iii) Policy Issues Developing effective water sector policies in most countries has been a hard task for the policy makers involved. This has been because of its unique physical properties, the complex economic characteristics and the important cultural features that come with the resource that distinguishes it from other natural resources. Other than this, water resource management has continued to present a lot of complicated administrative issues, and this is because it involves many considerations including legal, technological, environmental, economic and political considerations. In most countries, political and economic considerations have dominated a lot of policy decisions on the use of water resources. Its management largely …show more content…
It is important to understand how alternative economic policy instruments have an influence on the water use across different economic sectors and also between local, regional and national levels. The water managers should recognize the existing connections between macroeconomic policies and the impacts they have on other areas. Most of these policies as well as some sectorial policies that are not specifically aimed at the water sectors do have strategic impacts on the resource allocation and the aggregate demand for water in the economy. Respective country 's overall development strategy and its use of macroeconomic policies including monetary, fiscal and trade policies affect, both directly and indirectly, the demand and various investments in activities related to the water resource (Young, Dooge & Rodda, 2004, p.81). Some of the problems associated with water resource management efforts in most countries are its bulkiness and mobility. Its value per unit of its weight tends to be relatively low as compared to other commodities that are considered bulky. The cost of transporting and storing it is high relative to its economic value at its point of use. It is also difficult to identify and measure because unlike other commodities, it flows, evaporates, seeps into the ground and transpires. This evasive nature of water has meant that
According to the International Water Management Institute environmental research organisation global water stress is increasing, and a third of all people face some sort of water scarcity. Where demand exceeds supply and no effective management operates, there will be conflicts between the various players involved.
Industries are expected to use 265 billow cubic meters of water per year (Doc. D). With that said, there is several industries that rely on water (Doc. D). At the same time, the need for water in agriculture decreases and the need for water in domestic issues gradually increases, while the need for water in industries frantically increases (Doc. C). The requirement of water in industries keeps climbing high year after year as the water supply drops. Moreover, many industries must-have a sizeable quantum of water, which drives the water crisis.
The goal of this paper is intended to provide the legal, political, social, economic, ecological dimensions of water resource policy
Using named examples, assess the contribution of large scale water management projects in increasing water security. 15 Water security means having access to sufficient, safe, clean and affordable water. Theoretically, the world’s poorer countries are the most water insecure, suffering from both physical and economic water scarcity. One solution to tackle water insecurity is through large scale water projects for example the Three Gorges project in China, the South-North transfer project also in China and the restoration of the Aral Sea. However there is much controversy over whether these schemes are actually sustainable and therefore beneficial in the long run. The Three Gorges da project in China blocks the Yangtze River; it cost $50
Since America's west is heading head-long into a severe water crisis and is already entering a 2nd decade of drought it appears that the region's water budgets are probably going to get worse in the years ahead with the elements of population growth , global warming and improper water use. The West's water supplies that already very unreliable need new strategies. There are lots of water-supply strategies and solutions discussed out there, however the main strategies are water markets , desalination and water reuse. Firstly , according to experts water markets are created by infusing a concept of trade into water use and treating water as an economic commodity that it accounted for by exchanging , trading and regulating it. Furthermore they believe that water markets can make a difference since water in the American West is often underpriced and doesn’t take into account the crucial correlation between the availability of water and its costs.
Furthermore , the government should take the responsibility manage the water supply. Farmers can find other ways to grow their crops in a more efficient way that requires less water nowadays because of technology. The citizens of towns cannot be going months without water to bathe or drink. It is for the better of the people the state and the land. Overall more good can come out of water regulation than
In research, we reviewed national laws and the constitutions of countries across the world, to determine how successful governments were in both acknowledging a human right to water, and enforcing it. Our findings varied, and rather than creating a comprehensive list of water laws by country, I will refer you to The Water Law and Standards Website — a joint
Many countries are also highly dependent on water that originates outside their borders; the water diversion provided by dams for countries that are downstream exacerbates an already serious problem. The diversion of river systems is an area of international concern, the nature and extent of such interdependency is already extensive: 145 countries share over 261 international river basin. As demand increases, and as indigenous sources of water become fully utilized or exhausted, the only alternatives are likely to be international (Dolatyar, 2006). Ironically, the very solution of one country's scarcity, plunges another into water shortage, this is the reason why water security is one of the most crucial foreign policy considerations of a globally connected economic and political atmosphere.
Many people know that water is essential for human-being and it is not only valuable for health and life, but water is also important for industry and agriculture. Furthermore, use of water has a spiritual, cultural and recreational dimension. However, water resources are not infinite. Wide and inefficient use of water resources can lead to irreversible consequences, such as water shortage. This essay will firstly discuss the problem of water shortage on examples of developed and developing countries and include the diversification of the same issue in the different parts of the world. It will also identify causes and effects of this environmental problem on society and other spheres of life. Moreover, in this essay I am going to propose
Water, like food, is a necessity for human life that is used for many purposes such as agricultural, industrial, and domestic systems. While water is a common element around the world not all of it is clean and able to be consumed or used by humans. With only a percentage of the world’s water being clean and the use of water increasing, the availability of water around the world has become a common issue in the developing and even the developed world. This may be a smaller problem in areas close to clean water sources compared to areas far from a clean water source but, the availability of water is not strictly based on location, it also depends on the specific political and social needs and issues of the area as well. These all become issues that must be accounted for when deciphering whether water is a basic human right or a commodity and what action must be taken to aid the developing water systems in community’s that lack them.
Economic relations and resource management, 2. Ideology and culture including the way people think about the environment and water rights, 3.political agents like the state, transnational actors and organizations involved in water disputes and trade 4.the transnational social movements which endorse and resist water privatization, and 5.the power relations which engender unequal access to safe water (Bywater, 2008).
There is a water crisis which faces many parts of the world and it is a threat to survival of human beings since humans are primarily dependent on water. Shortage in drinking water is beginning to show its effects in first world countries, but is a current major problem facing lesser developed countries which have not taken drastic steps to harvest water and purify it to make it safe for human consumption. In developed countries the population growth has strained available water resources and stretched the ability of governments and private firms to provide safe drinking water to the vast majority of the population. Seventy one percent of
The management and use of water in urban areas is a complex and dynamic issue. Water managers must juggle the goals of regulating water demand, with securing and improving access to good quality water for their jurisdiction areas. As demographic and hydroclimatic changes force a shift in the focus of water management from supply expansion to improving management of existing water supply systems (Harou et al, 2009), a holistic understanding of existing systems has become a pertinent need. While past economic studies have produced useful results and emphases, it is becoming
Water is a human right, not a commodity. It is the essence of life, sustaining every living being on the planet. Without it we would have no plants, no animals, no people. However, while water consumption doubles every twenty years our water sources are being depleted, polluted and exploited by multinational corporations. Water privatization has been promoted by corporations and international lending institutions as the solution to the global water crises but the only one’s who benefit from water privatization are investors and international banks. The essential dilemma of privatization is that the profit interests of private water utilities ultimately jeopardizes the safeguarding of the human right to water. Access to clean, sufficient
The use of water is not only important in food, survival and cleanliness but in many other areas as well. For example in case of fire, if there is no water, only fate is devastation of resources, properties and lives. Other than this, in case of droughts there can be severe political and social disturbance. Due to droughts, there can be ruthless disagreements over the entitlement of water between groups of people, which may lead to disputes based on ethnicity, cast, religion etc. Since the government is responsible to take care of the recourses of country, there