Most of the books published previously in the field of water resource eco nomics focus on particular aspects of water economics such as institutions, pricing or water markets, but none of them have given particular attention to methodological questions. However, the applied methodology within economic research has made some remarkable advances over the last 10-20 years. Some of these advances are of particular interest to the field of water economics. Therefore, we think that a book that focusing on methodological advances within the field of water resource economics and showing how these advances can be applied in economic analysis of water issues makes a nice complement to the existing literature in this field. We identified five areas where we consider the methodological advances to be of particular importance: 1) asymmetric information and game theory, 2) un certainty, 3) space, 4) water quality and 5) production and technology adoption. The selected papers for the book fall entirely within these categories. The book ''Frontiers in Water Resource Economics" draws to a great extent on papers which were presented at the 7^^ Conference of the International Water and Re source Economics Consortium, June 3-5,2001 held in Girona, Catalonia, Spain, This conference was jointly organized with the 4^^ Conference of Environmen tal and Resource Economics by the Department of Economics, University of Girona.
Water resource management throughout the world is a very complicated issue, involving various aspects and dimensions and a well-coordinated set of policies. A well-designed water policy is a multi-faceted concerted intervention, which could be specific to just one set of political and physical socio-economic conditions. A framework to analyse the interaction between policy design and implementation can assist in improving both of these in various physical, economic and political situations. This book focuses on the interaction between policy making and strategic behaviour of policy makers, water users and other stakeholders, and how policy analysis and other analytical tools from the field of game theory and negotiation can improve policy design. The book presents analysis by high-level policy makers and policy analysts from various countries, to share experience regarding specific policy issues that are relevant to almost any country in the world, but may have been addressed differently in each country.
This volume includes selected contributions presented during the 2nd edition of the international conference on WaterEnergyNEXUS which was held in Salerno, Italy in November 2018. This conference was organized by the Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED) of the University of Salerno (Italy) in cooperation with Advanced Institute of Water Industry at Kyungpook National University (Korea) and with The Energy and Resources Institute, TERI (India). The initiative received the patronage of UNESCO – World Water Association Programme (WWAP) and of the International Water Association (IWA) and was organized with the support of Springer (MENA Publishing Program), Arab Water Council (AWC), Korean Society of Environmental Engineering (KSEE) and Italian Society of Sanitary Environmental Engineering Professors (GITISA). With the support of international experts invited as plenary and keynote speakers, the conference aimed to give a platform for Euro-Mediterranean countries to share and discuss key topics on such water-energy issues through the presentation of nature-based solutions, advanced technologies and best practices for a more sustainable environment. This volume gives a general and brief overview on current research focusing on emerging Water-Energy-Nexus issues and challenges and its potential applications to a variety of environmental problems that are impacting the Euro-Mediterranean zone and surrounding regions. A selection of novel and alternative solutions applied worldwide are included. The volume contains over about one hundred carefully refereed contributions from 44 countries worldwide selected for the conference. Topics covered include (1) Nexus framework and governance, (2) Environmental solutions for the sustainable development of the water sector, (3) future clean energy technologies and systems under water constraints, (4) environmental engineering and management, (5) Implementation and best practices Intended for researchers in environmental engineering, environmental science, chemistry, and civil engineering. This volume is also an invaluable guide for industry professionals working in both water and energy sectors.
Colleagues and friends of Dan Yaron submitted the following tributes. While each submission comes from an individual who knew Dan in a very different way, they all remark on his immeasurable contributions to the field of agricultural eco nomics, his unique approach, which combines his training and experience with his scientific background, and the admirable professionalism and civility that was apparent in every project he undertook. His work, initially inspired by the chal lenge of farmers in the arid Negev, eventually took him to the United States to work with universities and to serve on commissions furnishing his research with global applicability. Dan is not only admired for his enormous contributions to the vast body of research available in his field, but also for the commitment and dedi cation he epitomized. He will be greatly missed by those of us who were fortunate enough to make his acquaintance. ELIFEINERMAN The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel Dan Yaron, my teacher and mentor of blessed memory, was a man of wisdom, thought, counsel and deeds. His many talents, his endless energy and his ambition led him to blaze new trails in research, to ask the relevant questions while separat ing the wheat from the chaff, and to answer them while mastering the most ad vanced scientific analyses.
