Environmental and social values of river water: examples from the Menik Ganga, Sri Lanka
Many decisions on water allocation in river basins are made on economic grounds. Environmental and social benefits of water should also be considered in river basin management, and attempts should be made to value them similarly. This is not a straightforward task and very few studies have directly...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Artículo preliminar |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
International Water Management Institute
2007
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/39218 |
| _version_ | 1855529027074260992 |
|---|---|
| author | Dissanayake, Priyanka Smakhtin, Vladimir U. |
| author_browse | Dissanayake, Priyanka Smakhtin, Vladimir U. |
| author_facet | Dissanayake, Priyanka Smakhtin, Vladimir U. |
| author_sort | Dissanayake, Priyanka |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Many decisions on water allocation in river basins are made on economic grounds. Environmental and social benefits of water should also be considered in river basin management, and attempts should be made to value them similarly. This is not a straightforward task and very few studies have directly addressed this issue to date. In this paper, the Menik Ganga (River) in southern Sri Lanka is used as a case study to attempt and evaluate the costs and benefits of environmental water allocations, referred to as ?environmental flows? (EF). In this study, a broad definition of EF is used: the components of EF evaluated include the requirements of the religious festival, the requirements of the Yala National Park, the requirements of the Pilinnawa Coastal Wetland and the requirements of the Yala Fishery Management Area, off the coast. Almost all estimates are based on use values of EF such as marketed goods and recreation. For some components multiple estimates have been attempted. The religious EF requirement is estimated using the cost of alternative water supplies. The benefits of the EF requirement for the Yala National Park are estimated using the forgone value of tourism in the dry season and the benefits of avoiding the Human-Elephant Conflict. The Additional expenditure for the park in the dry season is also presented as another proxy estimate of the benefits of EF. The Benefit Transfer method was used for the Pilinnawa Wetland and grassland due to data constraints. The market prices of lobster and income of chank divers are used as proxies for the economic benefits of EF to the Yala Fishery Management Area. Finally, the cumulative value of the individual components is presented and discussed. The paper intends to stimulate discussion and further research on the complex subject of valuing the social and environmental benefits of water ? whether it is in the Menik Ganga, elsewhere in Sri Lanka or elsewhere in the world. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace39218 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2007 |
| publishDateRange | 2007 |
| publishDateSort | 2007 |
| publisher | International Water Management Institute |
| publisherStr | International Water Management Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace392182025-11-07T08:44:23Z Environmental and social values of river water: examples from the Menik Ganga, Sri Lanka Dissanayake, Priyanka Smakhtin, Vladimir U. rivers ecosystems wetlands wildlife fisheries water allocation water requirements case studies economic evaluation Many decisions on water allocation in river basins are made on economic grounds. Environmental and social benefits of water should also be considered in river basin management, and attempts should be made to value them similarly. This is not a straightforward task and very few studies have directly addressed this issue to date. In this paper, the Menik Ganga (River) in southern Sri Lanka is used as a case study to attempt and evaluate the costs and benefits of environmental water allocations, referred to as ?environmental flows? (EF). In this study, a broad definition of EF is used: the components of EF evaluated include the requirements of the religious festival, the requirements of the Yala National Park, the requirements of the Pilinnawa Coastal Wetland and the requirements of the Yala Fishery Management Area, off the coast. Almost all estimates are based on use values of EF such as marketed goods and recreation. For some components multiple estimates have been attempted. The religious EF requirement is estimated using the cost of alternative water supplies. The benefits of the EF requirement for the Yala National Park are estimated using the forgone value of tourism in the dry season and the benefits of avoiding the Human-Elephant Conflict. The Additional expenditure for the park in the dry season is also presented as another proxy estimate of the benefits of EF. The Benefit Transfer method was used for the Pilinnawa Wetland and grassland due to data constraints. The market prices of lobster and income of chank divers are used as proxies for the economic benefits of EF to the Yala Fishery Management Area. Finally, the cumulative value of the individual components is presented and discussed. The paper intends to stimulate discussion and further research on the complex subject of valuing the social and environmental benefits of water ? whether it is in the Menik Ganga, elsewhere in Sri Lanka or elsewhere in the world. 2007 2014-06-13T13:51:41Z 2014-06-13T13:51:41Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/39218 en Open Access application/pdf International Water Management Institute Dissanayake, Priyanka; Smakhtin, Vladimir. 2007. Environmental and social values of river water: examples from the Menik Ganga, Sri Lanka. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 15p. (IWMI Working Paper 121) https://hdl.handle.net/10568/39218 |
| spellingShingle | rivers ecosystems wetlands wildlife fisheries water allocation water requirements case studies economic evaluation Dissanayake, Priyanka Smakhtin, Vladimir U. Environmental and social values of river water: examples from the Menik Ganga, Sri Lanka |
| title | Environmental and social values of river water: examples from the Menik Ganga, Sri Lanka |
| title_full | Environmental and social values of river water: examples from the Menik Ganga, Sri Lanka |
| title_fullStr | Environmental and social values of river water: examples from the Menik Ganga, Sri Lanka |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental and social values of river water: examples from the Menik Ganga, Sri Lanka |
| title_short | Environmental and social values of river water: examples from the Menik Ganga, Sri Lanka |
| title_sort | environmental and social values of river water examples from the menik ganga sri lanka |
| topic | rivers ecosystems wetlands wildlife fisheries water allocation water requirements case studies economic evaluation |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/39218 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dissanayakepriyanka environmentalandsocialvaluesofriverwaterexamplesfromthemenikgangasrilanka AT smakhtinvladimiru environmentalandsocialvaluesofriverwaterexamplesfromthemenikgangasrilanka |