Toward Sustainable Water Governance? Taking Stock of Paradigms, Practices, and Sustainability Outcomes
Bilalova, Shahana (Leuphana University Lüneburg (Germany))
Newig, Jens (Leuphana University Lüneburg (Germany))
Villamayor Tomás, Sergio (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)

Date:	2024
Abstract:	Governance is key to ensuring the sustainability of water systems in the long run. With the recognition of the complexities inherent in governing water resources, new and diverse governance models have started to emerge and be diffused to various contexts. This systematic review explores 223 cases from 165 studies on water governance and sustainability. We assess the cases based on water governance paradigms and how these paradigms relate to governance characteristics, water-related problématiques, and sustainability outcomes. Our results indicate a lack of knowledge cumulation and patterns connecting problématiques (e. g. , "groundwater exploitation in agriculture") and paradigms (e. g. , "community-based management"). We found that the "integrated approach to water management" was the most common paradigm, and paradigms might manifest with various governance characteristics, some of which may not fully align with the paradigm's fundamental principles. While certain paradigms, such as "integrated approach to water management," "participatory and collaborative governance," and "community-based management," are mostly associated with better sustainability outcomes, these successes should be interpreted cautiously due to the context-sensitive nature of paradigms and potential biases in the reviewed studies. These findings provide a basis for further diagnostic work and suggest the need for more nuanced approaches to water governance and sustainability.
Grants:	European Commission 861509
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article de revisió ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Effectiveness ; Review ; Sustainability outcomes ; Water governance paradigms ; Water governance traits ; SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation ; SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Published in:	Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water, Vol. 12, Issue 1 (January/February 2024) , art. e1762, ISSN 2049-1948

DOI: 10.1002/wat2.1762

12 p, 2.8 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles