Power-sharing in the English lowlands? The political economy of farmer participation and cooperation in water governance

Luke Whaley
Cranfield Water Science Institute, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK; l.whaley@cranfield.ac.uk

Edward K. Weatherhead
Cranfield Water Science Institute, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK; k.weatherhead@cranfield.ac.uk

ABSTRACT: Participatory and cooperative forms of water governance have become regular features of government discourse and stated policy objectives in England. We consider this aspiration from the perspective of farmers in the English lowlands, by analysing the current power dynamic that exists among these farmers, and between them and the key stakeholders involved in water management. To do this we undertake a political economy analysis that places lowland farming and water governance within the evolution of historical processes that, over time, have influenced the ability of farmers to participate in the governance of their water environment. These historical developments are interpreted through the lens of the Power Cube, an analytical tool for thinking about the interplay between different forms of power operating in different types of spaces and at different levels of governance. Our findings reveal that, despite there being a number of structural changes that provide lowland farmers with the opportunity to participate and cooperate in water governance, three distinct barriers stand in the way. These relate to the power 'within' these farmers, which continues to align with a productivist ideology founded on individualism and competition, often at the expense of the environment; the power that government water managers still exercise 'over' farmers instead of 'with' them; and the relationship between lowland farming and environmental interests, where historically the two sides’ power 'to' act has been diametrically opposed. The findings point to the importance of developing suitable programmes designed to support and incentivize farmer participation and cooperation.

KEYWORDS: Power Cube, participation and cooperation, water governance, farming, lowland England

Social norms in water services: Exploring the fair price of water

Ossi Heino
Tampere University of Technology, Department of Chemistry and Bioengineering, Tampere, Finland; ossi.heino@tut.fi

Annina Takala
Tampere University of Technology, Department of Chemistry and Bioengineering, Tampere, Finland; annina.takala@tut.fi

ABSTRACT: The aim of this article is to analyse price fairness in water services. Although a considerable amount of literature has been published on water pricing, these studies have mainly approached the question from instrumental and rational perspectives. Little attention has been paid to the human side of water pricing. Therefore, the general objective of this research is to shed light on these softer factors, filling the gap in knowledge of the emotional connections with water services. In this research, we explored peopleʼs ideas and views about water pricing by conducting 74 interviews in 11 municipalities in Finland. The results suggest that people are not just rational consumers of a good but also have emotional ties to water utilities and municipal decision-making. The general attitude towards a water utility is confident and sympathetic if its operations and municipal decision-making processes are considered as fair, and conversely, unsympathetic if operations and decision-making are considered unfair. This is a topical issue as many water utilities are facing pressures to increase water prices; being fair appeared to be a crucial way to gain appreciation and support through difficult times. Because fairness seems to be an emergent property of social experiences, special attention should be paid to the 'soft side' of water services.

KEYWORDS: Water services, water pricing, price fairness, social norms, Finland

The rise and implications of the water-energy-food nexus in Southeast Asia through an environmental justice lens

Carl Middleton
MA in International Development Studies Program, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; carl.chulalongkorn@gmail.com

Jeremy Allouche
Institute of Development Studies, STEPS Centre, Brighton, UK; j.allouche@ids.ac.uk

Dipak Gyawali
Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, Kathmandu, Nepal; dipakgyawali@ntc.net.np

Sarah Allen
Department of Geography, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; saallen@yorku.ca

ABSTRACT: This article maps the rise of the water-energy-food 'nexus' as a research, policy and project agenda in mainland Southeast Asia. We argue that introducing the concept of environmental justice into the nexus, especially where narratives, trade-offs and outcomes are contested, could make better use of how the nexus is framed, understood and acted upon. With funding from high-income country donors, it is found to have diffused from a global policy arena into a regional one that includes international and regional organisations, academic networks, and civil society, and national politicians and government officials. The nexus is yet to be extensively grounded, however, into national policies and practices, and broad-based local demand for nexus-framed policies is currently limited. The article contends that if the nexus is to support stated aspirations for sustainable development and poverty reduction, then it should engage more directly in identifying winners and losers in natural resource decision-making, the politics involved, and ultimately with the issue of justice. In order to do so, it links the nexus to the concept of environmental justice via boundary concepts, namely: sustainable development; the green economy; scarcity and addressing of trade-offs; and governance at, and across, the local, national and transnational scale.

