scholarly journals Water Security in a Changing Environment: Concept, Challenges and Solutions

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 490
Author(s):  
Binaya Kumar Mishra ◽  
Pankaj Kumar ◽  
Chitresh Saraswat ◽  
Shamik Chakraborty ◽  
Arjun Gautam
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Dissemination And Implementation ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Water Resources Systems ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Wide Range

Water is of vital and critical importance to ecosystems and human societies. The effects of human activities on land and water are now large and extensive. These reflect physical changes to the environment. Global change such as urbanization, population growth, socioeconomic change, evolving energy needs, and climate change have put unprecedented pressure on water resources systems. It is argued that achieving water security throughout the world is the key to sustainable development. Studies on holistic view with persistently changing dimensions is in its infancy. This study focuses on narrative review work for giving a comprehensive insight on the concept of water security, its evolution with recent environmental changes (e.g., urbanization, socioeconomic, etc.) and various implications. Finally, it presents different sustainable solutions to achieve water security. Broadly, water security evolves from ensuring reliable access of enough safe water for every person (at an affordable price where market mechanisms are involved) to lead a healthy and productive life, including that of future generations. The constraints on water availability and water quality threaten secured access to water resources for different uses. Despite recent progress in developing new strategies, practices and technologies for water resource management, their dissemination and implementation has been limited. A comprehensive sustainable approach to address water security challenges requires connecting social, economic, and environmental systems at multiple scales. This paper captures the persistently changing dimensions and new paradigms of water security providing a holistic view including a wide range of sustainable solutions to address the water challenges.

scholarly journals A review of conjunctive GW-SW management by simulation–optimization tools

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shima Soleimani ◽  
Omid Bozorg-Haddad ◽  
Arezoo Boroomandnia ◽  
Hugo A. Loáiciga
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Simulation Optimization ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Optimization Methods ◽  
Conjunctive Use ◽  
Optimization Techniques ◽  
Hydrologic Models ◽  
Water Resources Systems ◽  
Simulation And Optimization

Abstract The conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water (GW-SW) resources has grown worldwide. Optimal conjunctive water use can be planned by coupling hydrologic models for the simulation of water systems with optimization techniques for improving management strategies. The coupling of simulation and optimization methods constitutes an effective approach to determine sustainable management strategies for the conjunctive use of these water resources; yet, there are challenges that must be addressed. This paper reviews (1) hydrologic models applied for the simulation of GW-SW interaction in the water resources systems, (2) conventional optimization methods, and (3) published works on optimized conjunctive GW-SW use by coupling simulation and optimization methods. This paper evaluates the pros and cons of GW-SW simulation tools and their applications, thus providing criteria for selecting simulation–optimization methods for GW-SW management. In addition, an assessment of GW-SW simulation–optimization tools applied in various studies over the world creates valuable knowledge for selecting suitable simulation–optimization tools in similar case studies for sustainable water resource management under multiple scenarios.

scholarly journals Water resources data, models and decisions: international expert opinion on knowledge management for an uncertain but resilient future

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Ward ◽  
D. Scott Borden ◽  
Amos Kabo-bah ◽  
Abdul Nasirudeen Fatawu ◽  
Xavier Francis Mwinkom
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Capacity Planning ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Data Models ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Planning Under Uncertainty ◽  
Water Resources Systems ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract Assessing the resilience of water resources systems requires knowledge of properties and performance, which depends on data availability and use within models and decision making. Connections between data, models and decision making are crucial to plan for uncertainty and invest in interventions. To explore international perceptions of these connections, we conducted a three-round Delphi survey with an expert panel (see Supplementary material, available with the online version of this paper). Consensus and divergence existed within and between countries on ability to manage data, modelling and decision making, with the most consensus seen on use of hydrometric databases. There was a wide range of models and tools utilised by participants and a shift occurred between first and second rounds to a preference for trying new modelling. There was consensus between and within all countries that every data type was important. River flow data consistently scored highest. Access to data and models primarily impacted evaluating future capacity, planning under uncertainty, policy implementation and conflict resolution. The panel called for reviewing existing and developing new policy, collaborative research and available funding all focusing on water resources data-model-decision integration. Findings offer a strategic view on knowledge management regarding connections between data, models and decision making through identification of consensus areas for future focus and dissensus areas for reprioritisation.

