Improving water use efficiency under worsening scarcity: Evidence from the Middle Olifants sub-basin in South Africa

With the political changes in South Africa in the early 1990s, the South African government introduced a reform process in the entire water sector with the goal of a more enhanced and equitable water management system. This paper analyzes existing water allocation situations and applies a nonlinear optimization model to investigate the optimal intra- and inter-regional allocations in the Middle Olifants sub-basin of South Africa. Results show higher benefit from inter-regional water allocation. Reducing water supply levels to conform to the sustainable water supply policy, it can be shown that although water supply is reduced by approximately 50%, total benefits from water are only reduced by 5% and 11% for inter- and intra-regional allocation regimes respectively. These results indicate that alternative water allocation mechanisms can serve as instruments to offset for the effects of water scarcity.Water allocation, IWRM, Olifants basin, South Africa, Africa, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Hydro-Economic Modelling for Water-Policy Assessment Under Climate Change at a River Basin Scale: A Review

Hydro-economic models (HEMs) constitute useful instruments to assess water-resource management and inform water policy. In the last decade, HEMs have achieved significant advances regarding the assessment of the impacts of water-policy instruments at a river basin or catchment level in the context of climate change (CC). This paper o ers an overview of the alternative approaches used in river-basin hydro-economic modelling to address water-resource management issues and CC during the past decade. Additionally, it analyses how uncertainty and risk factors of global CC have been treated in recent HEMs, o ering a discussion on these last advances. As the main conclusion, current challenges in the realm of hydro-economic modelling include the representation of the food-energy-water nexus, the successful representation of micro-macro linkages and feedback loops between the socio-economic model components and the physical side, and the treatment of CC uncertainties and risks in the analysis

Integrated urban water management in Texas: a review to inform a one water approach for the future

Texas has considerable experience grappling with historic droughts as well as flooding associated with tropical storms and hurricanes, yet the State’s water management challenges are projected to increase. Urban densification, increased frequency and severity of droughts and floods, aging infrastructure, and a management system that is not reflective of the true cost of water all influence water risk. Integrated urban water management strategies, like ‘One Water’, represent an emerging management paradigm that emphasizes the interconnectedness of water throughout the water cycle and capitalizes on opportunities that arise from this holistic viewpoint. Here, we review water management practices in five Texas cities and examine how the One Water approach could represent a viable framework to maintain a reliable, sustainable, and affordable water supply for the future. We also examine financial and business models that establish a foundational pathway towards the ‘utility of the future’ and the One Water paradigm more broadly

Hydro-economic modeling with aquifer-river interactions to guide sustainable basin management

Policymakers in arid and semiarid basins face hard choices on water policies needed for adaptation to climate change. Hydro-economic modeling is a state-of-the art approach that can be used to guide the design and implementation of these policies in basins. A major gap in developments of hydro-economic modeling to date has been the weak integration of physically-based representations of water sources and uses such as the interaction between ground and surface water resources, to inform complex basin scale policy choices. This paper presents an integrated hydro-economic modeling framework to address this gap with application to an important and complex river basin in Spain, the Jucar basin, for the assessment of a range of climate change scenarios and policy choices. Results indicate that in absence of adequate policies protecting water resources and natural ecosystems, water users will strategically deplete reservoirs, aquifers and river flows for short-term adaptation to climate change, disregarding the impacts on the environment and future human activities. These impacts can be addressed by implementing sustainable management policies. However, these policies could have disproportionate costs for some stakeholders groups, and their opposition may undermine attempts at sustainable policy. These tradeoffs among water policy choices are important guides to the design of policies aimed at basin-wide adaptation to climate change

Hydro-economic model for the assessment of water resources allocation and availability impacts on agricultural income.