KEYWORDS: Nexus, environmental justice, sustainable development, water-energy-food, Southeast Asia

Node and regime: Interdisciplinary analysis of water-energy-food nexus in the Mekong Region

Tira Foran
CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Canberra, Australia; tira.foran@csiro.au

ABSTRACT: Understanding complex phenomena such as the water-energy-food nexus (resource nexus) requires a more holistic, interdisciplinary inquiry. Spurred by a sense of imbalance in approaches to the nexus dominated by integrated assessment/complex systems methodologies, I re-examine the findings and recommendations of a major 'nexus' research-for-development project in the Mekong region. The concept of 'regime of provisioning', a synthesis of social science concepts related to meso-level social order, allows essential political economy and discursive elements of the resource nexus to be analysed. I show that socio-political regimes constrain societal investment in three 'nodes' of the nexus previously identified as critical to manage sustainably: energy efficiency, wild-capture fisheries, and diversified smallholder agriculture. I discuss implications for the 'nexus' as a new policy agenda and offer three propositions for ongoing inquiry and inclusive practice.

KEYWORDS: Water, energy, food security, nexus, critical social science, complex systems, Mekong region

The 'nexus' as a step back towards a more coherent water resource management paradigm

Mike Muller
Wits University Graduate School of Public and Development Management, Johannesburg, South Africa; mikemuller1949@gmail.com

Abstract: The interrelationships between water resources, food production and energy security have influenced policy for many decades so the emergence of the water-food-energy “nexus” as a proposed new focus for water resources management is surprising. This focus is suggested to be understood as a consequence of the decision by developed countries to ignore agreements reached at the 1992 Rio Summit on Sustainable Development and promote instead a “Dublin IWRM”, their original lobbying platform. That approach has not helped developing countries to address food, energy and water security nor assisted global businesses to expand or to manage the risks posed to their operations by poor water management. The nexus approach begins to address these concerns by focusing on a specific “problem-shed”. While this may disintegrate the original robust concept of integrated water management, its emphasis on what water may do for society rather than what society should do for water is a step back toward a more coherent and useful paradigm.

Keywords: Water resources management, food security, energy security, political economy analysis, environmental policy

Securitising sustainability? Questioning the 'water, energy and food-security nexus'

Matthias Leese
International Centre for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (IZEW), University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany; matthias.leese@izew.uni-tuebingen.de

Simon Meisch
International Centre for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (IZEW), University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany; simon.meisch@uni-tuebingen.de

ABSTRACT: The water, energy and food-security nexus approach put forward by the Bonn2011 Conference highlights the need for an integrative approach towards issues of water, energy and food, and puts them under a general framework of security. While acknowledging the need for urgent solutions in terms of sustainability, the nexus approach, at the same time, makes a normative claim to tackle the needs of the poorest parts of the world population. A closer look at the underlying rationales and proposed policy instruments, however, suggests that the primary scope of the conference proceedings is not a normative one, but one that reframes the conflict between distributional justice and the needs of the world economy under the paradigm of security. Reading this slightly shifted perspective through a Foucauldian lens, we propose that security is now put forward as the key mechanism to foster a new 'green' economy, and that the needs of the poorest are, if anything at all, a secondary effect of the proposed nexus approach.

KEYWORDS: sustainability, nexus, securitisation, green economy, development

Tackling complexity: Understanding the food-energy-environment nexus in Ethiopia’s Lake Tana sub-basin

Louise Karlberg
Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; louise.karlberg@sei-international.org

Holger Hoff
Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; holger.hoff@sei-international.org

Tedasse Amsalu
Institute for Land Administration, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; tadesse_2@yahoo.co.uk

Kim Andersson
Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; kim.andersson@sei-international.org

Taylor Binnington
Stockholm Environment Institute, Somerville, MA, USA; taylor.binnington@sei-international.org

Francisco Flores-López
Stockholm Environment Institute, Davis, CA, USA; franscisco.flores@sei-international.org

Annemarieke de Bruin
Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York, Heslington, York, UK; annemarieke.debruin@sei-international.org

Solomon Gebreyohannis Gebrehiwot
Ethiopian Institute of Water Resources, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia; solomon.gebreyohannies@slu.se

Birhanu Gedif
Geospatial Data and Technology Centre (GDTC), Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; birhanu1968@gmail.com

