Groundwater Governance Research Articles

Mutual Learning and Policy Transfer in Integrated Water Resources Management: A Research Agenda

Integrated water resources management (IWRM) has become a global paradigm for the governance of surface, coastal and groundwater. International bodies such as the European Union, the Global Water Partnership, and the United Nations have taken the lead to promote IWRM principles, while countries worldwide have undertaken reforms to implement these principles and to restructure their domestic or regional water governance arrangements. However, the international transfer of IWRM principles raises a number of theoretical, empirical and normative questions related to its causes, processes and outcomes. These questions will be explored in our Special Issue ‘Governing IWRM: Mutual Learning and Policy Transfer’. This editorial briefly introduces IWRM and links this governance paradigm to theoretical and empirical scholarship on policy transfer. We then summarise the aims and objectives of this Special Issue, provide an overview of the articles brought together here and offer avenues for future research.

Cover Image, Volume 7, Issue 1

AbstractThe cover image is based on the Overview Groundwater Governance: Addressing core concepts and challenges, by Alvar Closas and Karen Villholth. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1392 image

A Fifty-Year Experience of Groundwater Governance: The Case Study of Gakunan Council for Coordinated Groundwater Pumping, Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

Groundwater protection, which is effected by multiple actors at multiple levels using multiple instruments, is commonly termed “groundwater governance”. Although the concept has attracted increasing attention since the 1990s, several of its associated measures remain to be fully implemented. Most are still inchoate strategies and improvement is expected to be a gradual, long-term process. The Gakunan Council for Coordinated Groundwater Pumping (CCGP), which was established, in 1967, in Fuji City in Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture, is an exceptional case. The Gakunan CCCP was created to deal with a common-pool resource problem where massive groundwater pumping caused seawater intrusion in the city’s coastal area due to the low cost of extraction and incomplete groundwater ownership. The Gakunan CCCP succeeded in recovering elevation of groundwater tables by connecting efforts between the public and private sectors, including information sharing, legal authority to regulate groundwater, investment in alternative water supplies, internal subsidies between groundwater users, and charge for water disposal. Previous studies have iterated that the fostering of participation from various stakeholders and dividing labor between them appropriately are key elements of successful groundwater governance. This paper investigates these factors, explores the importance of the metagovernor as coordinator, and offers a fresh perspective on the significance of groundwater governance.

Assessment of a Web-Based Water Information System Performance in the Context of Groundwater Governance

Portugal recently faced a severe financial crisis that led to the suspension of funding for water monitoring programmes of the Portuguese National Water Resources Information System (SNIRH). This caused a severe impact as SNIRH and shared databases are considered key mechanisms for sharing water basin, country and international policy and data. The available information and data quickly become outdated as well as incomplete and compromised, due to these financial cuts with evident impact in the operational and analytical mechanisms. Therefore, an assessment of these impacts and the identification of gaps and areas needing development and improvement, according to the fundamentals of OECD principles on water governance was strictly necessary, in order to comply with the substantial role of a national water information system (WIS). This study provided the first performance assessment of a WIS based on the refinement of the updated DeLone and McLean information system success, in the context of groundwater governance. The model consists of five analytical dimensions and the quantification of their relationships was made through the application of structural equations modelling and multiple correspondence analysis. The data for the model was collected through a questionnaire held at a national level. The proposed model proved to produce good reliability estimates and the findings of this research provide important input and implications for the water information systems, and for groundwater management and governance in particular. The paper ends with a discussion on the limitations and areas of improvement that could be addressed in future developments.

Groundwater Governance Reforms: A Possible Licensing Framework for Groundwater Abstraction and Use

Over the past decades, incidents of extensive groundwater level decline, contamination of groundwater aquifers and extraction of poor quality water have become more intense. Both over exploitation and pollution of groundwater systems are largely a result of human activities on the surface. These may include agriculture, domestic and public use, industrial use, energy etc. All these economy sectors are inherently linked: they all vitally depend on groundwater but at the same time represent the most immediate threats to its sustainable management and conservation. That being the case, it is apparent that any governance system for the management and conservation of this valuable resource must walk a fine line in balancing competing or conflicting interests among stakeholders, and coordinating with urban and rural land uses and the management of the entire subsurface space.Against this background, the present paper critically explores possible types of groundwater governance reforms and provides an example of what a successful national framework for sustainable qualitative and quantitative groundwater abstraction and use might look like.

