Your search found 23 records
1 Saleth, M.; Sastry, G. S. 2003. Subsidy in water supply and sanitation sector in Karnatake: Magnitude, effects and policy issues. In Govinda Rao, M. (Ed.) 2003. Volume and composition of budgetary susbsidies in Karnatake. Bangalore, India: Institute of Social and Economic Change. pp. 47-70. (Social and economic change monographs 1)
Water supply ; Sanitation ; Subsidies ; Policy ; Reforms ; User charges ; Water rates ; Cost recovery / India / Bangalore / Karnataka
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: IWMI 628.1 G635 SAL Record No: H033021)
2 Zhu, Z.; Giordano, M.; Cai, X.; Molden, D. 2003. Yellow river comprehensive assessment: Basin features and issues – Collaborative research between International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC) Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) iv, 26p. (IWMI Working Paper 057) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3910/2009.185]
Flood control ; Water scarcity ; Environmental degradation ; Groundwater ; Social aspects ; River basin development ; Water use efficiency ; Crop production ; Wetlands ; Water pollution ; Water policy ; Reforms ; Water quality ; Flood plains
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: IWMI 333.91 G592 ZHU Record No: H033400)
(772 KB)
3 Dinar, A.; Pochat, V.; Albiac-Murillo, J. (Eds.) 2015. Water pricing experiences and innovations. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. 471p. (Global Issues in Water Policy Volume 9) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16465-6]
Water rates ; Pricing ; Water market ; Reforms ; Cost recovery ; Climate change ; Water use efficiency ; Water conservation ; Incentives ; Water users ; Equity ; Water supply ; Urban areas ; Wastewater ; Water reuse ; Domestic water ; Sustainability ; Socioeconomic development ; Social aspects ; Political aspects ; Decentralization ; Case studies ; Developing countries / USA / Australia / Brazil / Canada / Chile / China / Colombia / France / India / Israel / Italy / Mexico / Netherlands / New Zealand / South Africa / Spain / Ecuador / California / Guayaquil / Valencia / Bahia / Tucano Aquifer
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy SF Record No: H047094)
(0.32 MB)
4 Shen, D.; Yu, X.; Shi, J. 2015. Introducing new mechanisms into water pricing reforms in China. In Dinar, A.; Pochat, V.; Albiac-Murillo, J. (Eds.). Water pricing experiences and innovations. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. pp.343-358. (Global Issues in Water Policy Volume 9)
Water rates ; Pricing ; Reforms ; Economic value ; Water resources ; Water supply ; Water use ; Household consumption ; Urban areas ; Wastewater treatment ; Hydraulic engineering ; Development projects ; Environmental protection ; Case studies / China / Beijing / Shanxi
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy SF Record No: H047130)
This chapter analyzes the water pricing structure, reform process, and case studies in China and presents a overall picture of pricing water resources and its services during the past 60 years, particularly after 1980. China now implements a comprehensive water pricing framework and develops it step by step. The water resources fee was introduced in the 1980s, and the wastewater treatment and collection fee was developed in the late 1990s. By the 2000s, a comprehensive system was developed. Two case studies, involving Beijing and Shanxi Province, are discussed, which demonstrate increasing tariff standards in both regions. In the future, China will continue struggling with its water sector’s increasing tariff levels in order to meet its multi-objective water pricing.