Oliver Johnson
Stockholm Environment Institute, c/o ICRAF, Nairobi, Kenya; oliver.johnson@sei-international.org

Friedrich zur Heide
GFA Consulting Group, Hamburg, Germany; Friedrich.zurHeide@gfa-group.de

Maria Osbeck
Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; maria.osbeck@sei-international.org

Chuck Young
Stockholm Environment Institute, Davis, CA, USA; chuck.young@sei-international.org

ABSTRACT: Ethiopia has embarked upon a rapid growth and development trajectory aiming to become a middle-income country by 2025. To achieve this goal, an agricultural development led industrialization strategy is being implemented which aims to intensify and transform agriculture, thereby boosting yields and, subsequently, economic returns. At the same time, the energy use which currently consists of more than 90% traditional biomass use is shifting towards increasing electricity production predominantly from large-scale hydropower plants, with the aim to improve access to modern energy sources. While the targets are commendable it is not clear that either all direct impacts or potential conflicts between goals have been considered. In this paper we evaluate and compare the impacts of alternative development trajectories pertaining to agriculture, energy and environment for a case-study location, the Lake Tana Subbasin, with a focus on current national plans and accounting for cross-sector interlinkages and competing resource use: the food-energy-environment nexus. Applying a nexus toolkit (WEAP and LEAP) in participatory scenario development we compare and evaluate three different future scenarios. We conclude that the two processes – agricultural transformation and energy transition – are interdependent and could be partly competitive. As agriculture becomes increasingly intensified, it relies on more energy. At the same time, the energy system will, at least in the foreseeable future, continue to be largely supported by biomass, partly originating from croplands. Two outstanding dilemmas pertaining to resources scarcity were identified. Water needed for energy and agricultural production, and to sustain ecosystem services, sometimes exceeds water availability. Moreover, the region seems to be hitting a biomass ceiling where the annual increments in biomass from all terrestrial ecosystems are in the same order of magnitude as biomass needs for food, fodder and fuel. We propose that a stakeholder-driven nexus approach, underpinned by quantitative and spatially explicit scenario and planning tools, can help to resolve these outstanding dilemmas and can support more consistent policy and decision making, towards improved resource productivities, lower environmental pressures and enhanced human securities.

KEYWORDS: Energy transition, agricultural intensification and transformation, WEAP-LEAP, participatory scenario development, Ethiopia

The water-energy-food security nexus through the lenses of the value chain and the Institutional Analysis and Development frameworks

Sergio Villamayor-Tomas
Division of Resource Economics, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany; villamas@agrar.hu-berlin.de

Philipp Grundmann
Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering, Potsdam, Germany; pgrundmann@atb-potsdam.de

Graham Epstein
The Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA; gepstein@indiana.edu

Tom Evans
Department of Geography and Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA; evans@indiana.edu

Christian Kimmich
Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland, and Division of Resource Economics, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany; christian.kimmich@wsl.ch

ABSTRACT: A number of frameworks have been used to study the water-food-energy nexus; but few of these consider the role of institutions in mediating environmental outcomes. In this paper we aim to start filling that gap by combining insights from the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework and value chain analysis. Specifically we study food, energy and water value chains as networks of action situations (NAS) where actorsʼ decisions depend not only on the institutional structure of a particular situation but also on the decisions made in related situations. Although the IAD framework has developed a solid reputation in the policy sciences, empirical applications of the related NAS concept are rare. Value-chain analysis can help drawing the empirical boundaries of NAS as embedded in production processes. In this paper we first use value-chain analysis to identify important input-output linkages among water, food and energy production processes, and then apply the IAD-NAS approach to better understand the effect of institutions within and across those processes. The resulting combined framework is then applied to four irrigation-related case studies including: the use of energy for water allocation and food production in an irrigation project in Spain; the production and allocation of treated water for food and bioenergy production in Germany; the allocation of water for food production and urban use in Kenya; and the production and allocation of energy for food production in Hyderabad, India. The case analyses reveal the value of the framework by demonstrating the importance of establishing linkages across energy, water and food-related situations and the ways in which institutions limit or facilitate synergies along the value chains.

KEYWORDS: Water-energy-food nexus, Institutional Analysis and Development framework, Socio-Ecological Systems Framework, value-chain analysis, irrigation cases

Water governance in a comparative perspective: From IWRM to a 'nexus' approach?