RESUMO: A sub-bacia hidrográfica do rio Buriti Vermelho (BHBV), localizada nas proximidades de Brasília, caracteriza-se por intensa atividade agrícola desenvolvida sob uma distribuição heterogênea de água ao longo do tempo e do espaço. Neswte contexto, o artigo desenvolve um modelo hidro-econômico para quantificação dos impactos de curto-prazo na renda regional agrícola de mudanças nos regimes de precipitação e de disponibilidade de água. O modelo econômico se baseia no método de Programação Matemática Positiva que possibilita a construção de funções de produção agrícolas específicas por cultura e por produtor rural, mesmo para pequenas áreas com poucas observações. Do lado hidrológico, um modelo de naturalização de vazões acoplado a um modelo de balanço de água no solo é utilizado para a estimativa da vazão do rio e dos canais de irrigação. Os modelos econômico e hidrológico são interligados e calibrados com dados primários coletados in situ. Considerando as características hídricas da região, as quais, em anos típicos, garantem uma oferta de água para irrigação nos reservatórios bem acima da demanda, e que culturas irrigadas tem um peso muito maior na composição da receita líquida da região do que culturas de sequeiro, os resultados preliminares indicam que uma redução de 5% na disponibilidade de água e na precipitação provocaria uma queda de apenas 1,2% na receita líquida da sub-bacia. Este porcentual, contudo, aumentaria para 11% e 32%, quando a disponibilidade de água e precipitação se reduzissem para 50 e 90%, respectivamente. ABSTRACT: The Buriti Vermelho experimental Basin (BHBV) is characterized by agricultural activities, seasonal water flow uncertainty and heterogeneous water allocation among rural farmers. In this context, this paper follows an interdisciplinary modeling approach that involves economics, hydrology and agronomy. The model developed is then used to evaluate the short-run impacts on agricultural income from changes on precipitation and irrigation water supply. The economic regional model follows a Positive Mathematical Programming approach which allows for the calibration of crop and farmer specific production functions. The hydrological model follows a water balance approach and yields water availability estimates on a proper time and spatial resolution. The two models are coupled together and calibrated with primary data collected in situ. Alternative temperature and precipitation regimes are simulated. Considering that the hydrologic characteristics of the region which, in normal years, guarantees a much higher supply of water for irrigation in the reservoirs relatively to demand and the fact that irrigated crops have a much heavier weight on the net revenue of the region than rainfed crops, a 5% decrease in water availability would be accompanied by a decrease of only 1.2% in the regional net revenue. This percentage, however, would increase to 11% and 32% when water availability reduces to 50 and 90% respectively. KEYWORDS: Water resources, agriculture, irrigation

Water Management Efficiency in the Food and Beverage Industry

Water is critical for food production, food security, and health. Water quality management influences freshwater sustainability, land, and energy administration. Global agriculture accounts for more than 70% of all water consumption; the fertilizer, manure, and pesticide overspills are chief sources of water pollution worldwide. On a global scale, food-related waste directly impacts local food production and water resource management. The purpose of this multiple-case study on the food and beverage (FB) industry in the State of Georgia was to identify successful strategies for improving water management efficiency. The concepts of systems thinking, adaptive resource management, and integrated water resource management provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected via personal interviews with 2 global supply chain leaders in the FB industry and 1 water expert in the public water utility system in Georgia. The findings showed 10 themes: sustainability; mission-driven culture; ethical responsibility; water quality and governance; food safety and sanitation; water conservation and climatic trends; waste management; nutrition and the freeze drying method; knowledge sharing and collaboration; and water detention and retention systems. The study results are intended to contribute to social change by providing information to global supply chain leaders, policy makers, entrepreneurs, and sustainability leaders to implement sustainability beyond the environmental value; these findings will also help achieve a positive posture on resource overconsumption and waste management for efficient and complex decision making within a worldwide spectrum

CAPRi technical workshop on Watershed Management Institutions: a summary paper

The System-wide Program for Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi) sponsored a workshop on Watershed Management Institutions, March 13-16, 1999 in Managua, Nicaragua. The workshop focused on methodologies for undertaking research on watersheds, particularly those issues and tools that enable a more thorough understanding of the complex interactions between the biophysical factors and socioeconomic institutions of watersheds. Both social and biophysical scientists from CGIAR and other research institutions were brought together to present research and participate in focused discussions on methodologies for addressing collective action and property rights, scale, participation, and impact assessment. The forum also provided an opportunity for participants to visit and learn from a watershed project being implemented by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), and to discuss one another's ongoing watershed research project experience and explore opportunities for collaboration.International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Impact assessment,

