Global Water Governance: Managing complexity on a Global Scale

Schnurr, Maria

doi:10.1007/978-3-540-76707-7_5

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…An extensive literature review has yielded only one publication that explicitly deals with UN-Water, namely a book section by Schnurr (2008); however, his analysis is very superficial and remains on purely prescriptive grounds. Although UN-Water's Operational Guidelines state that its activities are guided by transparency, the application of this principle of good governance seems to be limited to participating member and partner organizations.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Notwithstanding the abundance of regional cooperation and regulation efforts (Wolf 2001), they have not yet led to the emergence of a comprehensive foreground institutional framework in the form of an international water regime providing rules for treaty making, interpretation, and dispute resolution at the global level (Dellapenna and Gupta 2008). However, advancements in the institutional foreground are deemed essential for successful GWG (Schnurr 2008). …”

Section: Framework Of Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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UN–Water and its Role in Global Water Governance

Baumgärtner¹,

Pahl‐Wostl²

2013

E&S

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ABSTRACT. UN-Water was established in 2003 to coordinate United Nations activities on water. There have been no scientific assessments about this coordination mechanism and, hence, we focus on the role of UN-Water in global water governance. We use an analytical framework to conceptualize relevant natural and social phenomena, actors, and institutions in the field of global water governance. This framework ultimately allows an assessment of UN-Water's role in this field. Our work draws upon official UN-Water documents, a formal external review of UN-Water, and semistructured expert interviews to assess UNWater's influence on global water discourses, particularly on the discourses of water and climate change, and integrated water resources management. This helps to identify UN-Water's specific functions in the field of global water governance. The mechanism acts as a bridge between the expert-centered background and the political foreground of global water governance.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Framework Of Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

UN–Water and its Role in Global Water Governance

Baumgärtner¹,

Pahl‐Wostl²

2013

E&S

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Virtual Water and Trade: A Critical Economic Review

Gawel

2014

Springer Water

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In recent years many scholars have dealt with aspects of a ''globalisation of water resources'' implicating the need for a global approach to governing scarce water resources. Especially the concepts of virtual water and water footprints have garnered increasing attention due to their pledge to disclose the linkages of local water consumption and global agricultural trade. In response, trade-restricting policy instruments have been promoted by some authors in response to seemingly inefficient, unfair or unsustainable ''virtual water''-trade patterns. To shed some light on the link between food trade, water and sustainability this paper discusses the informative value of the virtual water and water footprint concepts from an economic point of view, including various refinements of these indicators which have been suggested in the literature. Additionally, the performance of trade-related global water governance arrangements based on virtual water will be considered, bringing up again the debate about the environmental benefits of free trade. It must be concluded that the virtual water concept is limited in terms of its usefulness in providing policy advice or guiding economic decision-making. Specific sustainability problems (distorted pricing, bad governance, trade performance) should be solved in the respective arenas and not by virtual water-related global governance schemes or even trade barriers.

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What is Wrong with Virtual Water Trading? On the Limitations of the Virtual Water Concept

Gawel

Bernsen

2013

Environ Plann C Gov Policy

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Virtual water, the amount of water used along a good's value chain, has come under discussion. Fairness and efficiency problems are seen to arise in the reallocation of access to water resources through the means of international trade. Moral issues are attached to both imports and exports, and even to a country's own consumption of virtual water. Global institutional arrangements have therefore been suggested to regulate virtual water trade both efficiently and ‘fairly’. With this paper we will provide a short overview of the concept's history and findings, and an analysis from the perspective of economic trade theory, bringing up the old debate about the economic and environmental merits of free trade. The contribution of this paper will be to examine the performance of virtual water concepts in advising business or policy decisions in the form of global governance arrangements. It must be concluded that the virtual water concept is limited in terms of its usefulness in providing policy advice. The usually applied normative criteria are inconsistent, implying governance schemes that improve neither efficiency nor sustainability Water-related problems should be solved in the respective arenas and not by global governance schemes or trade barriers.

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Global Water Governance: Managing complexity on a Global Scale

Cited by 7 publications

References 2 publications

UN–Water and its Role in Global Water Governance

UN–Water and its Role in Global Water Governance

Virtual Water and Trade: A Critical Economic Review

What is Wrong with Virtual Water Trading? On the Limitations of the Virtual Water Concept

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Global Water Governance: Managing complexity on a Global Scale

Cited by 7 publications

References 2 publications

UN&#8211;Water and its Role in Global Water Governance

UN&#8211;Water and its Role in Global Water Governance

Virtual Water and Trade: A Critical Economic Review

What is Wrong with Virtual Water Trading? On the Limitations of the Virtual Water Concept

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Product

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UN–Water and its Role in Global Water Governance

UN–Water and its Role in Global Water Governance