David Benson
The Environment and Sustainability Institute and Department of Politics, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK; d.i.benson@exeter.ac.uk

Animesh K. Gain
GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Hydrology, Potsdam, Germany; animesh@gfz-potsdam.de

Josselin J. Rouillard
Ecologic Institute, Berlin, Germany; josselin.rouillard@ecologic.eu

ABSTRACT: Nexus thinking, in the form of integrating water security with agriculture, energy and climate concerns, is normatively argued to help better transition societies towards greener economies and the wider goal of sustainable development. Yet several issues emerge from the current debate surrounding this concept, namely the extent to which such conceptualisations are genuinely novel, whether they complement (or are replacing) existing environmental governance approaches and how – if deemed normatively desirable – the nexus can be enhanced in national contexts. This paper therefore reviews the burgeoning nexus literature to determine some common indicative criteria before examining its implementation in practice vis-à-vis more established integrated water resources management (IWRM) models. Evidence from two divergent national contexts, the UK and Bangladesh, suggests that the nexus has not usurped IWRM, while integration between water, energy, climate and agricultural policy objectives is generally limited. Scope for greater merging of nexus thinking within IWRM is then discussed.

KEYWORDS: Nexus, integrated water resources management (IWRM), water governance, energy, agriculture

Understanding political will in groundwater management: Comparing Yemen and Ethiopia

Frank van Steenbergen
MetaMeta Research, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands; fvansteenbergen@metameta.nl

Assefa Kumsa
CoCoon Groundwater in the Political Domain Team, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; akumsa@metameta.nl

Nasser Al-Awlaki
CoCoon Groundwater in the Political Domain Team, Yemen; former Minister of Agriculture of Yemen.

ABSTRACT: This paper explores the role of politics in water management, in particular, comparing groundwater management in Yemen and Ethiopia. It tries to understand the precise meaning of the often-quoted term 'political will' in these different contexts and compares the autocratic and oligarchic system in Yemen with the dominant party 'developmental state' in Ethiopia. The links between these political systems and the institutional domain are described as well as the actual management of groundwater on the ground. Whereas the Ethiopian state is characterised by the use of hard power and soft ideational power, the system in Yemen relies at most on soft negotiating power. There is a strong link between the political system, the positioning of different parties and access to power, the role of central and local governments, the propensity to plan and vision, the effectiveness of government organisations, the extent of corruption, the influence of informal governance mechanisms, the scope for private initiative and the political interest in groundwater management and development in general. More important than political will per se is political capacity – the ability to implement and regulate.

KEYWORDS: Groundwater, conflict, cooperation, politics, governance, Yemen, Ethiopia

Information and knowledge for water governance in the networked society

Belén Pedregal
Department of Human Geography, University of Seville; Seville, Spain; bpedregal@us.es

Violeta Cabello
Department of Human Geography, University of Seville; Seville, Spain; vcabello@us.es

Nuria Hernández-Mora
Department of Human Geography, University of Seville; Seville, Spain; nhernandezmora@us.es

Natalia Limones
Department of Human Geography, University of Seville; Seville, Spain; natalialr@us.es

Leandro Del Moral
Department of Human Geography, University of Seville; Seville, Spain; lmoral@us.es

ABSTRACT: In the last few years, parallel evolutionary processes in the socio-political, governmental and technological arenas have been providing new pathways for the collaborative generation, coordination and distribution of polycentric information. From a technological perspective, the proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has boosted the availability of information about our planet, along with its storage, processing and dissemination capabilities. The Worldwide Web and satellite and electronic sensors combined with smart phone technologies have also opened new means for social, political and scientific innovation. From a socio-political standpoint, the implementation of policies that encourage the reutilisation of data and protect the right to information of interested parties, together with growing social demands for transparency, have resulted in an increasing number of governments drawing strategies to open up public data. In this context, this paper addresses two main topics that we deem will be key drivers for improved water governance in the near future. First, it discusses new practices of collaborative and distributed generation and disclosure of information for water governance, and the resulting challenges and opportunities afforded by the use of ICTs. Second, it looks at the interplay between the uptake of ICTs and institutional frameworks, social dynamics and technological structures within which they operate to understand the extent to which ICTs affect decision-making processes and contribute to creating alternative spaces for the production of common services or alternative discourses. Despite the advances in open data policies, findings suggest that there remain significant challenges to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by ICTs, mostly derived from the structural conditions of existing models of decision-making, and information generation and management. It seems that the potentialities of ICTs as transformative tools are conditioned by the regeneration of the context within which decisions are made, that is, the democratic process itself.