A renewed commitment to improved provision of water and sanitation emerged in the 2002 Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development. Although many of the statements in the Declaration were vaguely worded, making it hard to measure progress or success, the Plan of Implementation of the Summit, agreed by the delegates to the conference, clearly stated that: "we agree to halve, by the year 2015, the proportion of people who are unable to reach or to afford safe drinking water and the proportion of people who do not have access to basic sanitation". Given the United Nations' predicted growth in global population from 6.1 billion in 2000 to 7.2 billion by 2015, this commitment will pose formidable challenges. To meet it, by the end of just a decade and half, approximately 6.6 billion people will need to have access to safe drinking water supplies. This is more than the current population of the world, and involves not only maintaining existing levels of supply but also providing new or upgraded services to 1.7 billion people. The challenge for sanitation is equally daunting: 5.8 billion people will need to be serviced, including new access provision for 2.1 billion. Even if these ambitious targets are met, representing a major achievement for the global community, there will still be approximately 650 million people in the world without access to safe drinking water and 1.4 billion without sanitation. What is clear is the magnitude of the problem facing the international community in terms of water supply and sanitation. Continuation of the status quo and the type of progress made during the 1990s will not permit the Johannesburg targets to be met. Instead it will be necessary to promote a combination of many different, new and innovative approaches, each of which will contribute towards the overall targets. These approaches must include technological advances that identify new sources and improve the quality of those already in use; managerial techniques that increase the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery at both micro and macro scale; and fiscal approaches that tap into additional financial resources to make improvements affordable. In the past each of these aspects was seen as primarily the responsibility of government, which supported research into technology, managed supply and disposal systems and provided the funds to pay for them. This view has changed – beginning in the 1980s and increasing in the 1990s with growing moves towards privatisation of many aspects of the water sector. Underpinning this has been a shift away from seeing water as a public good that is essential for life, with subsidised supply provided as part of an overall welfare system, to a more market-oriented approach where the state, although still responsible for maintaining universal access to water services, uses market forces to meet this aim. The Business of Water and Sustainable Development aims to illustrate the range of approaches that will be necessary if the percentage of the global population having access to adequate and safe water and sanitation is to be increased in line with the brave assertions from Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development. Some of approaches will be large-scale "Western-style" improvements involving the creation of new business models, their effectiveness assessed by traditional approaches of fiscal and social analysis. Such schemes may be instigated and partly funded by governments, but are increasingly turning to the private sector for money and expertise. In contrast, many smaller communities would be better served by following another path to improved water supply and sanitation. Because of their size, location or traditions they may achieve better results through the adoption of local small-scale solutions. Non-governmental organisations have been very active in this area, but to extend their operations many are seeking to adopt a more business-like model. All water supply and waste disposal agencies, large or small, need to support and encourage continued research into technological solutions that seek out better, more sustainable ways to use our increasingly scarce supplies of good-quality fresh water.
