Volume 37, Issue 1

January 2021


Research Article

Emerging citizen contributions, roles and interactions with public authorities in Dutch pluvial flood risk management

Steven Ashley Forresta, Elen-Maarja Trella and Johan Woltjerb

aDepartment of Spatial Planning and Environment, University of Groningen, The Netherlands; bSchool of Architecture and Cities, University of Westminster, London, UK

Contact: Steven Ashley Forrest | Email: s.a.forrest@rug.nl

Abstract

This article focuses on the emerging role of citizens and their increasing contributions to local pluvial flood risk management in the Netherlands. A qualitative research approach is followed with semi-structured interviews, and analysis of policy documents and media reports. A typology of physical resources and actions, knowledge and advocacy activities shows evidence of locally focused citizen contributions to pluvial flood risk management in the Dutch city of Arnhem. We find that this emerging citizen role is being shaped by traditional authority-led interactions, creative and dialogical approaches to citizen engagement, and citizen-initiated contributions that then interact with authorities.

Pages: 1–23

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2019.1701999 (Open Access)


Research Article

Cross-sector collaboration within Dutch flood risk governance: historical analysis of external triggers

Emma Avoyan and Sander Meijerink

Institute for Management Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands

Contact: Emma Avoyan | Email: e.avoyan@fm.ru.nl

Abstract

This article synthesizes the literature on Dutch flood risk governance to analyze how external conditions shaped past and present dynamics of cross-sector collaboration for integrated flood risk management in the Netherlands. It traces the extent to which policy and legal frameworks, socio-economic circumstances, political realities, power relations and conflict situations have influenced attempts at collaboration between flood safety, spatial planning, environmental protection and other sectors. Despite the growing interdependences, existing power relations between the sectors are characterized by the dominance of the water sector. Hence, crosssector collaboration can develop as long as it does not compromise flood safety.

Pages: 24–47

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2019.1707070 (Open Access)


Research Article

Hong Kong’s water security: a governance perspective

Raymond Yu Wanga and Liping Daib,c

aCentre for Social Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, P. R. China; bCenter for Chinese Public Administration Research, School of Government, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P. R. China; cUtrecht Centre for Water, Oceans and Sustainability Law, Utrecht University, Netherlands

Contact: Liping Dai | Email: l.dai@uu.nl

Abstract

Traditional concerns regarding Hong Kong’s water security have centred on water quantity, quality and pricing. In contrast, this article embraces an integrative conceptualization of water security from a governance perspective. A technocratic and supply-oriented water system may overlook challenges stemming from scalar mismatches at the territorial, institutional and discursive levels, as well as at the science–policy interface. Resilience thinking could identify new areas of concern and provide contextually sensitive insights into Hong Kong’s water security, which will be subject to the restructuring of the water governance system, which concerns changing discourses, power relations and institutional mechanisms.

Pages: 48–66

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2019.1688647 (Open Access)


Research Article

Achieving water security in Nepal through unravelling the water-energy-agriculture nexus

Santosh Nepala, Nilhari Neupanea, Devesh Belbasea, Vishnu Prasad Pandeyb and Aditi Mukherjia,c

aInternational Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu, Nepal; bInternational Water Management Institute, Kathmandu, Nepal; cInternational Water Management Institute, New Delhi, India

Contact: Santosh Nepal | Email: Santosh.Nepal@icimod.org

Abstract

This article investigates water security in Nepal from the perspective of the water-energy-agriculture (food) nexus, focusing on pathways  to water security that originate in actions and policies related to other sectors. It identifies promoting development of Nepal’s hydropower potential to provide energy for pumping as way to  improve water security in agriculture. Renewable groundwater  reserves of 1.4 billion cubic meters (BCM), from an estimated available balance of 6.9 BCM, could be pumped to irrigate 613,000 ha of rainfed agricultural land in the Terai plains, with a potential direct economic gain of USD 1.1 billion annually and associated benefits including promotion of energy-based industry, food security and local employment. Governance also plays an important role in addressing water security. We conclude that a nexus-based approach is required for effective water management and governance.

