmers’ narratives, and puts their perspectives at the forefront, emphasizing on basic needs of the poorest of the rural poor, illustrating the “real world” setting of developing countries. The information presented in this paper will be of interest to practitioners, researchers, and policymakers working on community-based NbS in developing countries, as well as those interested in agroforestry as a strategy for advancing the SDGs and its scope under global initiatives as UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration.
This case study focuses on the farmers’ narratives, and puts their perspectives at the forefront, emphasizing on basic needs of the poorest of the rural poor, illustrating the “real world” setting of developing countries. The information presented in this paper will be of interest to practitioners, researchers, and policymakers working on community-based NbS in developing countries, as well as those interested in agroforestry as a strategy for advancing the SDGs and its scope under global initiatives as UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration.
11 Mueller, J. T.; Gasteyer, S. 2023. The ethnically and racially uneven role of water infrastructure spending in rural economic development. Nature Water, 1:74-82. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-022-00007-y]
Water supply ; Infrastructure ; Rural economics ; Economic development ; Local government ; Econometric models ; Economic benefits ; Sanitation ; Rural areas ; Public health
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051911)
(1.35 MB)
Here we test the hypothesis that local government spending on water infrastructure is associated with higher levels of economic development, and the hypothesis that this association is unequal between ethnoracial groups. Using data from the State and Local Government Finance Surveys and the US Census Bureau, we estimate a series of county-level spatial econometric models from 1980 to 2015. Our results support our hypotheses, with most beneficial associations taking 8 years to become evident. Furthermore, through the use of interactional models, we show that this effect is ethnically and racially uneven, with the benefits of investment decreasing as counties become more Latino/a and non-Latino/a Indigenous, and either increasing or decreasing as counties become more non-Latino/a Black, dependent on the specific outcome. Our results suggest that continued investment in rural water infrastructure has the potential to have wide-ranging, but possibly uneven, economic benefits for residents.
12 Gulte, E.; Tadele, H.; Haileslassie, Amare; Mekuria, Wolde. 2023. Perception of local communities on protected areas: lessons drawn from the Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. Ecosystems and People, 19(1):2227282. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2023.2227282]
Protected areas ; Local communities ; Attitudes ; National parks ; Benefit-sharing mechanisms ; Biodiversity conservation ; Community organizations ; Participatory management ; Planning ; Economic benefits ; Income generation ; Awareness-raising ; Multi-stakeholder processes ; Livestock ; Ecotourism ; Livelihoods ; Household surveys / Ethiopia / Bale Mountains National Park
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052099)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/26395916.2023.2227282?needAccess=true&role=button
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052099.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052099.pdf
(2.79 MB) (2.79 MB)
A study targeting the Bale Mountains National Park in Ethiopia was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of local communities’ opinion on benefits and disbenefits of protected areas and existing benefit-sharing mechanisms and to suggest future research for development direction related to the management of protected areas. Household surveys, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were tools used to collect data. The results obtained through the analysis of the factors affecting the attitude of local communities on the park and its management demonstrated that efforts should be concentrated on improving communication with local communities and short-term economic benefits as well as identifying the reasons for the unhealthy relationships and addressing them. These issues can partly be addressed through creating and supporting effective and functioning multistakeholder platforms for dialogue and co-production of knowledge, continuous meetings and awareness-raising campaigns and integrating more income-generating activities. The results also suggested that park management and government authorities use their authority to decide how local communities should participate in Bale Mountains National Park management initiatives. Such a top-down approach affects the sustainability of the efforts to conserve protected areas because local stakeholders lack incentives to participate. This also leads to inadequate understanding of the complex relationships between people and protected areas they depend on and the inability to tailor management responses to specific needs and conditions. The study discussed the implications of the results for future planning and management of protected areas and forwarded recommendations for policy and future research for development directions.
13 Ruan, T.; Xu, Y.; Jones, L.; Boeing, W. J.; Calfapietra, C. 2023. Green infrastructure sustains the food-energy-water-habitat nexus. Sustainable Cities and Society, 98:104845. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2023.104845]
Green infrastructure ; Food safety ; Energy consumption ; Water quality ; Nexus approaches ; Ecosystem services ; Frameworks ; Business models ; Sustainability ; Biodiversity ; Economic benefits ; Biodiversity conservation ; Water flow ; Stormwater runoff ; Machine learning
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052125)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210670723004560/pdfft?md5=7f40d41314fc5a66704d095f8ab4e4e8&pid=1-s2.0-S2210670723004560-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052125.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052125.pdf
(2.39 MB) (2.39 MB)
The ecosystem service potential of urban green infrastructure (GI) is increasingly appreciated, yet its underpinning role in the food-energy-water-habitat (FEWH) nexus is unclear. In order to explore the positive and negative impacts of GI on the FEWH nexus, this study asked three questions: 1) What are the research hotspots in FEWH for GI and what are the trends over time? 2) What ecosystem services can GI provide in terms of FEWH? 3) Can we quantify the ecosystem service potential of GI, and what are the synergies and trade-offs among the service types? By collating the research evidence which supports the ecosystem service potential of GI to contribute to FEWH, we developed a matrix to score the potential and to assess the synergies and trade-offs among ecosystem services. From this, a conceptual framework of the role of GI in supporting the FEWH nexus was developed. The results show that the potential of GI to sustain the FEWH nexus is significant and that multi-functional GI planning is necessary to minimize the trade-offs between them. This requires the application of new methods, theories, adaptation to new circumstances, and the development of appropriate business models within the planning domain, as well as compliance with policy directions and funding externally.
