Water management and development: the limits of coordination

International audienceActors involved in water resource management and development policies from the large water cycle (at the river basin level) to the small water cycle (drinking water, sanitation and distribution) are numerous and diversified, in their institutional and economic positioning, as well as in the logic of the approaches they develop. In view of the expectations of a comprehensive policy in this field and of the obviously limited results obtained so far, the phasing of these approaches and the coordination of these actors is a major axis of the actions to be carried out in order to better manage the water resources. We argue the need for an explicit and assumed strengthening of the coordination of water stakeholders at all levels of governance. We question the reasons for these partial successes and failures and the way to overcome these difficulties, questions renewed on the basis of recent experiences. In particular, interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration using new hybrid modeling approaches (coupling multi-agent system, geographic information system, equation models, cellular automata, etc.), allows to precisely simulate the scenarios of evolution of water resource management and development, to assess ex ante their social, economic and environmental impacts and to anticipate the contribution of an increased coordination of water stakeholders in a logic of development-friendly actions

Efficiency of Nonpoint Source Pollution Instruments: An Experimental Study

In nonpoint source pollution problems, the regulator does not observe each polluter’s individual emission, which prevents him from using the conventional policy instruments. Therefore, new instruments have been designed to regulate this type of pollution. In an experiment, we compare the efficiency of some of these instruments: an input-based tax, an ambient tax/subsidy, an ambient tax, and a group fine. We assume that polluters themselves are affected by environmental damages. A control session without any regulation is also carried out in order to study the “status quo” situation. Our experimental data show that the input tax and the ambient tax are very efficient and reliable, and the group fine is fairly efficient and reliable. These instruments improve social welfare with respect to the status quo. On the contrary, the ambient tax/subsidy decreases social welfare with respect to the status quo, and its effect is very unreliable. Copyright Springer 2005ambient tax, ambient tax/subsidy, experimental economics, group fine, input tax, nonpoint source pollution, regulation,

From smart cities to experimental cities?

Calzada examines in this chapter the ways in which the hegemonic approach to the “smart city” is evolving into a new intervention category, called the “experimental city.” While this evolution presents some innovations, mainly regarding how smart citizens will be increasingly considered more as decision makers than data providers, likewise, some underlying issues arise, concerning the hidden side and ethical implications of the techno-politics of data and the urban commons. These issues engage with multi-stakeholders, particularly with the specific Penta Helix framework that brings together private sector, public sector, academia, civic society, and entrepreneurs. These innovations in urban life and its governance will inevitably bring us into debate about new potential models of business and society, concerning, for instance, the particular urban co-operative scheme employed

From smart cities to experimental cities?

Calzada examines in this chapter the ways in which the hegemonic approach to the “smart city” is evolving into a new intervention category, called the “experimental city.” While this evolution presents some innovations, mainly regarding how smart citizens will be increasingly considered more as decision makers than data providers, likewise, some underlying issues arise, concerning the hidden side and ethical implications of the techno-politics of data and the urban commons. These issues engage with multi-stakeholders, particularly with the specific Penta Helix framework that brings together private sector, public sector, academia, civic society, and entrepreneurs. These innovations in urban life and its governance will inevitably bring us into debate about new potential models of business and society, concerning, for instance, the particular urban co-operative scheme employed