Abstract
Improving water practices among small farmers in a water scarce area like the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico is a complex task. Despite government attempts to enforce regulations and question the possibility of adjusting prices, the misuse of this scarce resource continues. Most farmers are, at best, motivated to aim for a minimum level of compliance, with very few striving to engage in best practices. This article seeks to make a proposal about the best drivers for inspiring best practices in an effort to improve the use of water management in the area. It proposes that a virtue ethics approach that explicitly focuses on the cultivation of an attitude of respect for water founded on three key principles (participation, hydrosolidarity and proactive engagement) is the best solution for Yucatan. This hypothesis is the result of developing a singular methodology based on Partial Least Squares (PLS), according to structural equation modeling (SEM), that could be replicated anywhere to ascertain which measures are best suited in a particular context. Using a small sample size, this research ascertains what is required to achieve best practices with regards to the management of water in that particular area.
Highlights
Several management paradigms for addressing the ensuing global water crisis have emerged over the past century
In order to test our hypothesis that inculcating an attitude of respect for water plays a significant role in the development of best practices among small farmers in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, we drew up a questionnaire and asked the farmers themselves what was motivating them towards best practices with regards to water management
Every year, some farmers are enlisted in the irrigations systems programmes of the Yucatan Peninsula, though a high percentage of them give up the hydrological programmes a few months later, without communicating anything to the water authorities
Summary
Several management paradigms for addressing the ensuing global water crisis have emerged over the past century. Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) emerged as the new paradigm This is described by the Global Water Partnership [3] as the “process that promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximize economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems”. Despite this focus on integration and the need to bridge different levels of decision making, considerable co-ordination and information sharing is required between multiple sectors and different layers of authority [4]. Many argue that it is too idealistic and unachievable in practice [5], having many disconnected principles [6] and inflexible governance to take uncertainty into account [7]
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