Water is at the core of the most difficult sustainability challenges facing humans in the modern era, involving feedbacks across multiple scales, sectors, and agents. We suggest that a transformative new discipline is necessary to address many and varied water-related challenges in the Anthropocene. Specifically, we propose socio-hydrology as a use-inspired scientific discipline to focus on understanding, interpretation, and scenario development of the flows and stocks in the human-modified water cycle across time and space scales. A key aspect of socio-hydrology is explicit inclusion of two-way feedbacks between human and water systems, which differentiates socio-hydrology from other inter-disciplinary disciplines dealing with water. We illustrate the potential of socio-hydrology through three examples of water sustainability problems, defined as paradoxes, which can only be fully resolved within a new socio-hydrologic framework that encompasses such two-way coupling between human and water systems

Chhatre, A.

Konar, M.

Rodriguez-Iturbe, I.

Scott, C. A.

Sivapalan, M.

Srinivasan, V.

Wescoat, James

Wutich, A.

Earth s Future

M. Sivapalan

M. Konar

V. Srinivasan

A. Chhatre

A. Wutich

C. A. Scott

J. L. Wescoat

I. Rodríguez‐Iturbe

Crossref

Socio‐hydrology: Use‐inspired water sustainability science for the Anthropocene

DSpace@MIT

Earth’sFutureSocio-hydrology: Use-inspired water sustainability sciencefor the AnthropoceneM. Sivapalan1,2, M. Konar1, V. Srinivasan3, A. Chhatre2, A. Wutich4, C. A. Scott5,J. L. Wescoat6, and I. Rodríguez-Iturbe71Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA,2Department of Geography and Geographic Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana,Illinois, USA, 3Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Royal Enclave Sriramapura, Bengaluru,Karnataka, India, 4School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA,5School of Geography & Development, and Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, University of Arizona, Tucson,Arizona, USA, 6Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,Massachusetts, USA, 7Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NewJersey, USAAbstract Water is at the core of the most diﬃcult sustainability challenges facing humans inthe modern era, involving feedbacks across multiple scales, sectors, and agents. We suggest that atransformative new discipline is necessary to address many and varied water-related challenges in theAnthropocene. Speciﬁcally, we propose socio-hydrology as a use-inspired scientiﬁc discipline to focuson understanding, interpretation, and scenario development of the ﬂows and stocks in the human-modiﬁed water cycle across time and space scales. A key aspect of socio-hydrology is explicit inclusion oftwo-way feedbacks between human and water systems, which diﬀerentiates socio-hydrology from otherinter-disciplinary disciplines dealing with water. We illustrate the potential of socio-hydrology throughthree examples of water sustainability problems, deﬁned as paradoxes, which can only be fully resolvedwithin a new socio-hydrologic framework that encompasses such two-way coupling between human andwater systems.1. Need for aWater Focus on Sustainability ScienceWater represents a key aspect of sustainability challenges facing humans in the Anthropocene [Maasset al., 1962; Falkenmark and Rockström, 2004]. Human appropriation of water resources and modiﬁcationof landscapes exert an accelerating inﬂuence on water-cycle dynamics from local- to global scales anddecadal- to century timescales [Vörösmarty et al., 2000]. Human actions scale up in surprising and unpre-dictable ways to generate a suite of diverse water sustainability challenges that must be incorporated intonew approaches to water science and management.Examples of wicked problems that continue to vex scientists and policy makers include: trade-oﬀs amongecosystems, hydropower, and livelihoods in the transnational Mekong Basin [Ziv et al., 2012]; eﬀects ofhuman settlements in ﬂood-prone areas on increased ﬂood risk and fatalities in Africa [Di Baldassarreet al., 2010]; and expanding hypoxic zones in the Gulf of Mexico resulting from nutrient loading in theagricultural headwaters of the Mississippi River [Turner and Rabalais, 2003]. Due to the urgency of theseproblems, contemporary scholarship should draw from natural sciences, social sciences, and the humani-ties, to better understand the dynamics arising from the two-way coupling between water and humans ineach case.There have been calls for a transformative new water discipline that integrates the multiple perspec-tives needed for confronting water challenges in the Anthropocene. For example, we should build uponthe tradition in hydrology to study relatively pristine systems, in which human actions tend to be incor-porated simply through parametric approximation [Wagener et al., 2010], with richer understanding ofcoupled human-water system dynamics [Fishman et al., 2011]. Likewise, humanistic approaches to thestudy of water—law, philosophy, history, and ethics—can be further integrated with scientiﬁc knowl-edge [Wescoat, 2013]. The most eﬀective way to create such a new discipline is to frame it as use-inspiredscience [Stokes, 1997; Clark and Dickson, 2003; Thompson et al., 2013], focused on addressing urgent