The patrimonial value of water: How to approach water management while avoiding an exclusively market perspective

Abstract

This article proposes an economic alternative to the traditional approach to calculating non-market values of the environment and natural resources, which we refer to here as ''patrimonial''. We will first examine the traditional economic approach and its tendency to apply market categories to the economic valuation of non-market goods and services associated with the environment and natural resources. We will then move on to examine the way in which the question is perceived within the context of patrimonial economics by focusing on another form of economic rationality, based on the notion of a shared legacy or patrimony. Lastly, we will illustrate the tension between market values and patrimonial values in the field of water management and untreated water distribution infrastructure by analysing the recent evolution of Associations syndicales autorisées (''Authorized Union Associations'', or ASAs) in France and their approaches to pricing.

Reframing water: Contesting H 2 O within the European Union

“…As Bakker concluded: ''market environmentalism in water supply in England can thus be characterized as a case of successful privatisation, broad-based commercialisation, and failed commodification'' (Bakker, 2005, p. 559). In contrast, in France, although it has a long history of water privatisation and is home to large multinational water companies (i.e., Suez, Veolia) (Harris, 2013b), key aspects of the water supply system in the country are still under government ownership and control (Calvo-Mendieta et al, 20111585. Neoliberal water governance regimes, therefore, have been far from homogenous, even within the EU, where nation states have adopted different tenets of market environmentalism.…”

“…[ EU, 2000, p. 1] In an apparently contradictory manner the WFD highlights that water has simultaneously market and non-market values (Calvo-Mendieta et al, 2011). This provides a somewhat awkward definition for water that reveals some of the inconsistencies and tensions arising when defining water across multiple social, cultural, political and geographical boundaries.…”

Marchandisation et patrimonialisation du végétal : les critères esthétiques de la création variétale de roses coupées

“…Dans la littérature, marchandisation et patrimonialisation ont souvent été étudiées séparément ou considérées comme contradictoires. Cependant, des études soulignent la combinaison de ces deux rapports à la nature (Calvo-Mendieta et al, 2011 ;Lavoie, 2014). En particulier, plusieurs s'accordent sur le fait que la conservation peut ellemême créer de nouvelles opportunités de profit et d'accumulation favorables à la reproduction du mode de production capitaliste (Arsel, Büscher, 2012 ;Büscher, Dressler & Fletcher, 2014).…”

Institutional Evolution in Water Management in the Czech Republic and Poland

“…The second shift, mentioned by Huitema and Meijerink, is related to the growing role of the market and it represents the economic approach to water management, treating water as a scarce resource. It includes privatization, pricing the resources and to growing role of private sector (Calvo-Mendieta et al, 2011;Brooks & Harris, 2008). There are critics of this approach, but since 1980s it is widely accepted and implemented.…”