Public Attitudes toward Water Management Measures and Droughts: A Study in Southern Spain

Paneque, Pilar; Lafuente, Regina; Vargas, Jesús

doi:10.3390/w10040369

Cited by 18 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The 'Practice', on the other hand, was categorised into two: water resource management measures (i.e., collaborative water management, on-farm surface water storage and compliance to water permit), and responses to water scarcity during low stream-flows (i.e., use of boreholes for supplemental irrigation, reduction of farm size under irrigation and suspension of farm activities). The knowledge, attitude and practice variables were adapted from established literature [26,43,[46][47][48]…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Water Resources Management among Smallholder Irrigators in the Tsavo Sub-Catchment, Kenya

2019

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The rising demand for food production in a changing climate impacts water resources negatively in semi-arid agro-ecosystems. In the Tsavo sub-catchment of Kenya, this is compounded by a surging population and expansion of cropping as a land use; leading to increased abstraction of surface water resources and deterioration of related ecosystem services. The impact of increased abstraction is more profound during water stress seasons when stream-flow levels are low. While water policies have incorporated a requirement for environmental flows, unregulated abstractions persist suggesting an inherent challenge. Drawing on a sample of 279 households, we analysed farmers' engagement in water resources management and explored how this can inform water resource planning. Seasonal water scarcity and user conflicts were the major challenges experienced by the farmers. Ordinal and logistic regression models show that knowledge, attitude and practices were culture-dependent being impacted by educational attainment, level of income, access to extension and membership to local networks. Attitude and practice were further influenced by land tenure and farm distance to water sources. Since knowledge of water management issues informed attitudes and practices, improved awareness and targeted extension support are necessary in the development and implementation of policy decisions on water resources management.2 of 17 water through centralised infrastructure, such as dams, others call for consideration of decentralised on-farm technologies and practices that safeguard ecosystems [7]. There is however, a concurrence that water management approaches must strike a balance between economy and ecosystems [3,17]. Water management interventions are thus perceived as delicate balancing act with many trade-offs, particularly in water stressed river basins where trade-offs are associated with high opportunity costs [8]. While less water for food may condemn many people to hunger, less water for the environment will undermine ecosystems [8,18,19]. However, with increased knowledge of water management, water stressed environments have higher prospects for sustainable agriculture [20]. Water-efficient technologies if integrated with appropriate agronomic practices have the potential to improve food productivity while safeguarding ecosystems [20,21].Water management approaches that focus on decentralised technologies, such as on-farm surface water storage, can improve food production without allocation of additional water from the ecosystems [21,22]. As a result, decentralised water management technologies have received renewed attention in many countries that have acknowledged their contribution in sustainable agriculture [22][23][24]. Moreover, agriculture is now considered both as an integrated system and as an agro-ecosystem, providing services and interacting with other ecosystems [7]. Transitioning to sustainable agricultural water management requires broad understanding and support for changes in water policies [25,26]. However, the proce...

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Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Water Resources Management among Smallholder Irrigators in the Tsavo Sub-Catchment, Kenya

2019

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“…We argue that it is essential to gain a more comprehensive knowledge of the preferences of the public concerning water management, and thus overcome the so‐called “Collingridge dilemma” (when the population finds policy‐changing instruments too late, because the relevant decisions have already been adopted; Maestre & Rojo, ). However, the small number of studies on the relationship between public opinion and water‐management policies is striking (Paneque, Lafuente, & Vargas, ; Stoutenborough & Vedlitz, ) and, in fact, few surveys include questions on water policies.…”

Section: Public Opinion and Water Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role played by environmental concern and institutional trust in changing public preferences for water management

2018

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Efforts to improve the efficiency of irrigation systems in areas which suffer from water scarcity have often failed to reduce water demand owing to the constant expansion of irrigation. Andalusia, in southern Spain, is a clear case in point, as the publicly funded programs aimed at improving irrigation put forward since the 1990s after recurrent episodes of drought have not been able to meet agrarian demand. This situation has generated an active debate among stakeholders and public managers. This study aims to investigate the role of public opinion in this debate, as demanded by new water governance models, embodied in the Water Framework Directive. We use the results of a representative annual survey in Andalusia between 2004 and 2013. First, we analyze the evolution of public support for the two most costly public measures: constructing reservoirs and improving irrigation. Second, we analyze some attitudes that may have affected a change in public opinion, including institutional trust and environmental concern. The results suggest that the public legitimizes the administration's bid for more efficient irrigation systems, essentially for environmental reasons. However, should attempts to control water demand continue to fail, support for this measure may be withdrawn.

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“…Furthermore, regional authorities have also been developing water management measures. Despite the measures and monitoring mentioned before, "all the Andalusian river basins are subject to high levels of quantitative and qualitative water stress" [38].…”

Section: Andalusia (Spain) Wef Nexus Case Study Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Stakeholder Views and System Dynamics to Assess the Water–Energy–Food Nexus in Andalusia

González-Rosell

Blanco

Arfa

2020

Water

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A nexus approach can support the transition to sustainability by addressing trade-offs and pursuing synergies to improve water, energy, and food security. In this paper, a participatory system dynamics model was developed to identify and assess the key interlinkages between water, food, and energy in Andalusia (Spain). A panel of relevant stakeholders contributed to all stages of the model’s development. Further, by calibrating the model to CAPRI-Water projections until 2050, the evolution of the system under a plausible climate scenario, as well as effects of water prices changes, was evaluated. The results revealed a close link between water cost, irrigation water use, energy consumption, and the economic development of agriculture in the region. Large variability was observed in the effects of water pricing policies across crops. This paper concludes that a participatory system dynamics model can help in understanding the nexus synergies and can support the design of more coherent sustainability strategies in the region.

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Public Attitudes toward Water Management Measures and Droughts: A Study in Southern Spain

Cited by 18 publications

References 30 publications

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Water Resources Management among Smallholder Irrigators in the Tsavo Sub-Catchment, Kenya

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Water Resources Management among Smallholder Irrigators in the Tsavo Sub-Catchment, Kenya

The role played by environmental concern and institutional trust in changing public preferences for water management

Integrating Stakeholder Views and System Dynamics to Assess the Water–Energy–Food Nexus in Andalusia

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