5 Hassan, R.; Thiam, D. R. 2015. Implications of water policy reforms for virtual water trade between South Africa and its trade partners: economy-wide approach. Water Policy, 17(4):649-663. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2014.242]
Virtual water ; Water policy ; Water market ; Reforms ; Partnerships ; Water allocation ; Agricultural production ; Water use efficiency ; Macroeconomics ; Economic policy ; International trade ; Exports ; Models / South Africa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047429)
(0.44 MB)
This paper employs an economy-wide framework to evaluate impacts of water and trade policy reforms in South Africa (SA) on virtual water flows. To pursue this analysis, the study derives net virtual water trade flows between SA and its partners to assess implications of recent trade agreements within the South African Development Community compared to economic cooperation with other major trading blocks (e.g. European Union, Asia, and Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC)). Recent trends in actual trade confirm model predictions that liberalization of water allocation would switch water from field crops to horticulture and promote growth in non-agricultural exports. The results suggest that it is necessary to introduce policies that enhance likely outcomes of liberalization promoting higher water use efficiency within irrigation agriculture such as increased adoption of more efficient irrigation methods (sprinkler, drip, etc.) as water becomes more expensive under wider open competition. Moreover, investment in higher water use efficiency and improved competitiveness of dryland agriculture therefore represent the sound economic options for strengthening the capacity to achieve food security objectives as the country strives to lower net water exports. Finally, careful coordination of trade and water policy reforms is another necessary challenge for SA’s strive to manage a water stressed economy.
6 Hellegers, P.; Leflaive, X. 2015. Water allocation reform: what makes it so difficult? Water International, 40(2):273-285. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2015.1008266]
Water allocation ; Reforms ; Water management ; Water demand ; Water use ; Water policy ; Water market ; Economic aspects ; Decision support systems ; Social aspects ; Equity ; Political aspects
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047473)
(0.32 MB)
The increasingly urgent reform of water allocation is challenged by the complexity of the political dimension, in particular the need to reconcile often competing objectives such as food and energy security and green growth. Moreover, these objectives are unstable, and allocation regimes have to adjust to shifting priorities and circumstances at the lowest cost to society. Climate change generates additional uncertainty in water availability and demand. This calls for robust allocation regimes that can adjust, reallocate and reduce water allocation in an organized way.
7 Narayanamoorthy, A. 2018. Financial performance of India’s irrigation sector: a historical analysis. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 34(1):116-131. (Special issue: Politics and Policies for Water Resources Management in India). [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2017.1298998]
Irrigation systems ; Financing ; Performance evaluation ; Macroeconomic analysis ; Cost recovery ; Water pricing ; Reforms ; Irrigation programs ; Irrigation canals ; Water user associations / India / Maharashtra
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048484)
(1.17 MB)
India’s public irrigation sector is one of the largest in the world in terms of number of large reservoirs, total storage capacity and irrigated area. But poor financial performance has been threatening its sustainability. Hence, many changes have been introduced in the area of water pricing over the years. But studies that focus on the issue of financial recovery are scanty. Analysis presented in the article shows that despite a substantial increase in area under irrigation, there has been a consistent decline in revenue generated from irrigation fee collection across states. The recovery rate of irrigation fees has been better in less developed states than in more developed states.
8 Wessels, M.; Veldwisch, G. J.; Kujawa, K.; Delcarme, B. 2019. Upsetting the apple cart?: export fruit production, water pollution and social unrest in the Elgin Valley, South Africa. Water International, 44(2):188-205. (Special issue: Rural-urban Water Struggles: Urbanizing Hydrosocial Territories and Evolving Connections, Discourses and Identities). [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2019.1586092]
Water pollution ; Fruit products ; Apples ; Exports ; Farmers ; Equity ; Social unrest ; Water user associations ; Water quality ; Reforms ; Rural urban relations ; Political aspects ; Economic aspects ; Poverty / South Africa / Elgin Valley / Grabouw
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049165)
(1.66 MB)
This article explores the encounter between two contrasting visions of how the hydrosocial territory of the Elgin Valley of South Africa is, and should be, constituted and the conflicts over water pollution this gives rise to. It studies how poor urban dwellers try to upset the status quo of unequal access to land and water, which is linked to broader, historically entrenched, inequalities. White commercial farmers have succeeded in upholding the dominant hydro-territorial order by emphasizing the economic importance of their sector, by reducing complex political issues to technical challenges, and by capturing ‘democratic’ water institutions.
