Comparative studies of water governance: a systematic review

Abstract

Governance is key to tackling water challenges and transforming water management under the increasing pressures of competing water uses and climate change. Diverse water governance regimes have evolved in different countries and regions to regulate the development and management of water resources and the provision of water services. Scholars and policy analysts have been comparing these water governance regimes to analyze elements and processes, to assess performance, or to draw lessons. Although the number of such studies has increased since the 1980s, no comprehensive synthesis exists. We present such a synthesis by conducting a systematic review of the emerging field of comparative water governance studies, and we critically reflect on how water governance is defined, conceptualized, and assessed in different contexts. Based on the resultant insights, we identify four areas for future research:(1) improving the balance between small-, medium-, and large-N studies that are used in comparative studies of water governance; (2) conducting longitudinal comparisons of water governance to identify temporal governance trends and patterns; (3) expanding the geographical coverage of the comparisons to include underrepresented countries and regions, focusing more broadly on the global South; and (4) addressing the issues of justice, equity, and power, which are becoming increasingly important in tackling the water governance challenges that are exacerbated by the effects of climate change, industrialization, and urbanization.

Climate-water governance: a systematic analysis of the water sector resilience and adaptation to combat climate change in Pakistan

“…During recent years, various researchers have applied the SLR in reviewing different aspects of climate and water governance. For example, Ozerol et al (2018) conducted the SLR to assess how water governance is conceptualised, contextually defined, and evaluated in different parts of the world. Similarly, Eckhardt et al (2019) and Potts (2019) applied the SLR method to assess the governance issues for natural resource management.…”

“…Broadly, there is an increasing trend in the SLR application for conducting a literature review to evaluate governance-related research frontiers. Based on the guidelines formulated by various prominent researchers, a distinct five-step approach has been followed for conducting the SLR that comprises of scoping; planning for SLR; searching or identification; screening and scanning; and presenting results and discussions (Ford et al, 2011;Moher et al, 2009;Ozerol et al, 2018;Siddaway et al, 2019;Xiao & Watson, 2019).…”

“…A changeover from a traditional status-quo government mindset to governance paradigm is always challenging. With the emergence of sustainability and climate issues, the global focus is now largely shifted from reshaping conventional government approaches to embrace emerging governance strategies for tackling water security and climate change issues (Ozerol et al, 2018). However, in developing countries like Pakistan, context-specific governance strategies are needed to be delineated for improving the management of climate-water sectors.…”

“…Notably, the latest literature contemplates climate change and water security as governance challenges more than technical or infrastructure issues. Most of the water scholars, policymakers, and practitioners concur that improving governance holds the key to addressing most of the climate-water issues (Araral & Wang, 2013;Neto et al, 2018;Ozerol et al, 2018). For example, the World Water Development Report 2020 titled 'Climate Change and Water' argued about the robust connection between these two global issues.…”

What Can We Learn from Interactive Approaches to Water Governance in Asia? A Rejoinder to Asit K. Biswas's Book Review

“…We are also all aware of the region's climate, geographical, political, and socioeconomic diversity, and the more complicated challenges posed by high‐density population, rapid industrialization and urbanization, and broader social inequalities, when compared with developed countries in the West. In the field of water governance research, Özerol et al () have identified more than 200 comparative study papers over the past two decades. As revealed in that systematic review of comparative studies of water governance, there are more than 100 comparative studies of Asian countries.…”