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Lecture 12 - Water Resources, Rights, and Management

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  • Speaker: Dr. Kevin Grecksch - School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford

The Importance of Water in a Changing Climate

Always look at the bigger picture.

Water serves as the primary medium through which the impacts of climate change are manifested and experienced.

The question of whether trees should have legal standing has been explored in the context of granting legal rights to natural objects (Stone, 1972).

Several countries, including New Zealand, India, Australia, and Colombia, have granted legal rights to rivers.

However, the question of who acts as the legal guardian for these rivers remains a critical issue.

A paradox arises in the context of legal rights: the expansion of rights may inadvertently lead to diminished protection.

If the environment is to compete effectively in legal contexts, it must be provided with a level playing field.

Efforts to maximise the willingness to protect the environment should include strategies that connect people and places.

Governance of Water Resources

Governance refers to the steering mechanisms and innovative modes of coordination, regulation, cooperation, and management that operate across multiple levels. These mechanisms involve interdependent actors from politics, the economy, and civil society, with the goal of making binding political decisions through negotiation (Grecksch, 2014, 2023).

Governance represents a shift from the traditional top-down model to a more inclusive approach characterised by the transition from government to governance.

The role of non-state actors in governance is increasingly significant.

New and flexible forms of negotiation and mechanisms are emerging.

Questions regarding stakeholder access and legitimacy remain critical.

However, this does not imply a withdrawal of the state from governance processes.

Governance is characterised by ambiguity, conflicts, uncertainties, unintended consequences, and a high level of required coordination.

Normative versus analytical approaches to governance.

Climate Change and Water

  • Climate change is not merely an environmental issue but a profound societal challenge.
  • Water serves as the primary medium through which the impacts of climate change are manifested and will continue to be experienced (IPCC, 2007).
  • Water is a global issue that must be addressed at regional and local levels, and it is inherently cross-sectoral in nature.

Key Challenges in Water Governance

  • The dichotomy between high-politics and low-politics issues
  • Population growth
  • Rapid urbanisation
  • Increasing water demand
  • Climate change
  • Land use change
  • Uncertainty

Water Governance in the UK

The primary drivers include population growth, increasing water demand, climate change, and aging infrastructure.

Economic Dimensions of Water Management

What are the visible and hidden economic implications of the water contained in this bottle?

  • Water is a global issue that must be addressed at both regional and local levels, and it is inherently cross-sectoral in nature.