9 Burchi, S. 2019. The future of domestic water law: trends and developments revisited, and where reform is headed. Water International, 44(3):258-277. (Special issue: Legal Perspectives on Bridging Science and Policy) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2019.1575999]
Domestic water ; Water law ; Legislation ; Regulations ; Trends ; Reforms ; Water resources development ; Water rights ; Human rights ; Equity ; Water allocation ; Water use efficiency ; Ecosystems ; Land use ; Wastewater ; Environmental effects ; Communities
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049275)
(1.49 MB)
A re-visitation of trends and developments in water legislation in the light of experience and new legislation from selected countries confirms the findings of prior stocktaking, while bearing out advances in many areas: achieving adaptability of regulatory water-allocation mechanisms; blending efficiency and equity of allocation; ‘greening’ of water laws; bridging the land–water divide; and giving customary and de minimis water rights their due. The human right to water, and access to justice, are emerging new trends. These, and the advances listed earlier, show the likely direction of future water law reform.
10 Duncan, A. E.; de Vries, N.; Nyarko, K. B. 2019. The effectiveness of water resources management in Pra Basin. Water Policy, 21(4):787-805. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2019.123]
Integrated management ; Water resources ; Water management ; Reforms ; Water policy ; Water supply ; Water use ; Water quality ; Stakeholders ; Institutions ; Frameworks ; Assessment ; Uncertainty ; River basins ; Conflicts / Ghana / Pra Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049278)
(0.45 MB)
Integrated water resources management (IWRM) has been criticized yet it is the dominant approach to water resources management in developing countries. The criticism emanates from the manifold unfounded assumptions made during implementation on issues such as availability of technology and infrastructure, privatization and sustainable financing, human resource capacity, government interference, etc. The Pra Basin has been implementing IWRM since 2011. The basin houses nine out of the 17 artificial reservoirs constructed in Ghana for drinking water supply. It is therefore prudent that the basin's water resources are given extra management care to ensure sustainable water quality and quantity for growth and development. However, much uncertainty still exists about whether the best water management system is being practiced, whether the system is working well, or needs improvement. This study examines the effectiveness of water resources management in the Pra Basin of Ghana. This study used interviews, field observations, and documents such as Pra Basin IWRM plan, the national IWRM plan, etc., to assess the effectiveness of IWRM in the Pra Basin. The result of the study showed that IWRM although appropriate for the basin had implementation gaps. These gaps are potential contributors to deteriorating water quality
11 Ghosh, S.; Kolady, D. E.; Das, U.; Gorain, S.; Srivastava, S. K.; Mondal, B. 2019. Spatio-temporal variations in effects of Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) reform in India: a panel data analysis. Agricultural Water Management, 222:48-61. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.05.042]
Irrigation management ; Participatory management ; Reforms ; Groundwater irrigation ; Irrigated land ; Agricultural development ; Crop production ; Agricultural productivity ; Performance indexes ; Indicators ; Water user associations ; Tank irrigation ; Irrigation canals ; Land use / India / Andhra Pradesh / Karnataka / Tamil Nadu / Madhya Pradesh / Odisha / Rajasthan
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049402)
(1.94 MB)
After a decade of implementation of participatory irrigation management (PIM) policy in India, the impact of PIM on agricultural and irrigation scenario is studied in six states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Rajasthan) implementing the PIM reform. In case of each state, district level panel data of 10 years each before and after the PIM enactment is analyzed for the variables depicting agricultural and irrigation scenario. The decadal mean values calculated before and after implementation of PIM indicate that increased share of net irrigated area to net sown area (3–12%), increased productivity of major crops (11–20%), increased food grain productivity (8–39%) with decreased share of food grain crops area to gross sown area (1–3%), increased area under high yielding varieties in three states (13–54%), increased cropping intensity in five states (3–12%) and increased fertiliser consumption (21–80%) during post PIM period. Net irrigated area has shown an increase from 6 to 38 percent that is because of relatively more increase in groundwater irrigated area (16–63%) as compared to canal irrigated area after PIM (-16 to 31%). District wise agricultural development index (ADI) and irrigation development index (IDI) are derived showing betterment in both after PIM reform. Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) regression models are worked out that revealed variations in impact of PIM in the states of India. The PIM has made significant impact on food grain productivity as evident from the significant coefficient value for interaction term between year and PIM dummy in case of Karnataka, Odisha and Rajasthan. In case of other three states, the impact of PIM is not significantly visible.