14 Wang, J.; Wei, J.; Shan, W.; Zhao, J. 2023. Modeling the water-energy-food-environment nexus and transboundary cooperation opportunity in the Brahmaputra River Basin. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 49:101497. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2023.101497]
Transboundary waters ; International waters ; International cooperation ; River basin ; Climate change ; Hydroelectric power generation ; Game theory ; Water resources ; Water demand ; Frameworks ; Sustainable development ; Infrastructure ; Economic benefits ; Economic development ; Food security ; Energy ; Stakeholders ; Nexus approaches ; Irrigation water ; Runoff ; Environmental protection / China / India / Bangladesh / Brahmaputra River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052185)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581823001842/pdfft?md5=b703e2348e298690efb1edfb889d077d&pid=1-s2.0-S2214581823001842-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052185.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052185.pdf
(7.71 MB) (7.71 MB)
Study region: The Brahmaputra River Basin.
Study focus: The Brahmaputra River Basin (BRB) is the most environmentally fragile and politically unstable transboundary river basin in South Asia. Therefore, incorporating the environmental sector into water-energy-food system analysis is necessary to better serve water resource management in the BRB. Integrated water resources system analysis can provide more perspectives for alleviating political tension and promoting cooperation in the basin. This study proposes a modeling framework to explore the water-energy-food-environment (WEFE) nexus and analyze transboundary cooperation opportunities in the BRB. Employing the framework, we attempt to answer three questions: (1) how can we understand the relationships between various sectors and coordinate their water demands? (2) How do these relationships influence riparian countries’ decisions? (3) What measures can promote the sustainable development of the BRB under climate change and water infrastructure development?
New hydrological insights for the region: The results show that the trade-off curve between economic benefits and environmental costs has declining marginal value in the BRB. When environmental constraints are raised, countries are more inclined to cooperate to obtain more economic benefits. Full cooperation in the BRB increases the economic benefits and prompts riparian countries to take a greener road among the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP126). Water resource project construction can improve the utility of water resources in a country, thus enhancing its discourse power on benefit reallocation.
Study focus: The Brahmaputra River Basin (BRB) is the most environmentally fragile and politically unstable transboundary river basin in South Asia. Therefore, incorporating the environmental sector into water-energy-food system analysis is necessary to better serve water resource management in the BRB. Integrated water resources system analysis can provide more perspectives for alleviating political tension and promoting cooperation in the basin. This study proposes a modeling framework to explore the water-energy-food-environment (WEFE) nexus and analyze transboundary cooperation opportunities in the BRB. Employing the framework, we attempt to answer three questions: (1) how can we understand the relationships between various sectors and coordinate their water demands? (2) How do these relationships influence riparian countries’ decisions? (3) What measures can promote the sustainable development of the BRB under climate change and water infrastructure development?
New hydrological insights for the region: The results show that the trade-off curve between economic benefits and environmental costs has declining marginal value in the BRB. When environmental constraints are raised, countries are more inclined to cooperate to obtain more economic benefits. Full cooperation in the BRB increases the economic benefits and prompts riparian countries to take a greener road among the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP126). Water resource project construction can improve the utility of water resources in a country, thus enhancing its discourse power on benefit reallocation.
15 Riaz, M.; Ashfaq, M.; Boz, I.; Shahbaz, P. 2023. The dynamics of the relationship between water availability, water equity, economic benefits and water user associations’ performance: a PLS-SEM [Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling] Approach. Water Resources Management, 37(11):4537-4552. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-023-03578-x]
Water user associations ; Economic benefits ; Water availability ; Equity ; Farmers ; Participation ; Models ; Indicators ; Irrigation management ; Irrigation systems ; Irrigation water ; Conflicts ; Institutions ; Ethnic groups ; Diversification ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Governance / Pakistan / Punjab / Faisalabad
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052277)
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11269-023-03578-x.pdf?pdf=button
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052277.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052277.pdf
(1.08 MB) (1.08 MB)
Water availability, water equity, farmers’ participation, compliance with rules and conflicts, and water theft management are the main drivers of water user associations’ (WUAs) performance. The main objective of the study was to find out the relationship between water availability, water equity, economic benefits, and WUAs' performance. This study was conducted in 2 distributaries at the Lower Chenab Canal west area water board in the district of Faisalabad, Pakistan. A multistage random sampling technique was used to collect the data from 240 farmers using a well-structured questionnaire. A PLS-SEM model was used to analyze the structural paths between water availability, water equity, economic benefits, and WUAs' performance. The measurement model by using Cronbach’s alpha, rho-A, composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE) has confirmed the internal reliability and validity of the questionnaire. Results indicate that timely water availability, less water shortage, and timely repair and maintenance were the core influencing indicators with high factor loadings (> 0.70) to the water availability construct that significantly positively influencing the economic benefits(ß = 0.74, p = 000) and performance of WUAs (ß = 0.34, p = 000). Equitable distribution of water across the farm size, location, ethnic groups, and greater fair and justice were the substantial influencing indicators with high loadings (> 0.80) to the water equity construct that has positive and direct significant influence on the performance of WUAs (ß = 0.48, p = 000). It has been evaluated that water availability and economic benefits had a positive and indirect impact on the WUAs performance (ß = 0.09, p = 000). Besides the insights of all the drivers of performance of WUAs, the study recommended that WUAs management system still in infancy even after the decades of its establishment and establishing the parallel institutes are neither sufficient nor mandatory. Furthermore, there is a need to reconsider the inner structure of WUAs management and establishment of cohesion among all the stakeholders in decision making. There is also a need to provide trainings to farmers and WUAs officials for effective management of WUAs system.
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