IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v4y2012i11p2922-2945d21214.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Governance, Sustainability and Decision Making in Water and Sanitation Management Systems

Author

Listed:
  • Martín Alejandro Iribarnegaray

    (Research Institute on Non-Conventional Energy Sources (INENCO), National University of Salta (UNSa), National Agency for the Advancement of Science and Technology (ANPCyT), Avenida Bolivia 5150, A4408FVY, Salta, Argentina)

  • Lucas Seghezzo

    (National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), INENCO—UNSa, Avenida Bolivia 5150, A4408FVY, Salta, Argentina)

Abstract

We explore the connections between the concepts of governance and sustainability and discuss their possible roles in water and sanitation management systems (WSMS). We see governance as a decision-making process that drives the relationship between social institutions and the public affairs of a given society. We understand sustainability as a combination of spatial, temporal, and personal aspects, and we argue that this definition is more comprehensive than the traditional triple bottom line of economy, environment, and society. We combined these two concepts into a new conceptual framework of “governance for sustainability” that is theoretically sound and arguably appropriate to understand local WSMS. To illustrate this framework, we developed and estimated a Sustainable Water Governance Index (SWGI) for the city of Salta, Argentina. This aggregated index was calculated with data from literature, information from the city’s water company and other local institutions, field visits, and interviews. The SWGI for Salta obtained an overall score of 49 on a 0–100 scale, which fell into the “danger” range. We discuss the advantages and limitations of the method and conclude that aggregated indices such as the SWGI, complemented with contextual information, can be a helpful decision-making tool to promote more sustainable WSMS.