Pages: 67–93

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2019.1694867 (Open Access)


Research Article

Comparative analysis of hybridized solutions to water resources management in Burkina Faso, India and Peru

Mark Everarda, Raul Loayza Murob, Lisa Bunclarkc,d and Rossi Taboadae

aDepartment of Geography and Enviornmental Management, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK; bLaboratory of Ecotoxicology, Faculty of Sciences and Philosophy, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru; cCENTRUM Cátolica Graduate Business School, Lima, Perú; dBusiness School, Pontifica Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima; eCentro de Competencias del Agua, Lima, Peru

Contact: Mark Everard | Email: mark.everard@uwe.ac.uk

Abstract

Hybridization of ‘green’ and engineered infrastructure, informed by protecting or restoring catchment processes, can resolve interconnected demands on catchment ecosystems, potentially also reversing historic degradation of socio-ecological systems. Pressures are acute in water-scarce, developing regions with episodic rainfall, exacerbated by historic presumptions favouring engineered management. Comparing conditions, histories and emerging approaches in contrasting regions – the Central Plateau of Burkina Faso, Rajasthan State (India) and Ayacucho Region (Peru) – reveals similar yet distinct approaches reflecting different starting regimes. Transferrable learning about hybridizing localized, nature-based solutions and engineered technology informs the necessary transition towards a sustainable approach in these and other regions.

Pages: 94–117

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2020.1712192


Research Article

Agricultural water and energy management in Tajikistan: a new opportunity

Stefanos Xenariosa,b, Murodbek Laldjebaevc and Ronan Shenhavd

aGraduate School of Public Policy, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan; bEnvironment & Resource Efficiency Cluster, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan; cSchool of Arts and Sciences, University of Central Asia, Khorog, Tajikistan; dUniversity of Groningen, Netherlands

Contact: Stefanos Xenarios | Email: stefanos.xenarios@nu.edu.kz

Abstract

Agricultural water use in Tajikistan is largely based on mechanized irrigation pumps. The farming community cannot afford the cost of the energy used for pumping, resulting in large debts to the service provider. We propose limiting pumping facilities for five years in exchange for energy export to neighbouring countries. The energy export could cover the annual pumping expenditures, pay off agricultural debt and partly rehabilitate the irrigation network. We suggest three scenarios with different pumping energy reductions, and the relevant technical parameters of the set-aside scheme are assessed.

Pages: 118–136

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2019.1642185 (Open Access)


Research Article

Moving beyond ‘more crop per drop’: insights from two decades of research on agricultural water productivity

Meredith Giordanoa, Susanne M. Scheierlingb, David O. Tréguera,b, Hugh Turralc and Peter G. McCornickd

aInternational Water Management Institute (IWMI), Washington, DC, USA; bWorld Bank, Washington, DC, USA; cIndependent Consultant, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; dRobert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA

Contact: Susanne M. Scheierling | Email: sscheierling@worldbank.org

Abstract

Concern over increasing water scarcity has led to the introduction of the concept of agricultural water productivity and an emphasis on interventions to achieve ‘more crop per drop’. Yet, a strong debate continues on how the concept is to be defined and used. Drawing largely from the irrigation literature, the origins of the concept and its methodological developments are reviewed, and its use in applied work over two decades is discussed. Based on this analysis of conceptual and applied research, key insights into the concept’s contributions and limitations are presented, as well as opportunities for further refinements.

Pages: 137–161

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2019.1576508


Research Article

Reassessing the Draft Articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers through the lens of reciprocity

David J. Devlaeminck

School of Law, Chongqing University, China

Contact: David J. Devlaeminck | Email: djdevlaeminck@live.com

Abstract

In spite of groundwater’s growing importance, the 2008 Draft Articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers have yet to be fully adopted by the international community. As states contemplate the future of the draft articles, this article aims to reassess them through the lens of the legal principle of reciprocity. To do so, this article provides a framework for the analysis of law via reciprocity, followed by its application to the draft articles. Although this article primarily finds that they follow a reciprocal structure, it also identifies areas to be revisited, including sovereignty and recharge zone states.

Pages: 162–177

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2020.1740082


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