Transdisciplinarity as a means for capacity development in water resources management

Water resources management has to deal with complex real life problems under uncertain framework conditions. One possibility for encountering such challenges is integrated water resources management (IWRM). However, IWRM is often understood as prescriptive manual, not acknowledging the need for adaptive solutions and capacity development (CD). These challenges demonstrate that sustainable water resources management requires transdisciplinarity, i.e. the integration of several scientific disciplines, as well as the collaboration between science and local actors. Transdisciplinarity is inherently related to CD since it facilitates collaboration and provides mutual learning and knowledge on complex interrelationships. This correlates with the evidence that CD can be seen as a key factor for water resources management (Alaerts et al. 1991, Alaerts 2009). Consequently, the objective of this thesis is to strengthen water resources management by connecting processes of IWRM and CD in a transdisciplinary sense, i.e. (i) interrelating disciplinary research within an interdisciplinary research team that collaborates with local actors, and (ii) conducting a political process for knowledge and capacity development. Based on general insights, an embedded case study in the Western Bug River Basin, Ukraine, was conducted to evaluate the concept. It is shown that CD is essential for shifting from IWRM theories towards implementation and accordingly advantages of harmonizing CD into the IWRM process are presented (Leidel et al. 2012). Next to capacity issues, also other coordination gaps were assessed. River Basin Organisations are frequently proposed as a response to the administrative gap; however, coordination efforts cannot be simply reduced by transferring tasks from jurisdictional institutions to a river basin authority, because they will always need to coordinate with organizations from within or outside the water sector (von Keitz and Kessler 2008). Thus, coordination mechanisms across the boundaries of relevant policy fields are essential. Therefore, a management framework is established linking technical development and capacity development that describes interrelations between environmental pressures and capacity and information gaps for different levels of water management (Leidel et al. 2014). The developed model-based and capacity-based IWRM framework combines model-based systems analysis and capacity analysis for developing management options that support water management actors. This is aligned with a political process for capacity development. It constitutes a boundary object for approaching cross-scale challenges that converges analyses, assessments and participation into one strategy. As concluded by Mollinga (2008), this can improve the performance of sustainable resources management by approaching transdisciplinarity. Within the model and capacity-based IWRM framework, the results of the integrated analysis are made explicit and transparent by introducing a matrix approach. Technical issues, institutional challenges, organizational and human resources development, and information needs are jointly assessed and interrelated by confronting pressures and coordination gaps on a subsystem basis. Accordingly, the concept supports a transparent decision making process by identifying knowledge and capacities required for the implementation of technical intervention options and vice versa. The method is applied in the International Water Research Alliance Saxony (IWAS) model region ‘Ukraine’. It could be shown that the approach delivers management options that are scientifically credible and also accepted by and relevant for the actors. The case study revealed that technical intervention measures for the urban and rural water management have to be jointly implemented with appropriate CD measures and an accompanying political process on (i) strengthening the institutional framework and interministerial collaboration, (ii) fitting RBM into the existing institutional framework, (iii) setting up prerequisites for realistic RBM (Monitoring, information management, legal enforcement), (iv) a revision of effluent standards and a differentiated levy system, (v) cost covering tariffs, (vi) association work. For the Western Bug River Basin (WBRB), the strengthening of the collaboration between actors on all levels has to be continued. For increasing the usability, the approach needs to be institutionalized and become more practice relevant, e.g. by extending it to a water knowledge management system. Developing a roadmap for establishing transboundary water management is a subsequent step. For strengthening future water management actors, IWRM curricula development at uni-versities in Ukraine was supported. And we developed the e-learning module IWRM-education that links interactively different aspects of water management to comprehend the complexity of IWRM (Leidel et al. 2013). The evaluation showed that participants under-stand the content, appreciate this way of learning, and will use this module for further activities. The case study showed that technical cooperation can be a facilitator for political processes and that it can support decision making in a transparent way. Yet, it also showed that IWRM is highly political process and that the developed approach cannot cover all obstacles. In summary, exploring and reducing simultaneously environmental pressures and capacity and information gaps is essential for water sector evolution worldwide. Accordingly, transdisciplinarity as a means for capacity development can support the implementation of real integrated water resources management