scholarly journals Application of the Systems Approach to the Management of Complex Water Systems

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2923
Author(s):  
Slobodan P. Simonovic
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Water Resources Systems ◽  
Water Problems ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Current Experience

This paper provides an introduction to, and an overview of, the Special Issue on the application of systems approach to the management of complex water systems. The main motivation in proposing this Special Issue was that today, more than ever, we need a systems approach to assist in dealing with the difficulties introduced by the increase in the complexity of water resource problems, consideration of environmental impacts, and the introduction of the principles of sustainability. This issue offers an opportunity to review applications of the systems approach to water resource management and draw lessons from worldwide experience relevant to future water problems. The Special Issue includes 15 contributions that offer an interesting view into contemporary problems, approaches, and issues related to management of complex water resources systems. It will be presumptuous to say that these 15 contributions characterize the success or failure of the systems approach to support water resources decision-making. However, these contributions offer some interesting lessons from the current experience and trace possible future work directions.

A policy tree optimization approach to dynamic adaptation under climate uncertainty

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Herman ◽  
Jonathan Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Dynamic Adaptation ◽  
Adaptive Planning ◽  
Water Resources Systems ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Indicator Variables ◽  
Tree Optimization ◽  
Climate Uncertainty ◽  
Over Time

<p>Water resources systems face a wide range of uncertainty in future hydroclimatic and socio-economic conditions, justifying an adaptive planning approach. Recent advances in dynamic adaptation have designed policies in which infrastructure and management actions are triggered by thresholds of indicator variables monitored over time. Typically, one or more of these components are prespecified, constraining the flexibility of policy design and evaluation. The opportunity exists for methods to identify policies combining the most relevant indicators, actions, and thresholds for dynamic adaptation to climate change. Here we present a generalized framework based on multi-objective policy tree optimization, a heuristic policy search method in which adaptation policies are represented as binary trees. We demonstrate this approach using an illustrative water resources planning problem in California where infrastructure expansion, reservoir operations, conservation rules, and conjunctive use are adapted over time to balance flood risk, water supply, and environmental objectives. To capture the uncertainty in nonstationary forcing, indicator variables include long-term hydroclimatic statistics from downscaled GCM projections along with uncertain land use and economic conditions. Policy robustness is determined by validation against a held-out scenario ensemble. A key focus of the results is comparing the indicators and actions selected by robust versus non-robust policies to identify cases where policies adapt to a signal rather than noise. This framework is supported by open source software and is generalizable across water resources systems challenged with adaptive planning under climate uncertainty.</p>

scholarly journals Assessing the complex adaptability of regional water security systems based on a unified co-evolutionary model

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiping Yao ◽  
Yongtai Ren ◽  
Shuai Wei ◽  
Wei Pei
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Evolutionary Model ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Security System ◽  
Problem Domain ◽  
Security Systems ◽  
Coordinated Development ◽  
Regional Water

Abstract A unified co-evolutionary model was developed to study the adaptability conditions of regional water security systems, which is important for the coordinated development of these systems. In this work, the main factors that affect the adaptability of regional water security systems, the contribution of each sub-problem domain to the development of the problem domain, and the fitness values of regional water security systems were analyzed based on the model. Taking Jiansanjiang as an example, the results showed that in 2002–2011, the water resources system had strong adaptability and contributed greatly to improve the adaptability of the water security system; the socioeconomic system had poor adaptability to environmental changes and contributed little to the adaptability of the water security system; and the eco-environmental system was barely able to adapt to the changing environment and contributed less to the adaptability of the water security system. Due to the influence of the socioeconomic and eco-environmental systems, the adaptability of the water security system was relatively weak. Therefore, strengthening the sustainable utilization of water resources, promoting the coordinated development of the social economy, and improving the quality of the ecological environment are effective strategies to improve the adaptability of water security systems.