This contributed volume offers a state-of-the-art, holistic overview of the employment of a Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus approach to implement the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a geographical focus on applications in different African regions. The book is divided into three sections, each composed of several chapters contributed by experts in their respective fields. Section I introduces the WEF Nexus and its role in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. It highlights the attempt to connect different spheres of sustainability thanks to the Nexus, taking advantage of the existing interlinkages and interconnections among the Goals. Section II proposes a multi-scale and multi-stakeholder approach to various aspects of the Nexus and reviews existing quantitative tools. This section focuses on the issue of resource control and development aims and spotlights how Nexus dynamics influence the achievement of the SDGs as a whole. Section III applies the WEF Nexus to different African regions, which are balancing a rising population and an economic boom with severe vulnerability in the face of climate change. Chapter “Review of the Economic Impact of Water Availability on Food Security and the Related Ecosystems” is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
The World Bank's research is intended to address critical issues and problems facing member governments in developing and transition economies. How can the governments of the poorest countries generate enough revenue to provide the education and health services essential to reducing poverty and promoting growth and development? How can poor countries attract investors to build the infrastructure their economies need? How can they develop systems to bring clean water to the 2 billion people without it today? How can they train teachers and bring to class the 115 million children who have not yet received any education? And how can rich countries be persuaded to lower market barriers, helping to reverse the decline in export prices for poor countries that has left them earning less from trade today than in the 1970s? These are the types of questions that are addressed in this edition of 'The World Bank Research Program: Abstracts from Current Studies'. This volume reports on research projects initiated, under way, or completed from July 2003 through June 2004. It covers 151 research projects on several broad development related issues, including agriculture, health, education, environment, infrastructure, investment climate, and more. The abstract for each project describes the questions addressed, the analytic methods used, the findings to date, and policy implications.
This book addresses groundwater governance, a subject internationally recognized as crucial and topical for enhancing and safeguarding the benefits of groundwater and groundwater-dependent ecosystems to humanity, while ensuring water and food security under global change. The multiple and complex dimensions of groundwater governance are captured in 28 chapters, written by a team of leading experts from different parts of the world and with a variety of relevant professional backgrounds. The book aims to describe the state-of-the-art and latest developments regarding each of the themes addressed, paying attention to the wide variation of conditions observed around the globe. The book consists of four parts. The first part sets the stage by defining groundwater governance, exploring its emergence and evolution, framing it through a socio-ecological lens and describing groundwater policy and planning approaches. The second part discusses selected key aspects of groundwater governance. The third part zooms in on the increasingly important linkages between groundwater and other resources or sectors, and between local groundwater systems and phenomena or actions at the international or even global level. The fourth part, finally, presents a number of interesting case studies that illustrate contemporary practice in groundwater governance. In one volume, this highly accessible text not only familiarizes water professionals, decision-makers and local stakeholders with groundwater governance, but also provides them with ideas and inspiration for improving groundwater governance in their own environment.
Frontiers in Urban Water Management presents the state-of-the art in urban water management at the beginning of the 21st century. The book marks the end of the fifth phase of UNESCO's International Hydrological Programme in this field by bringing together major scientific and professional players to address critical and topical issues in water management. This team of leading world experts investigate themes such as the challenges of urban water management, infrastructure integration issues, and emerging paradigms in water supply and sanitation. Key issues are investigated from the hydrological, technical and managerial points of view, incorporating both social and economic realities. Specific reference is also made to solutions for developing countries. With a view to the future, conclusions from past experiences are highlighted, new pathways are explored and future developments are suggested. Contents The challenge of urban water management Urban water as a part of integrated catchment management Interactions with the environment Infrastructure integration issues Emerging paradigms in water supply and sanitation Problems of developing countries Economic and financial aspects Social, institutional and regulatory issues Outlook for the 21st Century
This open access textbook provides a concise introduction to economic approaches and mathematical methods for the study of water allocation and distribution problems. Written in an accessible and straightforward style, it discusses and analyzes central issues in integrated water resource management, water tariffs, water markets, and transboundary water management. By illustrating the interplay between the hydrological cycle and the rules and institutions that govern today’s water allocation policies, the authors develop a modern perspective on water management. Moreover, the book presents an in-depth assessment of the political and ethical dimensions of water management and its institutional embeddedness, by discussing distribution issues and issues of the enforceability of human rights in managing water resources. Given its scope, the book will appeal to advanced undergraduate and graduate students of economics and engineering, as well as practitioners in the water sector, seeking a deeper understanding of economic approaches to the study of water management.
