More than just a human right: water challenges in the Chilean constitutional convention

The Chilean social outburst was politically channeled into the drafting of a new constitution. The country is currently facing a mega-drought and therefore one of the key constitutional debates is water property and management.

Multiple Images Improve Lake CDOM Estimation: Building Better Landsat 8 Empirical Algorithms across Southern Canada

Coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is an important water property for lake management. Remote sensing using empirical algorithms has been used to estimate CDOM, with previous studies relying on coordinated field campaigns that coincided with satellite overpass. However, this requirement reduces the maximum possible sample size for model calibration. New satellites and advances in cloud computing platforms offer opportunities to revisit assumptions about methods used for empirical algorithm calibration. Here, we explore the opportunities and limits of using median values of Landsat 8 satellite images across southern Canada to estimate CDOM. We compare models created using an expansive view of satellite image availability with those emphasizing a tight timing between the date of field sampling and the date of satellite overpass. Models trained on median band values from across multiple summer seasons performed better (adjusted R2 = 0.70, N = 233) than models for which imagery was constrained to a 30-day time window (adjusted R2 = 0.45). Model fit improved rapidly when incorporating more images, producing a model at a national scale that performed comparably to others found in more limited spatial extents. This research indicated that dense satellite imagery holds new promise for understanding relationships between in situ CDOM and satellite reflectance data across large areas.

Scalability of Water Property Measurements in Space and Time on a Brackish Archipelago Coast

Our paper aims at advancing global change management in marine archipelago environments. Water properties vary along temporal and vertical gradients, and studies indicate that these patterns may be site-specific, i.e., they may vary at local or regional scales. Understanding these complex processes is crucial for designing environmental monitoring campaigns or assessing the scalability of their results. To our knowledge, the four-dimensional (temporal, vertical and horizontal) patterns of water quality have not been statistically quantified. In this paper, we partition the variation in four key water property variables into temporal, vertical and horizontal dimensions, by utilising a unique pre-existing high-density dataset and multilevel regression modelling. The dataset comprised measurements of temperature, salinity, pH and chlorophyll-a concentration, sampled eight times from April to October on the SW Finnish archipelago coast. All variables were sampled along the depth gradient and at local (102 m) and regional scales (104 m) at 20 sites. All measured variables varied significantly along the temporal and vertical gradients, and the overall levels, temporal patterns and vertical gradients of these variables were significantly site-dependent. Our study confirms that many water properties, especially chlorophyll-a concentration, show high four-dimensional variability in the complex archipelago environment. Thus, studies on the regional dynamics of archipelago water properties call for a high sampling density in time, along the vertical gradient, and in space.

The Role of Porosity on the Mechanical Resistance of the Rock of a Monument: The Case of the Punic Caves in El Haouaria

This paper aims to investigate experimentally the role of the variable internal porosity on mechanical resistance and water retention curve as a main hydraulic property. The rock, object of our study, belongs to the caves of El Haouaria are located on the seacoast of the North East of Tunisia. Actually, the caves contain series of cracks with different types, which need a technical solution to improve the caves and avoid the collapse risk. This research might have the base issue of a technical solution So, experimental study include triaxial shear experiences and unconfined compression tests. These experimental tests were carried out in the laboratory by using several samples of rock. These samples are characterized by various types of porosity ranging nearly from 30% to 50% . Completely dried and different moisture water contents were first imposed on the rock samples, and then, separately, a series of tests were performed. The test results showed a significant effect of porosity on both retention water property and mechanical properties such as stiffness, compression and shear resistance. Moisture water content in the rock has an influence on its resistance and the successively imposed drying-wetting cycles was at the origin of porosity increase and consequently the environmental hydraulic were the main origin of the reduction of rock resistance. From this experimental investigation, the stability of the caves can only be studied through experiments. As shown above our work relied mainly on lab experiments. The stady of the cave stability passes necessarily by the study of the rock and the convenient improvement technique might be a solution to limit the disorders

From Sharing the Burden of Scarcity to Markets: Ill-Fitting Water Property Rights and the Pressure of Economic Transition in South Asia

In this paper, we consider the process of transition from an equitable distribution of water to support semi-subsistence outcomes to market-oriented agriculture. We examine the stresses placed on water institutions as farmers adjust production to become more market-oriented and consider the relationship between farmers and irrigation officials under different scenarios. The paper is used to highlight some of the challenges pertaining to property rights but also considers the dangers of simply transposing solutions from full-market agriculture in developed economies to developing nations and countries in transition. In this context the role of Participatory Irrigation Management is scrutinized. We argue that this approach can potentially accommodate greater flexibility and market orientation in agriculture but ultimately the beneficiary-benefactor relationship between irrigation officials and farmers in parts of South Asia needs to be seriously challenged.

Institutional Analysis of Water Governance in Pakistan

Pakistan is said to be at the brink of being a water-scarce country current per capita water availability is 1090 m3 per year. This point to the water governance issues in Pakistan. Given these problems, a debate among scholars and policymakers is what governance model should Pakistan adopt to manage its water resources effectively. A few of them are a proponent of privatization of water, while others argue that traditional warabandi can still be an effective way to manage the water if certain loopholes in the system can be addressed. In this paper, we discuss both models and analysis with institutional theories of (water) property rights and relations, state authority, and neoliberalism to analyze the pros and cons of both models. In conclusion, we enlist the problems that persist in both models and provide recommendations for better governance of water in Pakistan.