Abstract
Governance is key to tackle water challenges and transform water management under the increasing pressures of competing water uses and climate change. Diverse water governance regimes have evolved in different countries and regions to regulate the development and management of water resources and the provision of water services. Scholars and policy analysts have been comparing these water governance regimes to analyze elements and processes, to assess performance, or to draw lessons. While the number of such studies has increased over the past decades, no comprehensive synthesis exists. This paper aims to present such a synthesis through conducting a systematic review of the emerging field of comparative water governance studies, and critically reflecting on how water governance is defined, conceptualized and assessed in different contexts. Based on the insights that this review brings about, we identify four areas for future research: 1) improving the balance between small-N, medium-N and large-N studies that are applied for comparative studies on water governance, 2) conducting longitudinal comparisons of water governance in order to identify temporal governance trends and patterns 3) expanding the geographical coverage of the comparisons to include underrepresented countries and regions, focusing more broadly on the Global South 4) addressing the issues of justice, equity and power, which are becoming increasingly important in tackling the water governance challenges that are exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, industrialization and urbanization.
Highlights
Water resources are under increasing pressure from competing uses and climate change (Rockström et al 2009, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2014)
Scholars and policy analysts have been comparing these water governance regimes to analyze elements and processes, to assess performance, or to draw lessons. The number of such studies has increased since the 1980s, no comprehensive synthesis exists. We present such a synthesis by conducting a systematic review of the emerging field of comparative water governance studies, and we critically reflect on how water governance is defined, conceptualized, and assessed in different contexts
Based on the resultant insights, we identify four areas for future research: (1) improving the balance between small, medium, and large-N studies that are used in comparative studies of water governance; (2) conducting longitudinal comparisons of water governance to identify temporal governance trends and patterns; (3) expanding the geographical coverage of the comparisons to include underrepresented countries and regions, focusing more broadly on the global South; and (4) addressing the issues of justice, equity, and power, which are becoming increasingly important in tackling the water governance challenges that are exacerbated by the effects of climate change, industrialization, and urbanization
Summary
Water resources are under increasing pressure from competing uses and climate change (Rockström et al 2009, IPCC 2014). Governance is acknowledged and investigated as a key challenge in achieving the long-term sustainability of this important resource (Rogers and Hall 2003, Bakker et al 2008, OECD 2015, Pahl-Wostl 2017). Diverse water governance regimes have evolved to regulate the development and management of water resources and the provision of water services (Hussey and Dovers 2007, Van De Meene and Brown 2009, OECD 2011). Scholars and policy analysts have responded by producing a broad body of literature comparing these water governance regimes to draw out diverse lessons (e.g., Benson and Jordan 2010, Pahl-Wostl et al 2010, Herrala et al 2012, Araral and Wu 2016). Gaps, and ongoing issues to be resolved as the field progresses
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