KEYWORDS: Water data, open data, polycentric information, networked society, technopolitics, water governance

Pockets of participation: Bureaucratic incentives and Participatory Irrigation Management in Thailand

Jacob I. Ricks
School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University, Singapore; jacobricks@smu.edu.sg

ABSTRACT: Despite a history of participatory policies, Thailand’s Royal Irrigation Department (RID) has had little success in developing water user organisations (WUOs) capable of facilitating cooperation between farmers and the irrigation agency. Even so, pockets of participation exist. What can explain these rare successes? What policy lessons can they provide? Comparing nine WUOs, I identify factors that contribute to the emergence of relatively successful groups. Most importantly, I show that successful WUOs are contingent on the actions of local irrigation officials. These findings emphasise the important role of street-level bureaucrats in implementing participatory policies. The incentive structures provided by the RID, though, deter most officials from sincerely collaborating and cooperating with farmers. Thus experts and policy-makers interested in promoting participatory resource management should focus more attention on shaping incentives for local officials to engage meaningfully with farmers.

KEYWORDS: Participatory resource management, irrigation, street-level bureaucrats, public participation, Thailand

Diesel subsidies and Yemen politics: Post-2011 crises and their impact on groundwater use and agriculture

Adel Al-Weshali
Water and Environment Centre, Sana’a University, Sana’a, Yemen; drweshali@yahoo.com

Omar Bamaga
Center of Excellence in Desalination Technology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; obamaga@kau.edu.sa

Cecilia Borgia
MetaMeta Research, AJ ‘s Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands; cborgia@metameta.nl

Frank van Steenbergen
MetaMeta Research, AJ ‘s Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands; fvansteenbergen@metameta.nl

Nasser Al-Aulaqi >
Water and Environment Centre, Sana’a University, Sana’a, Yemen

Abdullah Babaqi
Water and Environment Centre, Sana’a University, Sana’a, Yemen; asbabaqi@y.net.ye

ABSTRACT: Groundwater is the main source of agricultural and municipal water and contributes 70% of total water use in Yemen. All aquifers are depleting at a very high rate owing to combined effects of a host of socioeconomic, institutional and climate-change factors. The government policy on diesel subsidy was largely believed to be one of the significant factors which stimulated large-scale pumping of water for irrigating water-intensive cash crops such as qat, fruits, and vegetables. A rapid field assessment was conducted between June and December 2011 in six different regions of the country to analyse the impacts of the severe diesel crisis that accompanied the political turmoil of 2011 on groundwater use and agriculture. The study highlighted winners and losers in the process of adapting to diesel shortage and high diesel prices. Farmers’ responses differed according to their social status, financial resources, and farming systems. Poorly endowed households partially or completely abandoned agriculture. Others abandoned farming of irrigated cereals and fodder, but practised deficit irrigation of fruits and vegetables, thus halving the consumption of diesel. Crop yields dropped by 40-60% in all surveyed regions. The intra-governorate transport halt due to the sharp increase in transport cost caused prices at the farm gate to drop. Only those farmers who could absorb increases in diesel prices due to high return:cost ratios, higher drought tolerance, stable prices (qat), and access to alternative sources of water could cope with the diesel crisis.

KEYWORDS: Groundwater, diesel subsidy, diesel crisis, irrigated agriculture, Yemen

Motor pump revolution in Ethiopia: Promises at a crossroads

Mengistu Dessalegn
International Water Management Institute (IWMI), East Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; m.desalegn@cgiar.org

Douglas J. Merrey
Independent Consultant, Natural Resources Policy and Institutions Specialist, Pittsboro, NC, USA; dougmerrey@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: In sub-Saharan Africa, motor pump irrigation is at an earlier stage than in Asia but is growing rapidly in many countries. The focus of both policy and research in Africa to date has been on facilitating supply chains to make pumps available at a reasonable price. In Africa, pump irrigation is mainly based on two sources: shallow groundwater aquifers and small streams and rivers. Both usually have limited and variable yields. We present a case study from Ethiopia where pump irrigation based on small rivers and streams is expanding rapidly, and draw parallels to experiences in Asia and other African countries. We show that while farmers understand the social nature of community-managed irrigation, they share with policymakers a narrow understanding of pump irrigation as being primarily 'technical'. They perceive pumps as liberating them from the 'social' limitations of traditional communal irrigation. However, the rapid expansion of pump irrigation is leading to increasing competition and conflict over the limited water resource. We analyse the wider implications for Africa of this blindness to the social dimension of pump irrigation and offer suggestions on future policy and applied research to address the problem before it becomes a widespread crisis.

