Global insights into water resources, climate change and governance

Grafton, R. Quentin; Pittock, Jamie; Davis, Richard A.; Williams, John; Fu, Guobin; Warburton, Michele; Udall, B.; McKenzie, Ronnie; Yu, Xiubo; Che, Nhu; Connell, Daniel; Jiang, Qiying; Kompas, Tom; Lynch, A. H.; Norris, Richard H.; Possingham, Hugh P.; Quiggin, John

doi:10.1038/nclimate1746

Cited by 296 publications

(177 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The concern remains even if the accompanying regulatory and enforcement frameworks are strong and purposively flexible to meet ever-changing conditions, which is often not the case. This supply-side logic has mis-served governments in Australia (Pegram et al, 2013), Central Asia (Varis, 2014), Spain (Rovira and Polo, 2015), or along the Orange-Senqu, Yellow, and Colorado Rivers (Grafton et al, 2013), who must now deal with simultaneous overcapacity of hydraulic infrastructure designed for specific conditions, and the over-reliance of their constituents upon it for water, whenever the rains 'fail'.…”

Section: Reduction Of Swings In Gdp To Hydro-climatological Causesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For all practical research and policy purposes, that complexity is partially composed of the nonlinear functioning and coupling of the many political, technological and biophysical processes that weave water and society together (see Grafton et al, 2013). A second source of complexity of water-society challenges comes from the uncertainty of future water availability and demand, which are themselves driven by inter-woven and constantly changing geo-political, economic, demographic, and climatic processes (see Milly et al, 2008).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Reductionist and integrative research approaches to complex water security policy challenges

Zeitoun

Lankford

Krueger

et al. 2016

Global Environmental Change

134

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(2016) Reductionist and integrative research approaches to complex water security policy challenges. Global Environmental Change, 39 . pp. 143-154. ISSN 0959-3780 DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2016 Reuse of this item is permitted through licensing under the Creative Commons: AbstractThis article reviews and contrasts two approaches that water security researchers employ to advance understanding of the complexity of water-society policy challenges. A prevailing reductionist approach seeks to represent uncertainty through calculable risk, links national GDP tightly to hydro-climatological causes, and underplays diversity and politics in society. When adopted uncritically, this approach limits policy-makers to interventions that may reproduce inequalities, and that are too rigid to deal with future changes in society and climate. A second, more integrative, approach is found to address a range of uncertainties, explicitly recognise diversity in society and the environment, incorporate water resources that are less-easily controlled, and consider adaptive approaches to move beyond conventional supply-side prescriptions. The resultant policy recommendations are diverse, inclusive, and more likely to reach the marginalised in society, though they often encounter policy-uptake obstacles. The article concludes by defining a route towards more effective water security research and policy, which stresses analysis that matches the state of knowledge possessed, an expanded research agenda, and explicitly addresses inequities.Complex Water Security

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Section: Reduction Of Swings In Gdp To Hydro-climatological Causesmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reductionist and integrative research approaches to complex water security policy challenges

Zeitoun

Lankford

Krueger

et al. 2016

Global Environmental Change

134

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“…Observed ecological decline at or close to river mouths as a result of high levels of water extraction occurs in other mid-latitude rivers globally (Grafton et al 2012). In the case of the MDB, Fig.…”

Section: Ecosystem Impacts Of Past Water Planning and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This basin is noteworthy as one of the world's most variable regions in terms of streamflows (McMahon et al 2007) and precipitation (see Fig. 1), the large size of its water extractions relative to inflows (Grafton et al 2012), and the relative importance of irrigated agriculture in terms of both its diversions and value added. Further, the MDB is a ''test case'' of water reform because of the size of the proposed reductions in water extractions within a basinwide water planning framework and the extensive use of markets for water reallocation (Grafton et al 2011b;Grafton and Horne 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Planning and Hydro-Climatic Change in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia

Grafton

Pittock

Williams

et al. 2014

AMBIO

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More than a third of humanity lives in regions with less than 1 million liters of fresh water per person per year. Population growth will increase water demand while climate change in arid and semi-arid areas may reduce water availability. The Murray-Darling Basin in Australia is a region where water reform and planning have been used to reduce consumptive extraction to better sustain river ecosystems under climate variability. Using actual data and previously published models that account for climate variability and climate change, the trade-off between water extractions and water essential to the longterm ecological function of river systems is analysed. The findings indicate that better water planning and a more complete understanding of the effects of irrigation on regional climate evapotranspiration could: (1) increase the overall benefits of consumptive and non-consumptive water use; (2) improve riparian environments under climate variability; and (3) be achieved with only small effects on the profits and gross value of food and fiber production.

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“…Globally, significant changes in river flow have already been observed, while projected changes in river flow under different climate and water withdrawal scenarios point to significantly increased water stress in many jurisdictions (Palmer et al 2008;MacDonald 2010;Grafton et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Science–policy processes for transboundary water governance

Armitage

Loë

Morris

et al. 2015

Ambio

110

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In this policy perspective, we outline several conditions to support effective science-policy interaction, with a particular emphasis on improving water governance in transboundary basins. Key conditions include (1) recognizing that science is a crucial but bounded input into water resource decision-making processes; (2) establishing conditions for collaboration and shared commitment among actors; (3) understanding that social or group-learning processes linked to science-policy interaction are enhanced through greater collaboration; (4) accepting that the collaborative production of knowledge about hydrological issues and associated socioeconomic change and institutional responses is essential to build legitimate decision-making processes; and (5) engaging boundary organizations and informal networks of scientists, policy makers, and civil society. We elaborate on these conditions with a diverse set of international examples drawn from a synthesis of our collective experiences in assessing the opportunities and constraints (including the role of power relations) related to governance for water in transboundary settings.

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Global insights into water resources, climate change and governance

Cited by 296 publications

References 23 publications

Reductionist and integrative research approaches to complex water security policy challenges

Reductionist and integrative research approaches to complex water security policy challenges

Water Planning and Hydro-Climatic Change in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia

Science–policy processes for transboundary water governance

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