Integrated Water Resource Management as an Organizing Concept

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Ait-Kadi ◽  
Melvyn Kay
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Management Concepts ◽  
Water Problems

This is an immersive journey through different water management concepts. The conceptual attractiveness of concepts is not enough; they must be applicable in the real and fast-changing world. Thus, beyond the concepts, our long-standing challenge remains increasing water security. This is about stewardship of water resources for the greatest good of societies and the environment. It is a public responsibility requiring dynamic, adaptable, participatory, and balanced planning. It is all about coordination and sharing. Multi-sectoral approaches are needed to adequately address the threats and opportunities relating to water resources management in the context of climate change, rapid urbanization, and growing disparities. The processes involved are many and need consistency and long-term commitment to succeed. Climate change is closely related to the problems of water security, food security, energy security and environment sustainability. These interconnections are often ignored when policy-makers devise partial responses to individual problems. They call for broader public policy planning tools with the capacity to encourage legitimate public/collective clarification of the trade-offs and the assessment of the potential of multiple uses of water to facilitate development and growth. We need to avoid mental silos and to overcome the current piecemeal approach to solving the water problems. This requires a major shift in practice for organizations (governmental as well as donor organizations) accustomed to segregating water problems by subsectors. Our experience with integration tells us that (1) we need to invest in understanding the political economy of different sectors; (2) we need new institutional arrangements that function within increasing complexity, cutting across sectoral silos and sovereign boundaries; (3) top down approaches for resources management will not succeed without bottom-up efforts to help people improve their livelihoods and their capacity to adapt to increasing resource scarcity as well as to reduce unsustainable modes of production. Political will, as well as political skill, need visionary and strong leadership to bring opposing interests into balance to inform policy- making with scientific understanding, and to negotiate decisions that are socially accepted. Managing water effectively across a vast set of concerns requires equally vast coordination. Strong partnerships and knowledge creation and sharing are essential. Human civilization – we know- is a response to challenge. Certainly, water scarcity can be a source of conflict among competing users, particularly when combined with other factors of political or cultural tension. But it can also be an inducement to cooperation even in high tension areas. We believe that human civilization can find itself the resources to respond successfully to the many water challenges, and in the process make water a learning ground for building the expanded sense of community and sharing necessary to an increasingly interconnected world.

Water Governance and Management in Indus Basin - Challenges & Threats

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marium Sara Minhas Bandeali
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
The State ◽  
Indus Basin

Water governance and management are important challenges for the River Indus Basin in Pakistan. Water governance refers to social, political and economic factors that influence water management. The water scarcity and water security are a major concern for the state to control its water resources. The study aims to give Sindh water policy by exploring the challenges to Indus Basin in managing water resources and to identify opportunities Indus Basin can look to improve water management. Interviews were conducted from water experts and analysts having 5 years’ experience or more in the water sector of Pakistan through a semi-structured self-developed questionnaire using purposive sampling technique and transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings show that increasing population, climatic change and rising demand of water are major challenges Indus is facing and Indus with time is getting water-scarce therefore need strong institutions, civil society and legislatures to ensure equitable distribution of water and maintain the ecosystem. The study emphasizes that water governance and management are necessary for sustainable use of water. Pakistan, the water stress country needs to address ‘governance’ at a wider scale to solve problems in the Indus Basin for the livelihood of people. The research will benefit the state, water experts, institutions as well as civil society to promote efficient use of water in Indus Basin.

Collaboration platforms in water management

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. E. Hidaka ◽  
H. R. Kolar ◽  
R. P. Williams ◽  
P. G. Hartswick ◽  
S. B. Foong
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Effective Management ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
The World ◽  
Technical Architecture ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Collaboration Platforms

In many parts of the world, management of water resources and infrastructures is fragmented between agencies at multiple levels – state, provincial, and local – and sometimes between functions within individual agencies. Consequently it is often impossible to take a holistic view of the issues at hand to enable effective management of the resource or infrastructure – either because of the overhead of managing the coordination required, and/or because of politics between the different stakeholders. In their work for IBM, the authors created a concept of an information technology (IT)-enabled “collaboration platform” that integrates different water data sources with IT tools to enable multiple entities to maintain and share a “common operating picture.” This greatly assists with coordination and reduces politics to manageable levels. In this paper, the authors describe the collaboration platform and its benefits by reference to examples of such platforms in use, and propose a reference technical architecture for creating collaboration platforms.

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