Cities vs. agriculture: a review of intersectoral water re-allocation

Water demand management, or making better use of the water we have - as opposed to augmenting supply - is increasingly proposed as a way of mitigating water-scarcity problems. Moving water away from agriculture to uses with higher economic value is one of the main measures widely seen as desirable....

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Autores principales: Molle, Francois, Berkoff, J.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Wiley 2009
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40644
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author Molle, Francois
Berkoff, J.
author_browse Berkoff, J.
Molle, Francois
author_facet Molle, Francois
Berkoff, J.
author_sort Molle, Francois
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Water demand management, or making better use of the water we have - as opposed to augmenting supply - is increasingly proposed as a way of mitigating water-scarcity problems. Moving water away from agriculture to uses with higher economic value is one of the main measures widely seen as desirable. Sectoral "allocation stress? is seen as resulting from the disproportionate share, and inefficient use of water in the agricultural sector. This apparent misallocation is often attributed to the failure of government to allocate water rationally. This paper revisits this commonly-accepted wisdom and examines the nature of urban water scarcity, showing the importance of economic and political factors, shaped by incentives to decision-makers, and sometimes compounded by climatic conditions. It shows that cities' growth is not generally constrained by competition with agriculture. In general, rather than using a narrow financial criterion, cities select options that go along the "path of least resistance,? whereby economic, social and political costs are considered in conjunction. The question of allocation stress is thus reframed into an inquiry of how transfers effectively occur and can be made more effective.
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spelling CGSpace406442025-06-17T08:23:36Z Cities vs. agriculture: a review of intersectoral water re-allocation Molle, Francois Berkoff, J. water resources water allocation water supply economic aspects water market agriculture water use water productivity drought water transfer environmental effects Water demand management, or making better use of the water we have - as opposed to augmenting supply - is increasingly proposed as a way of mitigating water-scarcity problems. Moving water away from agriculture to uses with higher economic value is one of the main measures widely seen as desirable. Sectoral "allocation stress? is seen as resulting from the disproportionate share, and inefficient use of water in the agricultural sector. This apparent misallocation is often attributed to the failure of government to allocate water rationally. This paper revisits this commonly-accepted wisdom and examines the nature of urban water scarcity, showing the importance of economic and political factors, shaped by incentives to decision-makers, and sometimes compounded by climatic conditions. It shows that cities' growth is not generally constrained by competition with agriculture. In general, rather than using a narrow financial criterion, cities select options that go along the "path of least resistance,? whereby economic, social and political costs are considered in conjunction. The question of allocation stress is thus reframed into an inquiry of how transfers effectively occur and can be made more effective. 2009-02 2014-06-13T14:48:06Z 2014-06-13T14:48:06Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40644 en Limited Access Wiley Molle, Francois; Berkoff, J. 2009. Cities vs. agriculture: a review of intersectoral water re-allocation. Natural Resources Forum, 33(1):6-18. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-8947.2009.01204.x
spellingShingle water resources
water allocation
water supply
economic aspects
water market
agriculture
water use
water productivity
drought
water transfer
environmental effects
Molle, Francois
Berkoff, J.
Cities vs. agriculture: a review of intersectoral water re-allocation
title Cities vs. agriculture: a review of intersectoral water re-allocation
title_full Cities vs. agriculture: a review of intersectoral water re-allocation
title_fullStr Cities vs. agriculture: a review of intersectoral water re-allocation
title_full_unstemmed Cities vs. agriculture: a review of intersectoral water re-allocation
title_short Cities vs. agriculture: a review of intersectoral water re-allocation
title_sort cities vs agriculture a review of intersectoral water re allocation
topic water resources
water allocation
water supply
economic aspects
water market
agriculture
water use
water productivity
drought
water transfer
environmental effects
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40644
work_keys_str_mv AT mollefrancois citiesvsagricultureareviewofintersectoralwaterreallocation
AT berkoffj citiesvsagricultureareviewofintersectoralwaterreallocation