waterCOMMENTARY10.1002/2013EF000164Key Points:• Water problems represent a GrandChallenge in the Anthropocene• Contemporary scholarship on wateris fragmented by disciplinary barriers• Socio-hydrology is a new scienceuseful for water sustainabilitychallengesCorresponding author:M. Konar, mkonar@illinois.eduCitation:Sivapalan, M., M. Konar, V. Srinivasan,A. Chhatre, A. Wutich, C. A. Scott,J. L. Wescoat, and I. Rodríguez-Iturbe(2014), Socio-hydrology: Use-inspiredwater sustainability science for theAnthropocene, Earth’s Future, 2,225–230, doi:10.1002/2013EF000164.Received 22 AUG 2013Accepted 31 JAN 2014Accepted article online 7 FEB 2014Published online 1 APR 2014This is an open access article underthe terms of the Creative CommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivsLicense, which permits use and distri-bution in any medium, provided theoriginal work is properly cited, the useis non-commercial and no modiﬁca-tions or adaptations are made.SIVAPALAN ET AL. © 2014 The Authors. 225Earth’sFuture 10.1002/2013EF000164Figure 1. Organizational framework for socio-hydrology.sustainability problems through integration of existing scientiﬁc theories and methods while at the sametime creating new knowledge and understanding of emergent system dynamics.2. Socio-hydrology, a New Science of Humans andWaterInspired by the vast water security and society literature, we propose socio-hydrology as a use-inspired sci-entiﬁc discipline with a focus on the understanding, interpretation, and scenario development of the ﬂowsand stocks in the human-modiﬁed water cycle at multiple scales, with explicit inclusion of the two-wayfeedbacks between human and water systems [Sivapalan et al., 2012]. Socio-hydrology is aimed at uncov-ering the dynamic cross-scale interactions and feedbacks between the natural and human processes thatmay give rise to water sustainability challenges that we face in the Anthropocene.Socio-hydrology has three goals: (1) analyze multiscale, space-time patterns and dynamics of socio-hydrologic processes, and interpret them in terms of the underlying structural features of biophysicaland human systems and their interactions; (2) explain and interpret socio-hydrologic responses in termsof outcomes relevant to human well-being, and discern possible future scenarios of their evolution; and(3) understand the meaning and value of water as a culturally, politically, and economically embodiedresource necessary to human life, and do so in a manner that explicitly accounts for biophysical andhuman interactions.We propose a broad theoretical framework that builds on the relationships among three crucial aspectsof the socio-hydrologic system (Figure 1): (a) multiscale water system structures and dynamics, (b)water-related human well-being outcomes that emerge across physical scales and governance levels,and (c) normative goals of individuals and whole societies with respect to water use, conservation, andSIVAPALAN ET AL. © 2014 The Authors. 226Earth’sFuture 10.1002/2013EF000164sustainability. This theoretical framework formalizes the feedbacks between human and water systemsin an explicit way that can help us explain the past, understand the present, and illuminate sustainablefuture trajectories of their coevolution.3. Socio-hydrologic Perspective onWater Sustainability ChallengesCurrent approaches to studying water sustainability challenges lack explanatory and predictive powerbecause of the inadequate treatment of the two-way dynamic feedbacks between human and watersystems. Inadequate explanatory power gives rise to paradoxes, which frustrate eﬀorts to resolve prob-lems in societally relevant ways. Furthermore, the lack of predictive power over long time scales or largespace scales produces over-simpliﬁed—often internally inconsistent—technical ﬁxes [Gleick, 2003]. Weillustrate the potential of socio-hydrology through three examples of water sustainability problems thatcannot be fully resolved using conventional approaches.3.1. Virtual Water Trade ParadoxWhen the concept of virtual water was introduced [Allan, 1997], many researchers predicted that theglobal commodities trade would self-organize to alleviate water stress. This was certainly true at theglobal scale (see Figure 2). For example, in 2008, the global staple food trade saved approximately238 km3 yr−1, a doubling in less than 20 years [Dalin et al., 2012]. However, many local and regional traderelationships lead to irrational water resource outcomes [Chapagain et al., 2006]. For example, foodtrade from northern to southern China amounts to a virtual water ﬂow of 52 km3 yr−1, more than theproposed diversion of real water through the South-North Water Transfer Project [Ma et al., 2006]. Thisparadoxical outcome can only be explained when local norms and values prioritizing food security over(a) (b)Figure 2. Water saved by global food trade in (a) 1986 and (b) 2008. Each circle displays regional water saved and is scaled by volume saved; 2.3 times more water was saved in2008. The color of each region is provided in the map legend and import direction is indicated with white band. Numbers indicate km3 water and negative ﬂows are notdisplayed.SIVAPALAN ET AL. © 2014 The Authors. 