KEYWORDS: Community-managed irrigation, motor pump irrigation, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Fogera, Ethiopia

Misrepresenting the Jordan River Basin

Clemens Messerschmid
Hydrogeologist, Free Lance Consultant, Ramallah, Palestine; clemensmesserschmid@yahoo.de

Jan Selby
Department of International Relations, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK; j.selby@sussex.ac.uk

ABSTRACT: This article advances a critique of the UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia’s (ESCWA’s) representation of the Jordan River Basin, as contained in its recently published Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia. We argue that ESCWA’s representation of the Jordan Basin is marked by serious technical errors and a systematic bias in favour of one riparian, Israel, and against the Jordan River’s four Arab riparians. We demonstrate this in relation to ESCWA’s account of the political geography of the Jordan River Basin, which foregrounds Israel and its perspectives and narratives; in relation to hydrology, where Israel’s contribution to the basin is overstated, whilst that of Arab riparians is understated; and in relation to development and abstraction, where Israel’s transformation and use of the basin are underplayed, while Arab impacts are exaggerated. Taken together, this bundle of misrepresentations conveys the impression that it is Israel which is the main contributor to the Jordan River Basin, Arab riparians its chief exploiters. This impression is, we argue, not just false but also surprising, given that the Inventory is in the name of an organisation of Arab states. The evidence discussed here provides a striking illustration of how hegemonic hydro-political narratives are reproduced, including by actors other than basin hegemons themselves.

KEYWORDS: Jordan River, hydrology, bias, political geography, hegemony

Exploring sustainability through stakeholders’ perspectives and hybrid water in the Swiss Alps

Flurina Schneider
Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern, Bern; flurina.schneider@cde.unibe.ch

ABSTRACT: Can the concept of water as a socio-natural hybrid and the analysis of different users’ perceptions of water advance the study of water sustainability? In this article, I explore this question by empirically studying sustainability values and challenges, as well as distinct types of water as identified by members of five water user groups in a case study region in the Swiss Alps.Linking the concept of water as a socio-natural hybrid with the different water users’ perspectives provided valuable insights into the complex relations between material, cultural, and discursive practices. In particular, it provided a clearer picture of existing water sustainability challenges and the factors and processes that hinder more sustainable outcomes. However, by focusing on relational processes and individual stakeholder perspectives, only a limited knowledge could be created regarding a) what a more sustainable water future would look like and b) how current unsustainable practices can be effectively transformed into more sustainable ones.I conclude by arguing that the concept of water as a socio-natural hybrid provides an interesting analytical tool for investigating sustainability questions; however, if it is to contribute to water sustainability, it needs to be integrated into a broader transdisciplinary research perspective that understands science as part of a deliberative and reflective process of knowledge co-production and social learning between all actor groups involved.

KEYWORDS: Hybrid water, stakeholder perceptions, water sustainability, Switzerland

Water and climate data in the ganges Basin: Assessing access to information regimes and implications for cooperation on transboundary rivers

Sagar Prasai
The Asia Foundation, New Delhi, India; sagar.prasai@asiafoundation.org

Mandakini Devasher Surie
The Asia Foundation, New Delhi, India; mandakini.surie@asiafoundation.org

ABSTRACT: Public access to government-maintained water and climate data in the three major co-riparian countries of the Ganges Basin – Nepal, India and Bangladesh – has been either inadequately granted or formally restricted. This paper examines the effects of newly enacted Right to Information (RTI) laws in these three countries to assess changes in the information access regimes as they relate to hydrological data. We find that neither the RTI laws nor the internal and external demand for increased transparency in governments have affected access to information regimes on water at a fundamental level. In India, the RTI laws have not eased public access to data on its transboundary rivers including in the Ganges Basin and in Nepal and Bangladesh, while data can be legally accessed using RTI laws, the administrative procedures for such an access are not developed enough to make a tangible difference on the ground. We then discuss the implications of our findings on the continuing impasse on regional collaboration on water in South Asia and point to rapid advancements in technology as an emerging pathway to greater data democracy.

