An important challenge of integrated water resources management (IWRM) is to balance water allocation between different users. While economically and/or politically powerful users have well developed methods for quantifying and justifying their water needs, this is not the case for ecosystems—the silent water user. A promising way of placing aquatic ecosystems on the water agenda is by economic valuation of services sustained by ecosystems. In developing countries, the livelihoods of rural people often depend directly on the provision of aquatic ecosystem services. In such situations, economic valuation of ecosystem services becomes particularly challenging. This paper reviews recent literature on economic valuation of aquatic ecosystem services in developing countries. “Market price” is the most widespread method used for valuating marketed ecosystem services in developing countries. “Cost based” and “revealed preference” methods are frequently used when ecosystem services are non-marketed. A review of 27 existing valuation studies reveals a considerable range of estimated total economic value of aquatic ecosystem services in developing countries, that is from US$30 to 3,000/ha/year. The paper concludes that economic valuation is vital for bringing ecosystems to decision-making agendas in developing countries and that great effort must be made to bridge the gap between scientists and decision makers.
The integrated, effi cient, equitable and sustainable management of water resources is of vital importance for securing ecosystem health and services to people, not least of which is food production. The challenges related to increasing water scarcity and ecosystem degradation, and the added complexities of climate change, highlight the need for countries to carefully manage their surface water and groundwater resources. Built upon the principles of economic effi ciency, equity and environmental sustainability, integrated water resources management (IWRM) can be shaped by local needs to maximize allocative effi ciency and better manage water for people, food, nature and industry. However, the fl exibility of the approach means that it is interpreted and applied in ways that prioritize and address immediate challenges created by demographic, economic and social drivers, often at the expense of environmental sustainability -and hence also of long-term food security. The need to more explicitly include ecosystems in water management practices and safeguard long-term food security can be addressed partly by refi ning the notion of 'water for food' in IWRM as 'water for agroecosystems'. This would also serve to eliminate much of the current dichotomy between 'water for food' and 'water for nature', and deliver a more balanced approach to ecosystem services that explicitly considers the value and benefi ts to people of a healthy resource base. The adoption of an ecosystem services approach to IWRM, and incorporation of environmental fl ows as a key element, can contribute to longterm food security and ecosystem health by ensuring more effi cient and effective management of water for agroecosystems, natural systems and all its other uses. *
The integrated role of water in ecosystems and, in particular, in agroecosystems, as well as the multiple uses of water -across various sectors that have increasing demands, have been widely recognized. But regions and institutions are still struggling to resolve issues around water -be it scarcity, accessibility or degradation. Mostly, they are caught in conventional institutional and policy frameworks that have been set up based more on sectoral than on cross-sectoral principles, thus preventing them from achieving the ultimate goal of sustainability. This chapter analyses the current and future challenges related to water availability and water use for agriculture from this perspective. It looks at water quantity and quality, water infrastructure, and related governance and institutional aspects, using case studies from basins in different geographic regions.
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