Water Governance and Social Learning: Approaches, Tools, and Challenges

Abstract

Water governance includes the range of political, social, economic, and administrative systems that develop and manage water resources and water service delivery at different levels of society. Social learning constitutes a reflective practice, experimentation, shared understanding, and utilization of diversity for gaining and sharing new knowledge (individually or collectively) to enable change. Participation refers to an exchange forum to facilitate communication between government, key stakeholders, and end-users. That is a feasible framework for generating new ideas, theories, methods, techniques, and a favorable context for the review, verification, adjustment, and redesign of existing knowledge. The concept, however, can also be interpreted as an opportunity to influence topics that are motivating confronted points of view. Stakeholder engagement constitutes the practice of interacting with and be influenced by according to the overall benefit of the project and its advocates. The successful completion of a project usually depends on how the stakeholders perceive it. Their requirements, expectations, perceptions, personal agendas, and concerns will influence the project, shape what success looks like, and affect the outcomes that can be achieved. Successful engagement depends on understanding who to engage with (key stakeholders), for what reason (scope, purpose, challenge), from what perspective (culture, values), and with what methods (techniques, tools).

Constructed Wetlands to Face Water Scarcity and Water Pollution Risks: Learning from Farmers’ Perception in Alicante, Spain

“…Hence, suitable adaptation measures to climate change are essential. Thus, timely adaptation is desirable to reduce potential losses at the farm level, and local experience contributes to comprehensively analyze which are the best options to increase farmers' adaptation capacity [67]. This study reported how farmers perceived climate change and the specific role of treated wastewater use and CWs in facing water scarcity and water pollution risks.…”

Extending Natural Limits to Address Water Scarcity? The Role of Non-Conventional Water Fluxes in Climate Change Adaptation Capacity: A Review

“…The problem facing society today goes beyond the lack of water resources to meet the world's growing needs and requires a change in the way that water is used, managed, and shared according to conflicting interests between water uses and functions [36,37]. This means considering water as both a biophysical and a social resource because water and society are (re)making each other: social conflict over water resource allocation affects the resource, and the hydrological features affect who has access to water, when, where, and at what cost [38]. Therefore, the strong competition between agriculture and urban-tourism water demands indicates the existence of 'structural' or 'permanent' water scarcity [39].…”

To Be, to Do, to Share: The Triple-Loop of Water Governance to Improve Urban Water Resilience—Testing the Benidorm’ Experience, Spain

“…Assuming that neighboring and connected elements are isolated might provide misleading impressions of how and why urban water resilience is ensured. Consequently, our triple-loop approach, in line with the waterscape approach but focused on water governance, integrated water resources management, and stakeholders' interaction, intended to bring attention to the complex and Land 2022, 11, 121 25 of 30 often subtle ways in which urban-rural interfaces interact, promoting social-learning and exposing unequal power relations dynamics [77].…”