IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/waterr/v27y2013i4p959-979.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Re-Framing Environmental Social Science Research for Sustainable Water Management in a Changing Climate

Author

Listed:
  • Rebecca Pearce
  • Suraje Dessai
  • Stewart Barr

Abstract

This paper considers aspects of environmental social science research in the UK and explores an obvious bias towards the development of instruments to manage demand as an adaptation to climate change, and consequently the predominance of interest in the customer from a demand-side perspective. In the case of water, this has resulted in an inappropriate mixing of individualist research methods designed to measure public perceptions of risk and water-based practices, with mass consumption data that cannot be specifically linked to the individual. This mixing has a tendency to reinforce a long-standing blame culture that drives interest in the development of behaviour change initiatives while the relatively unchallenged hydraulic mission to provide safe drinking water and sanitation progresses. With this in mind this paper reviews examples of water use research from California, Australia, and the UK and highlights the more effective routes to understanding water customers and developing behaviour change initiatives that utilise stages of change models and grounded techniques incorporating qualitative and quantitative data from individual sources. A secondary aim is to argue for re-framing the relations between various actors in a changing climate to allow the development of new policy approaches, learning, and openness, from industry, regulators, and customers, based on new theories from the field. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca Pearce & Suraje Dessai & Stewart Barr, 2013. "Re-Framing Environmental Social Science Research for Sustainable Water Management in a Changing Climate," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(4), pages 959-979, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:27:y:2013:i:4:p:959-979
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-012-0184-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11269-012-0184-0
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11269-012-0184-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jensen, Jesper Ole, 2008. "Measuring consumption in households: Interpretations and strategies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1-2), pages 353-361, December.
    2. Suraje Dessai & Mike Hulme, 2004. "Does climate adaptation policy need probabilities?," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(2), pages 107-128, June.
    3. Turton, A. & Henwood, R., 2002. "Hydropolitics in the developing world: a southern African perspective," IWMI Books, Reports H030980, International Water Management Institute.
    4. Kallis, Giorgos, 2010. "Coevolution in water resource development: The vicious cycle of water supply and demand in Athens, Greece," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 796-809, February.
    5. Peter C. Reiss & Matthew W. White, 2008. "What changes energy consumption? Prices and public pressures," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 39(3), pages 636-663, September.
    6. Turton, A. & Henwood, R., 2002. "Hydropolitics in the developing world: a southern African perspective," IWMI Books, Reports H044409, International Water Management Institute.
    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. Helge Bormann & Jürgen Steinbrecher & Ingrid Althoff & Hubert Roth & Julian Baez & Carlos Frank & Mariana Gonzalez & Carlos Huenchuleo & Lisa Lugo & Ricardo Mata & Manuela M. Portela & José M. Reicher, 2016. "Recommendations for Capacity Development in Water Resources Engineering and Environmental Management in Latin America," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(10), pages 3409-3426, August.
    2. Dexter V. L. Hunt & Zeerak Shahab, 2021. "Sustainable Water Use Practices: Understanding and Awareness of Masters Level Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-29, September.
    3. Kimberly Bryan & Sarah Ward & Stewart Barr & David Butler, 2019. "Coping with Drought: Perceptions, Intentions and Decision-Stages of South West England Households," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 33(3), pages 1185-1202, February.

    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. Turpie, J.K. & Marais, C. & Blignaut, J.N., 2008. "The working for water programme: Evolution of a payments for ecosystem services mechanism that addresses both poverty and ecosystem service delivery in South Africa," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(4), pages 788-798, May.
    2. Molden, David & Sakthivadivel, Ramasamy & Samad, Madar & Burton, Martin, 2005. "Phases of river basin development: the need for adaptive institutions," Book Chapters,, International Water Management Institute.
    3. Inga Jacobs, 2012. "A community in the Orange: the development of a multi-level water governance framework in the Orange-Senqu River basin in Southern Africa," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 187-210, May.
    4. Mark Giordano & Diana Suhardiman & Jacob Peterson-Perlman, 2016. "Do hydrologic rigor and technological advance tell us more or less about transboundary water management?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 16(6), pages 815-831, December.
    5. Speelman, Stijn & D'Haese, Marijke F.C. & Buysse, Jeroen & D'Haese, Luc, 2007. "Technical efficiency of water use and its determinants, study at efficiencies in small-scale irrigation schemes in North-West Province, South Africa," 106th Seminar, October 25-27, 2007, Montpellier, France 7904, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Anders Jägerskog and David Phillips, 2006. "Managing Trans-boundary Waters for Human Development," Human Development Occasional Papers (1992-2007) HDOCPA-2006-08, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    7. Malzbender, D. & Goldin, J. & Turton, A. & Earle, A., 2005. "Traditional water governance and South Africa\u2019s \u201cNational Water Act\u201d: Tension or cooperation?," IWMI Books, Reports H038755, International Water Management Institute.
    8. Svendsen, Mark & Wester, Philippus & Molle, Francois, 2005. "Managing river basins: an institutional perspective," Book Chapters,, International Water Management Institute.
    9. Bellie Sivakumar, 2014. "Planning and management of shared waters: hydropolitics and hydropsychology - two sides of the same coin," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 200-210, June.
    10. Molle, François & Wester, Philippus & Hirsch, Philip, 2010. "River basin closure: Processes, implications and responses," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(4), pages 569-577, April.
    11. Svendsen, Mark (ed.), 2005. "Irrigation and river basin management: options for governance and institutions," IWMI Books, International Water Management Institute, number 138050.
    12. Castillo, G. E. & Namara, Regassa & Ravnborg, H. M. & Hanjra, M. A. & Smith, L. & Hussein, M. H. & Bene, Christopher & Cook, S. & Hirsch, D. & Polak, P. & Valee, Domitille & van Koppen, Barbara, 2007. "Reversing the flow: agricultural water management pathways for poverty reduction," Book Chapters,, International Water Management Institute.
    13. van Heerden, Jan H. & Blignaut, James & Horridge, Mark, 2008. "Integrated water and economic modelling of the impacts of water market instruments on the South African economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 105-116, May.
    14. Pieter Zaag, 2007. "Asymmetry and Equity in Water Resources Management; Critical Institutional Issues for Southern Africa," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 21(12), pages 1993-2004, December.
    15. Daniel Connell, 2010. "Managing Climate Variability in Australia, South Africa, United States and Spain," Centre for Water Economics, Environment and Policy Papers 1012, Centre for Water Economics, Environment and Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    16. Wester, P. & Scott, Christopher A. & Burton, Martin, 2005. "River basin closure and institutional change in Mexico’s Lerma-Chapala Basin," Book Chapters,, International Water Management Institute.
    17. E. Kistin & P. Ashton & A. Earle & D. Malzbender & M. Patrick & A. Turton, 2009. "An overview of the content and historical context of the international freshwater agreements that South Africa has entered into with neighbouring countries," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, February.
    18. Paula Lopes, 2012. "Governing Iberian Rivers: from bilateral management to common basin governance?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 251-268, September.
    19. Dik Roth & Jeroen Warner, 2008. "Virtual water: Virtuous impact? The unsteady state of virtual water," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 25(2), pages 257-270, June.
    20. Workman, Cassandra L. & Ureksoy, Heather, 2017. "Water insecurity in a syndemic context: Understanding the psycho-emotional stress of water insecurity in Lesotho, Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 52-60.

    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:spr:waterr:v:27:y:2013:i:4:p:959-979. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.