Why is state‐centered groundwater governance largely ineffective? A review

AbstractFaced with severe groundwater depletion, many governments have opted to increase the power of the state. Despite calls for more inclusive governance and a role for groundwater users, modes of governance have tended to continue to rely on a diversity of policy tools and state‐run strategies in the attempt to control groundwater (over)abstraction. Yet, around the world, the performance of state‐centered governance has remained dismal. Beyond common difficulties in terms of data and financial or human resources, this article analyzes in greater depth the limited effectiveness of state groundwater policies that has been observed, emphasizing its political ramifications. The various aspects of weak monitoring and enforcement, as well as of the infamous “lack of political will,” are considered from the perspective of the political economy of groundwater economies. Cases of relative success are then used to identify favorable drivers and contexts for effective state‐centered groundwater governance.This article is categorized under: Human Water > Water Governance Engineering Water > Planning Water

The path towards groundwater management in the borderlands of Mexico and Texas

AbstractBinational efforts to understand, assess, and manage shared groundwater resources on the Mexico‐Texas border are limited and politically sensitive. On the Mexico side, long‐standing centralized groundwater governance structures have created institutional barriers at the local level to the expansion of knowledge and cooperation over these transboundary resources. On the Texas side, property rights related to groundwater resources limit the scope of options available for cooperative management of cross‐border aquifers. In order to develop more effective cross‐border relations and enhance knowledge, cooperative management, and sustainability of the region's shared aquifers, stakeholders in the border between Mexico and Texas should pursue local and regional arrangements that focus primarily on water quality and environmental issues. Additionally, in order for the results of local efforts to be permanent and sustainable, they must consider the more formal, long‐term cooperative models that tend to have stronger systemic impacts and funding commitments. In addition, stakeholders and officials must make a better effort to educate the public on the science and facts in order to avoid past experiences where fear and political lobbying scuttled viable and promising cooperative efforts.This article is categorized under: Engineering Water > Planning Water Human Water > Water Governance

Groundwater governance and implementing the conservation policy: the case study of Rafsanjan Plain in Iran

The groundwater system in the Rafsanjan aquifer perpetuated sustainably for decades before 1950s; however, its groundwater resources have been overexploited in the recent decades. In this paper, we aim to investigate the water governance system to understand the reasons behind the ongoing overexploitation. Sustainability processes are considered a policy implementation problematic. As such, we employ the contextual interaction theory as a policy implementation framework to assess the groundwater governance as part of the context for the conservation policy. Data for this qualitative research were gathered from legal texts, articles, technical reports, and multiple interviews with authorities and groundwater users. The assessment results revealed that the poor quality of the governance system is central to the ineffectiveness of the conservation policies. Findings of this paper can be relied on to devise tools to underpin an appropriate context to sustain groundwater resources.

Groundwater governance: Addressing core concepts and challenges

AbstractWith decreasing aquifer levels, increasing groundwater pollution, inequitable access, and generally poor management outcomes, better groundwater governance has been put forward as a recipe to address these challenges worldwide. Existing recommendations focus on improved legal frameworks, monitoring and control of access and abstraction through permits or formal rights. In addition, decentralized water management, enforcement of regulations, and supply‐side technological solutions are seen as cornerstone components of good groundwater governance systems. However, until now, these approaches have generally failed to reconcile the fundamental dynamics and properties of groundwater as a natural resource and of governance as a social and political phenomenon. This has caused a disregard for local to planetary boundaries, power dynamics, and intra‐ and intergenerational inequalities in access to benefits from groundwater. As the current general notion of good groundwater governance is limited, solutions put forward are also partial and do not encompass the wider challenges affecting groundwater governance, in effect replacing sustainable management goals and policy for governance as a process. This paper takes a particular look at the Middle East and North Africa and agricultural groundwater use for irrigation to constructively redefine groundwater governance and fully address the multilayered and multifaceted core challenges of groundwater governance. Equally, the paper puts forward a new conceptual thinking that will help support the effective development of governance‐based solutions to achieve sustainable, socially acceptable, resilient and equitable resource use.This article is categorized under: Engineering Water > Planning Water Human Water > Water Governance

Participation in groundwater governance – outlining a path to inclusive development

Abstract Although there is considerable research on participation, there is little that combines the relationship between access to information, participation and access to justice and how these can be combined to enhance groundwater governance. Hence, this article addresses the question: How can legal frameworks that recognize the right to participation alleviate local groundwater governance problems in different contexts? In order to address this question, this article reviews the literature on participation, law, policy and inclusive development and analyses selected legal frameworks that recognize participation, access to information and access to justice to determine how these frameworks have been implemented in groundwater governance. The selected contexts include Australia and Costa Rica. The findings show that (i) access to information, participation in decision-making and access to justice are mostly employed in a reactive manner to solve groundwater governance problems; (ii) access to information on groundwater ignores particular features of groundwater resources, such as ‘invisibility’, ‘irreversibility’ especially in relation to fossil resources, the local nature, and limited consensus on the data; (iii) meaningful participation is unlikely until information, learning, knowledge, and awareness about groundwater resources is popularized and (iv) factors enhancing access to information and participation in decision-making in groundwater governance include the existence of a water crisis, leadership, government funding dedicated to organize participatory processes; and small-scale and homogenous communities.