A spatial optimization approach to watershed water quality management: A case of the Opequon Watershed

The Opequon Creek watershed is located in northern VA and the eastern panhandle of WV. Currently, the main creeks in the watershed do not meet VA or WV state water quality standards for recreational uses and aquatic life. In both states, the creeks are listed as impaired due to high levels of nutrients, bacteria, benthic and biologic impairment. The Opequon Creek is part of the upper Potomac River watershed, and ultimately impacts water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The main aim of this study was to develop a methodology that can be used to reduce nutrient loadings entering the bay area and improve water quality in Opequon watershed by implementing four innovative agricultural BMPs. The study develops an integrated approach to nutrient reduction incorporating three models involving water quality modeling, nutrient fate and transportation and an optimization model to recommend a least cost strategy for nutrient reduction.;Four optimization scenarios were evaluated, involving a uniform, holistic, prioritization, and targeted reduction approaches. A uniform reduction approach evaluated each subwatershed to meet a reduction goal. Using specific land use contributions, an annual cost of {dollar}5.9 million would be required to meet N and P reduction goals on 14 of the 17 subwatersheds. The holistic approach is a scenario whereby the entire watershed\u27s nutrient reduction strategy is evaluated to meet the nutrient reduction goal at the Opequon watershed mouth. However, no optimal solution was found for this approach using agricultural BMPs. When BMPs were implemented on all acres of crop and pasture land, a total cost of {dollar}19.3 million was computed with only 43% of the reduction goal is achieved for P and 42% for N. In the third scenario, a prioritization approach targets priority subwatersheds. High priority subwatersheds were identified using the WCMS nutrient levels and public participation prioritization exercise in watershed management. The same three subwatersheds were identified as high priority by both methods: Mill, Tuscarora and Middle Creeks. Using P as the only constraint, the total cost of BMP implementation for these three subwatersheds under the Chesapeake Bay values was approximately {dollar}1.1 million compared to {dollar}282,000 using specific land use specific values. This result showed that nutrient reduction costs are much lower under specific land use contributions than using the Chesapeake Bay wide averages. The final scenario involved a targeted approach where reduction goals are to be met for both the Virginia and West Virginia parts of the Opequon watershed. No optimal solution exists for these two points of evaluation. As with the second scenario, when BMPs were implements on all agricultural land, VA had 69% and 63% of reduction goals achieved for N and P while WV had 36% and 49% of reduction goals achieved for N and P, respectively.;From a perspective of water resource policy, this study showed that: (1) P goals are more attainable at reasonable cost than N goals so that trading on the Opequon watershed is more likely to be feasible for P than N; (2) compliance with WV and VA reduction goals across all subwatersheds is more achievable than meeting a holistic reduction goal for the entire watershed; and (3) local knowledge gives comparable information on priority subwatersheds as does watershed modeling

D4.7 - Methodology for implementing lifelong competence development situations based on TENCompetence outcomes

Hernández-Leo, D., Perez, M., Chacón, J., Santos, P., Lemmers, R., & Krekels, B. (2009). D4.7 - Methodology for implementing lifelong competence development situations based on TENCompetence outcomes. TENCompetence.The goal of this deliverable is to serve as a getting started source for organizations adopting the TENCompetence infrastructure to implement competence development solutions in the domains of eLearning, Personal Competence Development and Knowledge Management. In particular, this document describes a set of real scenarios (pilots and business demonstrators) implemented with previous versions of the TENCompetence tools. These scenarios are useful examples focused on one of the three domains or on combinations of them. The deliverable also provides some methodological indications that take into account the experience learned from pilots / demonstrators and the latest version of the tooling. The methodological indications also refer to other TENCompetence outcomes and deliverables for further reading. The TENCompetence reference implementations are strongly recommended to be checked together with this document in order to understand the full potential of the TENCompetence outcomes.The work on this publication has been sponsored by the TENCompetence Integrated Project that is funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme, priority IST/Technology Enhanced Learning. Contract 027087 [http://www.tencompetence.org