Volume 32, Issue 6

November 2016


Editorial »
Cecilia Tortajada

Research Article

The Australian Murray–Darling Basin Plan: challenges in its implementation (Part 1)

Barry T. Harta,b
aWater Science Pty Ltd, Echuca, VIC, Australia; bMurray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), Canberra, ACT, Australia

Contact: Barry T. Hart | Email: barry.hart@waterscience.com.au

Abstract

The latest in a set of major water reforms in the Australian Murray– Darling Basin occurred in November 2012 with completion of a new integrated water resources plan for the region (the Basin Plan). This occurred over a four-year period (2009–12) and was not without controversy. However, perhaps the most challenging part of this reform is occurring now with the implementation of the Basin Plan between 2012 and 2024. This paper discusses the key tasks to be undertaken by June 2016 and the main challenges in their implementation. A companion paper discusses the challenges in implementing the other tasks that need to be settled by 2024.

Pages: 819-834

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2015.1083847


Research Article

The Australian Murray–Darling Basin Plan: challenges in its implementation (Part 2)

Barry T. Harta,b
aWater Science Pty Ltd, Echuca, VIC, Australia; bMurray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), Canberra, ACT, Australia

Contact: Barry T. Hart | Email: barry.hart@waterscience.com.au

Abstract

The most recent major water reform in the Australian Murray–Darling Basin occurred in November 2012 with the development of a new integrated water resources plan for the region (the Basin Plan). This occurred over a four-year period (2009–12). An equally challenging part of this reform is occurring now with the implementation of the Basin Plan between 2012 and 2024. This paper discusses the challenges in implementing the key tasks that must be completed in the longer term by 2024. A companion paper discusses the challenges in implementing the more immediate tasks that must be completed by June 2016.

Pages: 835-852

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2015.1084494


Research Article

Streamflow and lake water level changes and their attributed causes in Eastern and Southern Africa: state of the art review

Meike Pendo Schäfera , Ottfried Dietricha and Boniface Mbilinyib
aInstitute of Landscape Hydrology, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Müncheberg, Germany; bDepartment of Agricultural Engineering and Land Planning, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania

Contact: Meike Pendo Schäfer | Email: author.meike.schaefer@zalf.de

Abstract

The objective of this review is to evaluate recent quantitative changes in streamflow and lake water levels in drainage basins of Eastern and Southern Africa. Findings indicate that the majority of analyzed case studies report decreasing streamflow or lake water levels between 1970 and 2010. The causes of change are chiefly anthropogenic, namely water withdrawal, land use and land cover change, and dams, and only to a lesser degree climate-related. However, there are distinct regional and temporal differences regarding reported changes and causes, e.g. land use and land cover change being mainly attributed to Eastern Africa, and dams to Southern Africa.

Pages: 853-880

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2015.1091289


Research Article

Exploring alternative sources of funding for deploying sustainable sanitation technologies and services in Mongolia

Sayed Mohammad Nazim Uddina,b, Annkathrin Tempela, Jan Franklin Adamowskic , Jean Lapegued, Zifu Lia and Heinz-Peter Manga
aSchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Beijing, China; bAction Contre la Faim, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; cIntegrated Water Management Programs, Department of Bioresource Engineering, McGill University, Ste Anne de Bellevue, Canada; dAction Contre la Faim International, Paris, France

Contact: Sayed Mohammad Nazim Uddin | Email: nazimiwfmbuet@gmail.com

Abstract

One of the major challenges for deploying sustainable sanitation technologies and services around the world is financing. The present study applied both qualitative (key informant interviews) and quantitative (household survey) methods to explore sources of alternative financing in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, towards deploying sustainable sanitation technologies and services. Microfinance organizations, government subsidies and mining industries may represent potential sources of financing for the implementation of sustainable sanitation technologies and services in Mongolia. Moreover, building social capital among Ger residents and reinventing the idea of ‘corporate WASH responsibility’ could constitute new directions for the future.

Pages: 881-894

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2015.1121137


Research Article

Two-part pricing contracts under competition: the South-toNorth Water Transfer Project supply chain system in China

Wenyi Dua,c, Yubing Fanb and Xiaowo Tangc
aBusiness School, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou, China; bDepartment of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA; cSchool of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Contact: Yubing Fan | Email: yfrg4@mail.missouri.edu

Abstract

This study analyzes the water supply chain system of the Eastern Route of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project in China. The article compares the impacts of competition intensity on profits of two water distributors and the water supply chain system under two-part pricing contracts versus wholesale price contracts. When the upstream water supplier offers two-part pricing contracts, the water quantity and expected profits of both distributors decrease as the competition intensity increases. The expected profits of the supply chain system decrease, but are greater than the profits under wholesale price contracts. The government can control fixed costs to balance the profits of suppliers and distributors.