227Earth’sFuture 10.1002/2013EF000164adverse environmental outcomes and the combined structure of land, labor, energy, ecological, and waterconstraints are taken into account. It is clear that in order to understand why trade saves water at theglobal scale, but not for certain regional and local trade links, it is essential to consider the social factorsunderlying agricultural production and trade [Konar et al., 2013].3.2. Eﬃciency ParadoxEﬃciency of resource use has been considered an unassailable “gospel.” A range of practices andtechnologies to increase irrigation eﬃciency and save water have proven successful at the farmscale. Yet eﬃciency presents a paradox when assessed at larger scales because the “wasted” waterupstream often becomes downstream supply. Without norms governing how the saved water must bereallocated—either by leaving it in the watercourse or protecting downstream water users, eﬃciencymay only increase total irrigation use, worsen inequity, and deprive ecosystems of much-needed ﬂows.The eﬃciency eﬀect of increasing resource use—identiﬁed by William Stanley Jevons in The Coal Question(1865)—is especially evident across sectors where improvements in one sector produce externalitiesin another. An illustrative example is the coupled use of water and energy in Mexico, where eﬃcientand subsidized electricity supplied to pump groundwater for irrigation had the unintended eﬀect ofincreasing pumping by 4.9 km3 yr−1 (25% of agricultural groundwater pumping), speeding up aquiferdepletion [Scott, 2011].3.3. Peak-Water ParadoxWater use is often assumed to increase with economic growth in demand projections. Yet many parts ofthe world are experiencing decreasing human water use despite sustained economic growth. In the Mur-rumbidgee Basin in Australia, construction of a series of dams initiated in the 1920s spurred an expansionof irrigated farming, accompanied by growth in population and agricultural exports. By 1980, abstrac-tions from streams were almost 100% of the natural ﬂows during low-ﬂow periods. But by 2000, a pro-longed drought, increased environmental consciousness, and diminution of agriculture as a fraction ofthe national economy resulted in a sharp reversal of this trend [Kandasamy et al., 2013], with irrigationrights being bought back and reallocated to the environment (see Figure 3). Such a change in the struc-ture and dynamics of water abstraction in the Murrumbidgee Basin can be explained only if one considersthe changing norms governing the relative value placed on water used in agriculture versus in-streamwater [Gleick and Palaniappan, 2010].Current approaches are unable to explain and predict outcomes in the above paradoxes, resulting inunsustainable water resource management outcomes. Unfortunately, these paradoxes are not uniqueto a single case study site and occur in a range of locations. In each case, however, once the analysisframeworks are broadened (as in Figure 2), they can be understood as emergent dynamics resulting fromtwo-way feedbacks between coupled human and water systems, thus highlighting the need to studyhuman-water systems in a more general way to improve our explanatory and scenario developmentcapabilities.4. Socio-hydrology as Use-Inspired ScienceThere is a long history of scholarship on the role of water in social and environmental changes [Maasset al., 1962;Wescoat, 2000; Tainter, 2006]. The complexity of the waterscape today—in which humanactions are often varied, distributed, and informal—requires new understanding as these actions man-ifest in often unpredictable ways. Socio-hydrology builds upon previous work by incorporating impacts ofdecentralized human agents and institutions to water ﬂows and storages, as well as their feedbacks. Addi-tionally, socio-hydrology as proposed here is explicitly problem inspired, constructing novel hypothesesto address water sustainability challenges.Human-water dynamics are complex and require new understanding. We propose socio-hydrology asa use-inspired scientiﬁc discipline that entails study of real-world systems across gradients of climate,socioeconomic status, ecological degradation, and human management. This eﬀort will require contri-butions of experts across a range of perspectives—from hydrologists to natural and social scientists tohumanists—to be successful. It is only through such joint eﬀorts we can generate viable solutions to thewater sustainability challenges of the Anthropocene.SIVAPALAN ET AL. © 2014 The Authors. 228Earth’sFuture 10.1002/2013EF000164(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)Figure 3. Pendulum swing in the Murrumbidgee Basin. Time series of (a) storage, (b) agriculture’s share of gross domestic product,(c) irrigated area, (d) irrigation water use, and (e) environmental water holding. Source: Kandasamy et al., 2013.SIVAPALAN ET AL. © 2014 The Authors. 229Earth’s Future 10.1002/2013EF000164ReferencesAllan, J. A., (1997), Virtual water: A long-term solution for water short Middle Eastern economies? Occasional Paper No. 3. Water IssuesStudy Group School of Oriental and African Studies, Univ. of London, London, U. K.Chapagain, A. K., A. Y. Hoekstra, and H. H. G. 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Socio-hydrology: Use-inspired water sustainability science for the Anthropocene

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Socio-hydrology: Use-inspired water sustainability science for the Anthropocene

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