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Using Policy and Regulatory Frameworks to Facilitate Water Transitions

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  • Lara Werbeloff

    (Monash University
    Monash University)

  • Rebekah R. Brown

    (Monash University)

Abstract

There are persistent calls across policy, industry and academia for urban water transitions in order to deliver increased sustainability, liveability and resilience. However, realisation of such transformational change is difficult, and there are a number of undesirable or unsuccessful transition trajectories that can manifest. Drawing on a contemporary stormwater quality management transition in South-East Queensland, Australia, this qualitative research paper provides an empirical exploration of a transition in struggle. The paper examines why and how this transition trajectory unfolded, focusing specifically on the evolution of culture, structure and practice changes from the 1970s to the present-day. The paper makes two scholarly contributions, firstly confirming the dynamic nature of transformational change and indicating the need to design transition initiatives across the culture, structure and practice domains to co-evolve and thereby build a robust and mutually reinforcing transition foundation. The results also reveal the critical role of regulation in providing a safety net for the transition and enabling continued progress even when commitment to policy goals wavers. These results also provide practical insight for practitioners engaged in the implementation of transition processes, and reveal the need for transition advocates to deliberately and proactively engage with regulatory frameworks to embed a novel practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Lara Werbeloff & Rebekah R. Brown, 2016. "Using Policy and Regulatory Frameworks to Facilitate Water Transitions," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(11), pages 3653-3669, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:30:y:2016:i:11:d:10.1007_s11269-016-1379-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-016-1379-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    9. Rebekah Brown & Richard Ashley & Megan Farrelly, 2011. "Political and Professional Agency Entrapment: An Agenda for Urban Water Research," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(15), pages 4037-4050, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Christoph Brodnik & Rebekah Brown & Chris Cocklin, 2017. "The Institutional Dynamics of Stability and Practice Change: The Urban Water Management Sector of Australia (1970–2015)," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(7), pages 2299-2314, May.
    2. Claudia Pahl-Wostl, 2017. "An Evolutionary Perspective on Water Governance: From Understanding to Transformation," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(10), pages 2917-2932, August.

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