An evaluation of groundwater institutions in India: a property rights perspective

Groundwater governance has become an intractable policy issue, which has many implications for the living standards and well-being of millions of rural poor in South Asia. Groundwater governance is complex as it is influenced by various hydrogeological, sociopolitical and socioeconomic factors. Unregulated groundwater extraction rates in South Asia have depleted the aquifers causing a raft of socioeconomic, environmental and human health problems. This paper analyzes de facto rights in groundwater markets and other emerging ‘groundwater-sharing institutional arrangements’ in India. Using a multi-dimensional property rights model, the paper decomposes de facto groundwater rights while drawing insights and broad policy lessons. The findings indicate that there is much scope for enhancing the ‘small group groundwater sharing’ governed by social regulatory measures. Moreover, distortionary subsidies for agriculture in general and groundwater development, in particular, have had an adverse impact of the resource use and merit further attention.

The rationality of groundwater governance in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta’s coastal zone

ABSTRACT This article assesses the rationality of the governance of the Vietnamese coastal zone’s water system. We first specify five assessment criteria, which we apply to a case study. Based on document analysis, stakeholder surveys and in-depth interviews, we found an average score on the criterion that relevant water system knowledge must be available. The scores on the criteria that water usage is systematically monitored, that the legal framework is complied with, that long-term human and wider ecological interests are addressed, and that governance is decentralized appeared to be low. The article concludes with some recommendations to change the governance system.

Groundwater in California: From Juridical and Biopolitical Governmentality to a Political Physics of Vital Processes

This article analyzes the emergence of a political rationality of groundwater in contemporary California. It contrasts a new government of nature that we call a ‘political physics of vital processes’, operative in the case of the Orange County Water District, with juridical and biopolitical rationalities of groundwater governance. To do so, we propose a genealogical account grounded in a reading of a key concept in Aristotle’s first book of Politics. The case is analyzed along the axes of subjectivity, space, and temporality, opening to a novel way of conceptualizing the relation between power and nature.

A system dynamics model of smart groundwater governance

Groundwater is one of the most important and vital resources in the world. In current decades, increased water demand and pollution threaten groundwater availability. Yet, groundwater governance is a serious challenge and despite many studies focusing on groundwater assessments, its governance has been largely neglected. Smart groundwater governance is one of the most critical areas to improve the sustainable use of this resource in societies and people’s livelihood. The main goal of this paper was to introduce a model to evaluate and measure the smartness level of any policy or action as an index. To do so, this study uses a system dynamics (SD) approach to develop a smart groundwater governance (SGG) model to assist policy and decision makers to better understand the short and long-term impacts of their actions, plans, and policies. For this purpose, the SGG index was introduced in the dynamic model, including four indicators (i.e., equitability, efficiency, sustainability, and democracy) and was applied in Iran. The results indicate that groundwater balance is critical (i.e. negative) and the current trend of groundwater governance is highly non-smart in the country. This study concluded that the best strategy to manage this situation and to govern the groundwater resources in a smarter manner includes both increasing the infiltration rate and decreasing the extraction rate (or increase the water efficiency) as the left and right based scenarios. The obtained results also demonstrate the benefits of the SGG index for policy and decision makers in SGG.

Book review: Reddy, Groundwater Governance: Development, Degradation and Management

Reddy, Groundwater Governance: Development, Degradation and Management (First Edition). Delhi and Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2016, 216 pp., ₹695 (hardcover). ISBN: 978-8131607664.