12 Peters, R.; Woodhouse, P. 2019. Reform and regression: discourses of water reallocation in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Water Alternatives, 12(3):853-868.
Water allocation ; Water supply ; Reforms ; Water management ; Legislation ; Water governance ; Water rights ; Water users ; Water scarcity ; Catchment areas ; Farmers ; Participatory approaches ; Institutions ; Political aspects ; Economic aspects ; Social aspects / South Africa / Mpumalanga / Inkomati Catchment
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049454)
(0.49 MB)
This paper traces the implementation of reforms in water resource management in the Inkomati catchment, South Africa, since the National Water Act of 1998. It focuses on the ways that the predominant water users – white commercial farmers – have negotiated competing demands for water, particularly from black farmers and from growing urban water supply systems. The paper argues that existing commercial agricultural interests have largely succeeded in maintaining their access to water. We investigate this outcome using a cultural political economy perspective which focuses on an analysis of discourses of water allocation and explores how different discourses are reinforced by social practice and through their adoption by, and diffusion through, institutions of water governance. The research has identified three principle narratives that underpin discourse: scarcity, participation, and rights. It focuses on the ways in which calculative techniques for quantifying water use and economic value have been used to reinforce discourses rooted in narratives of water scarcity, and how these narratives ultimately structure water reallocation by agencies of water governance. The paper also identifies the wider political and economic dynamics at play, and the processes that may shift the current discourse of water reallocation.
13 Mukherji, Aditi; Buisson, Marie-Charlotte; Mitra, Archisman; Banerjee, P. S.; Chowdhury, S. D. 2020. Does increased access to groundwater irrigation through electricity reforms affect agricultural and groundwater outcomes?: evidence from West Bengal, India. Final project report submitted to the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 64p.
Groundwater irrigation ; Water availability ; Electricity supplies ; Reforms ; Electrification ; Pumps ; Agricultural development ; Cropping patterns ; Crop yield ; Rice ; Share cropping ; Monsoon climate ; Water market ; Tariffs ; Energy consumption ; Tube wells ; Water policy ; Groundwater table ; Farmers ; Women's participation ; Villages ; Socioeconomic environment ; Migration ; Econometrics / India / West Bengal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049869)
(6.21 MB)
14 Ali, S. A. M. 2020. Driving participatory reforms into the ground: the bureaucratic politics of irrigation management transfer in Pakistan. World Development, 135:105056. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105056]
Irrigation management ; Participatory approaches ; Bureaucracy ; Reforms ; Governance ; Water allocation ; Political aspects ; Policies ; Farmers ; Incentives ; Landowners / Pakistan
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049863)
(0.38 MB)
Participatory governance is a means of making the state more responsive and accountable to its citizens. However, attempts to involve end users in decision making are often met with considerable resistance not just from political elites, but from the bureaucracy. I investigate how and why bureaucrats resist such reforms by focusing on the implementation of the Provincial Irrigation and Drainage Authorities Act (1997) in Pakistan, an Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) program that attempted to put farmers in charge of water allocation, revenue collection, and dispute resolution. Drawing on qualitative interviews conducted in 2015 and 2019 with bureaucrats across the administrative hierarchy and water sector practitioners and consultants, I emphasise the role bureaucratic perceptions and incentives played in driving this program into the ground over two decades. My argument is two-pronged. First, I show that bureaucratic resistance to participatory programs needs to be studied in light of wider political events and processes, particularly patterns of political engagement and parallel attempts at devolving power. Second, I find that the precarious conditions under which irrigation bureaucrats work make them unwilling to cede what official power and influence they do have to farmers. In other words, I contend that bureaucratic resistance to farmers’ involvement in decision-making is the result of a more nuanced set of political and bureaucratic experiences than the perceived technical superiority and colonial inheritance of the irrigation bureaucracy. More broadly, my argument has implications for participatory reforms in other sectors and for decentralized government in Pakistan and in other countries in the Global South.