KEYWORDS: Transboundary water governance, Ganges Basin, right to information, regional cooperation, policy contestation, data-sharing, data democracy

Spatialising agricultural water governance data in polycentric regimes

Faith Sternlieb
Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; faith.sternlieb@gmail.com

Melinda Laituri
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; melinda.laituri@colostate.edu

ABSTRACT: Water governance in the Colorado River Basin (CRB) is based on a historical and complex set of policies, legal decisions, and operational guidelines called the Law of the River. Behind the complex institutional structure lies an intricate web of data on water, most of which are hydrogeological in nature. However, we posit that in order to realise sustainable water governance, management efforts must also address data on water governance. Therefore, our central research question is: what is the role of water governance data in water governance, as it pertains to agriculture? First, we lay out the digital landscape and theoretical framework that justify the development of the Colorado River Basin Water Governance Relational Database. Then, we conduct an analysis of water-sharing policies within Law of the River to identify and categorise boundaries. By operationalising a boundary typology in a geographic information system, we found that data on agricultural water governance have little to no current role in water governance due to scale discrepancies, insufficient availability and collection of data, and lack of standardisation. In addition, agricultural water governance in the CRB was found to exhibit polycentric patterns. However, unlike the flexible and adaptive nature of some polycentric systems, polycentric data sets may pose challenges to water governance due to limited information regarding organisational changes, policy developments, and special interests. This study advances the science-policy dialogue in four ways: 1) by emphasising the salience of the data on water governance, 2) by incorporating water governance data in water governance and policy decisions, 3) by demonstrating the value of integrating data types, and 4) by engaging users through geo-visualisation.

KEYWORDS: Colorado River Basin, boundary, Geographic Information Science, relational database, science-policy discourse

Not just a tool. Taking context into account in the development of a mobile App for rural water supply in Tanzania

Anna Wesselink
University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands; a.j.wesselink@utwente.nl

Robert Hoppe
University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands; r.hoppe@utwente.nl

Rob Lemmens
University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands; r.l.g.lemmens@utwente.nl

ABSTRACT: The 'eGovernance' hype around the potential of mobile phone and geoweb technologies for enhancing 'good governance' is soaring. In East Africa, the extensive use of mobile telephony adds to the imagined promises of ICT. We reflect on the assumptions made by the proponents of such tools, using our own action research project as an example. We took great care to consider context in the development of software for enhancing empowerment and accountability in rural water supply in Tanzania. However, we found that the rural water supply context in Tanzania is much more complex than the contexts for which successful mApps have been developed previously. Institutional analysis and public administration theory help to understand why. Rural water supply shows institutional hybridity, with water being at the same time a private, public and common-pool good. In addition, in accountability relations, many informal mechanisms prevail where explicit reporting is not relevant. Finally, our proposal sat uneasily with other ongoing iGovernment initiatives. We conclude that we need to consider eGovernance tools as political Apps that can be expected to trigger political responses.

KEYWORDS: mApp, eGovernance, iGovernment, institutional analysis, informal accountability

Community knowledge sharing and co-production of water services: Two cases of community aqueduct associations in Colombia

Valeria Llano-Arias
University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; valeria.llanoarias@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: Local-level participatory communication practices have enabled the opening of new democratic spaces in which decisions on water policies are taken. Through their resistance to water privatisation policies, many Colombian community aqueducts have made use of a transformed political and social role. Citizens from community aqueduct associations are generating new forms of political participation and citizenship, capable of challenging the widespread political apathy in the country.

This article presents two case studies of community aqueduct associations in Colombia; exploring the scope of their communication and mobilisation actions in challenging power relations concerning water governance and in enhancing citizen participation in democratic actions. The article also explores how local water governance initiatives such as the development of a water management computer software with particular communitarian characteristics, can support local initiatives for political transformation and more sustainable water governance.

These new forms of citizenship based on claims of sovereignty over natural, common goods are gradually transforming Colombian democratic space. The article draws on debates around active citizenship, deepening democracy, and participatory communication approaches to explain the aims of community organisations and the mechanisms by which they are self-organising and managing water at the local level.

KEYWORDS: Community aqueducts, participatory communication, water governance, Colombia