Suggested Citation

  • Martín Alejandro Iribarnegaray & Lucas Seghezzo, 2012. "Governance, Sustainability and Decision Making in Water and Sanitation Management Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 4(11), pages 1-24, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:4:y:2012:i:11:p:2922-2945:d:21214
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/4/11/2922/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/4/11/2922/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. R. Maria Saleth & Ariel Dinar, 2004. "The Institutional Economics of Water," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3443.
    2. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    3. Andrew Dobson, 2007. "Environmental citizenship: towards sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(5), pages 276-285.
    4. Thomas Berger & Regina Birner & Nancy Mccarthy & JosÉ DíAz & Heidi Wittmer, 2007. "Capturing the complexity of water uses and water users within a multi-agent framework," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 21(1), pages 129-148, January.
    5. Annemarie van Zeijl-Rozema & Ron Cörvers & René Kemp & Pim Martens, 2008. "Governance for sustainable development: a framework," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(6), pages 410-421.
    6. Arrow, Kenneth & Bolin, Bert & Costanza, Robert & Dasgupta, Partha & Folke, Carl & Holling, C.S. & Jansson, Bengt-Owe & Levin, Simon & Mäler, Karl-Göran & Perrings, Charles & Pimentel, David, 1996. "Economic growth, carrying capacity, and the environment," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 104-110, February.
    7. Bohoslavsky, Juan Pablo & Justo, Juan Bautista, 2011. "Protección del derecho humano al agua y arbitrajes de inversión," Documentos de Proyectos 3839, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    8. Stefan Giljum & Thomas Hak & Friedrich Hinterberger & Jan Kovanda, 2005. "Environmental governance in the European Union: strategies and instruments for absolute decoupling," International Journal of Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(1/2), pages 31-46.
    9. Belton, Valerie, 1986. "A comparison of the analytic hierarchy process and a simple multi-attribute value function," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 7-21, July.
    10. Fiala, Nathan, 2008. "Measuring sustainability: Why the ecological footprint is bad economics and bad environmental science," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(4), pages 519-525, November.
    11. Rene Kemp & Saeed Parto & Robert B. Gibson, 2005. "Governance for sustainable development: moving from theory to practice," International Journal of Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(1/2), pages 12-30.
    12. Henk Folmer & H. L. Gabel (ed.), 2000. "Principles of Environmental and Resource Economics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1605.
    13. R. Maria Saleth & Ariel Dinar, 2004. "The Institutional Economics of Water : A Cross-Country Analysis of Institutions and Performance," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 14884.
    14. Joachim H. Spangenberg, 2009. "Sustainable development indicators: towards integrated systems as a tool for managing and monitoring a complex transition," International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(4), pages 318-337.
    15. Ivo Šlaus & Garry Jacobs, 2011. "Human Capital and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-58, January.
    16. Ness, Barry & Urbel-Piirsalu, Evelin & Anderberg, Stefan & Olsson, Lennart, 2007. "Categorising tools for sustainability assessment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 498-508, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rudy Vannevel & Peter L. M. Goethals, 2021. "Structural and Contentual Complexity in Water Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-46, August.
    2. Nemanja Backovi? & Vesna Mili?evi? & Adam Sofronijevi?, 2015. "Managing European Sustainable Cities," Proceedings of International Academic Conferences 1003969, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
    3. Martín Alejandro Iribarnegaray & María Laura Gatto D’Andrea & María Soledad Rodriguez-Alvarez & María Eugenia Hernández & Christian Brannstrom & Lucas Seghezzo, 2015. "From Indicators to Policies: Open Sustainability Assessment in the Water and Sanitation Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-21, October.
    4. Prosper Bazaanah, 2019. "Sustainability of Rural Communities Drinking Water Systems andLocal Development Projects in the Bole, West andCentral Gonja Districts of the Savannah Region, Ghana," Review of Social Sciences, LAR Center Press, vol. 4(1), pages 16-36, January.
    5. Luca Eufemia & Michelle Bonatti & Stefan Sieber & Barbara Schröter & Marcos A. Lana, 2020. "Mechanisms of Weak Governance in Grasslands and Wetlands of South America," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-23, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Martín Alejandro Iribarnegaray & María Laura Gatto D’Andrea & María Soledad Rodriguez-Alvarez & María Eugenia Hernández & Christian Brannstrom & Lucas Seghezzo, 2015. "From Indicators to Policies: Open Sustainability Assessment in the Water and Sanitation Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-21, October.
    2. Ali Bagheri & Peder Hjorth, 2007. "Planning for sustainable development: a paradigm shift towards a process-based approach," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(2), pages 83-96.
    3. Dinar, Ariel, 2012. "Economy-wide implications of direct and indirect policy interventions in the water sector: lessons from recent work and future research needs," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6068, The World Bank.
    4. Nunes, P.A.L.D. & Nijkamp, P., 2011. "Biodiversity: Economic perspectives," Serie Research Memoranda 0002, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    5. Toman, Michael & Pezzey, John C., 2002. "The Economics of Sustainability: A Review of Journal Articles," RFF Working Paper Series dp-02-03, Resources for the Future.
    6. Figge, Frank & Hahn, Tobias & Barkemeyer, Ralf, 2014. "The If, How and Where of assessing sustainable resource use," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 274-283.
    7. Lange, Steffen & Pohl, Johanna & Santarius, Tilman, 2020. "Digitalization and energy consumption. Does ICT reduce energy demand?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    8. Diana Tuomasjukka & Staffan Berg & Marcus Lindner, 2013. "Managing Sustainability of Fennoscandian Forests and Their Use by Law and/or Agreement: For Whom and Which Purpose?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-32, December.
    9. Georgiadou, Maria Christina & Hacking, Theophilus & Guthrie, Peter, 2012. "A conceptual framework for future-proofing the energy performance of buildings," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 145-155.
    10. Fitri Nurfatriani & Ramawati & Galih Kartika Sari & Heru Komarudin, 2019. "Optimization of Crude Palm Oil Fund to Support Smallholder Oil Palm Replanting in Reducing Deforestation in Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-16, September.
    11. Costantini, Valeria & Monni, Salvatore, 2008. "Environment, human development and economic growth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 867-880, February.
    12. Kevin Summers & Melissa McCullough & Elizabeth Smith & Maureen Gwinn & Fran Kremer & Mya Sjogren & Andrew Geller & Michael Slimak, 2014. "The Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research Program: The Environmental Protection Agency’s Research Approach to Assisting Community Decision-Making," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-13, January.
    13. Schilling, Markus & Chiang, Lichun, 2011. "The effect of natural resources on a sustainable development policy: The approach of non-sustainable externalities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 990-998, February.
    14. David I. Stern, 2017. "The environmental Kuznets curve after 25 years," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 7-28, April.
    15. Baumgärtner, Stefan & Quaas, Martin F., 2009. "Ecological-economic viability as a criterion of strong sustainability under uncertainty," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 2008-2020, May.
    16. Peura, Pekka, 2013. "From Malthus to sustainable energy—Theoretical orientations to reforming the energy sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 309-327.
    17. Mônica Bahia Schlee & Kenneth R. Tamminga & Vera Regina Tangari, 2012. "A Method for Gauging Landscape Change as a Prelude to Urban Watershed Regeneration: The Case of the Carioca River, Rio de Janeiro," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 4(9), pages 1-45, August.
    18. Narain, V., 2009. "Water rights system as a demand management option: potentials, constraints and prospects," IWMI Books, Reports H042163, International Water Management Institute.
    19. Wilson, R. Trevor, 2007. "Perceptions, practices, principles and policies in provision of livestock water in Africa," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 90(1-2), pages 1-12, May.
    20. Valeria Costantini & Chiara Martini, 2010. "A Modified Environmental Kuznets Curve for sustainable development assessment using panel data," International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 10(1/2), pages 84-122.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:4:y:2012:i:11:p:2922-2945:d:21214. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.