15 Dube, B. 2020. Deficit thinking in South Africa's water allocation reform discourses: a cultural discourse perspective. Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 21p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17447143.2020.1835926]
Water allocation ; Reforms ; Water resources ; Cultural factors ; Social aspects ; Apartheid ; Colonialism ; Water use ; Education ; Agriculture ; Legislation ; Policies ; Communities / South Africa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050025)
(1.45 MB)
The article focuses on how deficit thinking emerges from the statements made by some of the participants of a study on water allocation reform in South Africa. It draws from interviews and focus group discussions from a select few participants of the qualitative study. The application of the deconstructive strategy to analyse data revealed perceptions of deficiencies in the capacities of Black people in agriculture as well as in government offices. The study found that expressions of concern regarding threats on the environment when and if water is allocated to Black communities were based on assumptions of inherent deficiencies within the Black communities. This article characterises this perception as ‘deficit thinking’. The article provides the basis for such characterisation by explaining the origins and meaning of the concept of deficit thinking. It argues for the need to consider the impact of social forces such as apartheid discriminatory practices on the socio-economic constitution of the Black person. The article concludes that deficit thinking needs to be considered and confronted as a challenge trumping water reform. It warns of the implicitness and covertness of deficit thinking and recommends that discourses reflect the realities of post-1994 South Africa which emerged from colonial and apartheid rule.
16 van Koppen, Barbara. 2017. Water allocation, customary practice and the right to water: rethinking the regulatory model. In Langford, M.; Russell, A. F. S. (Eds.). The human right to water: theory, practice and prospects. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp.57-83. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511862601.004]
Water allocation ; Customary law ; Right to water ; Water rights ; Human rights ; Regulations ; Legislation ; Water law ; Water resources ; Reforms ; Water use ; Multiple use water services ; Small scale systems ; Land tenure ; Licences ; Policies ; Living standards ; Colonialism ; Dispossession ; State intervention / Africa South of Sahara / Latin America / South Africa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050076)
(1.99 MB)
17 Ulimwengu, J. M.; Matchaya, Greenwell; Makombe, T.; Oehmke, J. 2020. Mutual accountability in African agricultural transformation. In Resnick, D.; Diao, X.; Tadesse, G. (Eds.). Sustaining Africa’s agrifood system transformation: the role of public policies. Washington, DC, USA: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); Kigali, Rwanda: AKADEMIYA2063. pp.182-194. (ReSAKSS Annual Trends and Outlook Report 2020) [doi: https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896293946_15]
Agricultural sector ; Transformation ; Accountability ; Policies ; Multi-stakeholder processes ; Declarations ; Development programmes ; Investment ; Institutions ; Reforms ; Indicators ; Reviews / Africa / Malawi / Lesotho / Mozambique / Cote d'Ivoire / Niger / Togo
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050060)
https://ebrary.ifpri.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/134070/filename/134282.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050060.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050060.pdf
(0.17 MB) (172 KB)
This chapter aims to deepen our understanding of both the conceptual framework of mutual accountability and its best practices in the context of agricultural transformation in Africa. We do so in three ways: documenting the need for and growth of mutual accountability mechanisms over time, discussing how mutual accountability processes contribute to agricultural transformation, and examining the effectiveness of the mutual accountability processes of choice— JSRs and the African agricultural BR. In the next section, we provide a brief review of the origins and theory of mutual accountability as well as its application in African agriculture. Following that, we discuss how mutual accountability is being operationalized through JSRs and the Malabo BR, and the effectiveness of the two processes. The section after empirically assesses the contribution of mutual accountability to agricultural transformation in Africa. The final section provides concluding remarks for driving agricultural transformation through mutual accountability processes.