Pages: 895-911

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2015.1124755


Research Article

Understanding reductions in water consumption in tourist areas: a case study of the Costa Brava, Spain

Ariadna Gabarda-Mallorquí and Anna Ribas Palom
Department of Geography and Institute of the Environment, Universitat de Girona, Spain

Contact: Ariadna Gabarda-Mallorquí | Email: ariadna.gabarda@udg.edu

Abstract

With nearly three million tourists per year, the Costa Brava (Spain) is one of the most frequently visited tourist areas on the Mediterranean coast. The aim of this article is to understand its hydrosocial cycle and to identify why water consumption per capita is decreasing in the region. Overall, this decrease is not related to a single factor. Instead, many factors, including the incorporation of technological and institutional innovations in water management, increasing levels of social awareness related to saving water, the introduction of alternative water resources, and increasing water prices, must be considered together.

Pages: 912-930

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2016.1142861


Research Article

Economic valuation of irrigation water in southeastern Mexico

Homero Yedraa, M. Azahara Mesa-Juradoa, Carlos A. López-Moralesb and Maria M. Castilloa
aEl Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad Villahermosa, Tabasco, México; bFacultad de Economía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico

Contact: M. Azahara Mesa-Jurado | Email: mmesa@ecosur.mx

Abstract

Ongoing discussion on new water legislation in Mexico emphasizes the need to consider the economic dimension of water. Using the net income change method, in this article the economic value of irrigation water is estimated for banana cultivation in the state of Tabasco, which is a tropical region with high rainfall. The main results show that irrigated farms are 34–37% more profitable than rainfed ones with similar revenue levels, with corresponding water values of 1.48–1.75 USD/m3. These values are a proxy of farmers’ maximum willingness to pay, and can be used to inform tariff reform.

Pages: 931-943

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2015.1133404


Research Article

Determinants of willingness to pay for groundwater: insights from informal water markets in Rafsanjan, Iran

Tinoush Jamali Jaghdani and Bernhard Brümmer
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany

Contact: Tinoush Jamali Jaghdani | Email: tinoush57@hotmail.com

Abstract

This study highlights the methodological challenges in determining the value of water in informal water markets. As the decision to participate in water markets is unlikely to be random, self-selectivity is an important issue for an unbiased estimation of the participating farmers’ revealed willingness to pay. The relevance of these issues is illustrated for an informal irrigation water market in Iran. A twostage random sampling was carried out in pistachio-growing farms which are irrigated by water from the Rafsanjan aquifer in Iran during 2008–2009. A Heckman sample selection model shows that the real willingness to pay can be less than the observed prices in an informal water market.

Pages: 944-960

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2015.1133405


Research Article

Farmer heterogeneity and water pricing reform: a case study from Vietnam

Truong Duc Toan, Suzanne O’Keefe and Lin Crase
Centre for Water Policy and Management, La Trobe University, Wodonga, VIC, Australia

Contact: Truong Duc Toan | Email: tdtoan2001@yahoo.com

Abstract

Water pricing has been recognized as an important policy instrument for improving the efficiency of irrigation and underpinning the sustainability of related services. However, establishing and charging the ‘right’ price is no simple task. This paper uses an exploratory factor analysis to isolate farmers’ motivations towards farming. A binary logit regression is then used to examine the relationship between motivation, household, and farmer characteristics and willingness to pay for improved irrigation services. Findings from this study suggest that a ‘one size fits all’ approach faces remote prospects of success and better targeting of reform effort is warranted.

Pages: 961-977

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2015.1085368


Research Article

Impact of hydropower dam development on agriculturally based livelihoods of resettled communities: a case study of Duong Hoa Commune in central Vietnam

Hien Thanh Nguyena, Lisa Lobry de Bruynb and Richard Koechb
aCentre for Rural Development in Central Vietnam, Hue, Vietnam; bSchool of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale NSW, Australia

Contact: Lisa Lobry de Bruyn | Email: llobryde@une.edu.au

Abstract

Dam development is widespread in central Vietnam. Interviews were conducted with households that had been resettled and those that had not to determine the type of agricultural livelihoods that were re-established nine years after resettlement due to the Ta Trach reservoir project. Results showed that resettled households, despite having more forest land, were economically worse off compared with households that were not moved. This discrepancy between households was attributed to less arable land allocated to resettled households. The provision of good-quality land, able to grow crops and food trees, was essential if households were to re-establish a comparable agriculturally based livelihood.

Pages: 978-996

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2015.1121138


Research Article

Water conservation under scarcity conditions: testing the long-run effectiveness of a water conservation awareness campaign in Jordan

Kim J. Zietlowa, Mirja Michalscheckb and Meike Weltinc
aAlbrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-University of Berlin, Germany; bDepartment of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University, Netherlands; cLeibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Müncheberg, Germany

Contact: Kim J. Zietlow | Email: kim.zietlow@gmail.com

Abstract

This study measures the long-run effect of the Abu Tawfeer media campaign in Jordan. Based on a representative sample (N  =  367) conducted five years after the end of the campaign, a multivariate instrumental variable regression analysis shows that the campaign only marginally changed people’s water conservation awareness and behaviour. The rigorous methodological approach allows disentangling the distinct channels through which the effect of the conservation campaign was transmitted. Moreover, this is one of the first studies that comprehensively examines the role of awareness in determining water conservation behaviour.

Pages: 997-1009

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2016.1159947


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