Advances in Groundwater Governance

GroundwaterVolume 57, Issue 2 p. 197-198 Book Review/ Advances in Groundwater Governance reviewed by Robert E. Mace, Corresponding Author Robert E. Mace robertmace@txstate.edu Corresponding author: The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666; robertmace@txstate.eduSearch for more papers by this authorTodd H. Votteler, Todd H. Votteler Collaborative Water Resolution LLC, 10604 Natick Lane, Austin, TX 78739Search for more papers by this author reviewed by Robert E. Mace, Corresponding Author Robert E. Mace robertmace@txstate.edu Corresponding author: The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666; robertmace@txstate.eduSearch for more papers by this authorTodd H. Votteler, Todd H. Votteler Collaborative Water Resolution LLC, 10604 Natick Lane, Austin, TX 78739Search for more papers by this author First published: 11 February 2019 https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12859Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume57, Issue2March/April 2019Pages 197-198 RelatedInformation

Diverse drivers of unsustainable groundwater extraction behaviour operate in an unregulated water scarce region

Depletion of groundwater resources is of increasing concern in many parts of the world; however, farmers' perceptions of resource status and the role these have in influencing decisions about groundwater use are rarely considered and even more rarely analysed. This paper investigates the links between farmers' perceptions of resource condition and drivers of groundwater decline and patterns of groundwater use in the semi-arid highland region of Balochistan, Pakistan. Key factors associated with groundwater over-exploitation in this region, identified by farmers, include: high returns from irrigated fruit and vegetable cultivation; drought; mass installation of tubewells; inefficient irrigation practices; government policies and subsidies that promote groundwater development; and lack of effective groundwater governance. Critically, while a majority of farmers in this study believe that groundwater is a limited resource, there is little evidence to indicate that this then leads to sustainable groundwater use decision making within these communities. Without effective intervention, groundwater resources in this region will potentially suffer the consequences of human behaviour associated with the use of common pool resources identified in Hardin's (1968) seminal ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ paper. This study exemplifies the importance to the future of rural communities in water scarce regions of effective governance, regulations and economic incentives for sustainable water management.

Assessing Action Situation Networks: A Configurational Perspective on Water and Energy Governance in Irrigation Systems

The action situation is a core component of actor-centered institutional analysis of natural resource governance. Institutional analysis frameworks have been extended to observe multiple situations structured into networks. If further operationalized, this extension can improve policy diagnosis of human–environmental interactions. This paper proposes two complementary ways to move in that direction. First, we propose the use of qualitative configurational analysis and game theory to study the interactions between situations and assess the contribution of each to a desired outcome. Second, we draw on centrality measures to assess the benefits and risks of implementing policies that aim to change the equilibria in action situations. Both analytical strategies are applied to two cases involving irrigation and energy governance. In the Spanish case, centrality of the water allocation situation justifies a configuration of drought measures that also tackle cooperation in monitoring and infrastructure maintenance. In the Indian case, groundwater governance and adequate infrastructure capacity provision are necessary preconditions to enable coordinated technology adoption, which facilitates incentives for regulated irrigation. In both the cases, some action situations’ positive outcomes are necessary in every configuration to guarantee optimal equilibria in the network. In the context of energy-fed irrigation systems, the proposed analytical strategies permit integrating interactions between water use, energy use and food production decisions in policy diagnoses. The analysis can be extended to identify archetypes, network closure, as well as structural and functional connectivity of networks in social-ecological systems.

The Path Towards Groundwater Management in the Borderlands of Mexico and Texas

Binational efforts to understand, assess, and manage shared groundwater resources on the Mexico‐Texas border are limited and politically sensitive. On the Mexico side, long‐standing centralized groundwater governance structures have created institutional barriers at the local level to the expansion of knowledge and cooperation over these transboundary resources. On the Texas side, property rights related to groundwater resources limit the scope of options available for cooperative management of cross‐border aquifers. In order to develop more effective cross‐border relations and enhance knowledge, cooperative management, and sustainability of the region's shared aquifers, stakeholders in the border between Mexico and Texas should pursue local and regional arrangements that focus primarily on water quality and environmental issues. Additionally, in order for the results of local efforts to be permanent and sustainable, they must consider the more formal, long‐term cooperative models that tend to have stronger systemic impacts and funding commitments. In addition, stakeholders and officials must make a better effort to educate the public on the science and facts in order to avoid past experiences where fear and political lobbying scuttled viable and promising cooperative efforts.

Assessment of Groundwater Quality Status for Irrigation in Thal Area

The problem of ground water quality has become more imperative than the quantity, as the ecological glitches are getting more severe in various zones of the globe. Numerous factors such as pollution due to agricultural, industrial and human activities, poor groundwater governance and other ecological surroundings in which the water ensues to stay or move and intermingle with ground and living organisms. These impacts prominently on the ground water quality of specific zone. Therefore, a field study was planned in Land Reclamation Sub-Division Thal in 2016 to assess the quality of ground water being pumped. Thal Sub-Division includes Layya, Kundian, Ahmad Pur Sial and Bhakkar districts. Overall 370 water samples each in pre and post Mon soon season 2016 were collected.