18 Hellegers, P.; Davidson, B.; Russ, J.; Waalewijn, P. 2022. Irrigation subsidies and their externalities. Agricultural Water Management, 260:107284. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2021.107284]
Irrigation water ; Subsidies ; Externalities ; Water market ; Market prices ; Reforms ; Political aspects ; Government
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050829)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377421005618/pdfft?md5=6f9a1f67746be1b8524be54dfd4d2dbc&pid=1-s2.0-S0378377421005618-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050829.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050829.pdf
(0.56 MB) (576 KB)
Subsidising irrigation is a legitimate approach that governments have used to achieve a set of social objectives. Yet it may simultaneously impose negative externalities, especially in the form of environment degradation. Could subsidies be reformed to be less harmful? To answer this question requires an insight into how various kinds of subsidies work, the interplay between subsidies and externalities, and the political complexity of subsidy reform. In this paper these insights are investigated using supply-demand graphs. It is argued in this paper that a broad definition of subsidies should be used, one that includes the implicit subsidies that result from partial cost recovery. It is also shown that even without subsidies, externalities due to irrigation would still exist and that any reform of existing subsidies will counter the positive impact irrigation may have, which may not be a desirable outcome.
19 Breisinger, C.; Elmahdi, Amgad; Kassim, Y.; Perez, N. 2022. Regional developments: Middle East and North Africa. In International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 2022 Global food policy report: climate change and food systems. Washington, DC, USA: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). pp.120-123. (Global Food Policy Report)
Food systems ; Agricultural production ; Water management ; Climate change ; Technology ; Policies ; Reforms ; Innovation ; Investment ; International cooperation ; Trade ; Sustainability / Middle East / North Africa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051161)
https://ebrary.ifpri.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/135892/filename/136097.pdf#page=7
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051161.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051161.pdf
(0.17 MB) (2.22 MB)
20 Alaerts, G. J.; Kaspersma, J. M. 2022. Facing global transitions in water management: advances in knowledge and capacity development and towards adaptive approaches. Water Policy, 24(5):685-707. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2022.301]
Water management ; Knowledge management ; Capacity development ; Adaptation ; Institutional development ; Learning ; Reforms ; Planning ; Education ; Economic value ; Decision making ; Local government ; Stakeholders ; Political aspects ; Irrigation ; Infrastructure ; Regulations ; Policies ; Climate change / Indonesia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051117)
https://iwaponline.com/wp/article-pdf/24/5/685/1050901/024050685.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051117.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051117.pdf
(0.51 MB) (519 KB)
The significance, approaches, and instruments of knowledge and capacity development (KCD) in water management are reviewed, and priorities for the future are proposed. These concepts have become more mainstream, critical in helping water organisations decide on and implement policies, and generating economic returns. Their application still tends to be often limited to education or ‘training’. KCD requires an understanding of the physical world, how institutions must be strengthened to manage it, and how pedagogical and knowledge-management tools, in turn, strengthen the institutions. The private sector first applied knowledge management. The international development theory highlighted the deficiency of governments in implementation capacity. The health and environmental communities are developing an ‘implementation science’ to enhance the capacity to operationalise know-how faster. Advances in KCD include the following: (1) knowledge and capacity converging in nested levels (individual, organisational, institutional, and societal) to cause effective action; (2) six arenas/contexts of KCD application; and (3) pedagogy and knowledge-management through which learning occurs and knowledge is imparted. KCD is a ‘sticky’, slow process. Policy analyses tend to overlook the role of KCD. The water sector is facing acute challenges: a new one of building resilient water-and-land systems and adapting to climate change, and the outstanding one of achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thus, the current KCD must be scaled up, and also structured with a longer-term perspective to support change and reform at policy and organisational levels building on iterative adaption. Policies should become pro-active shaped by modelled forecasts; and organisations more able to change and adapt to future scenarios that are complex, uncertain, and evolving rapidly. Enhancing the capacity to implement policies, establish ‘learning organisations’, and design iterative adaptive pathways requires sustained political commitment. While adopting a long-term programme, supportive KCD activities should stay realistic and manageable.
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