Suchergebnisse

Data from a survey questionnaire and from water utility billing records are used to compare self-reported and actual water savings for 471 households during a conservation campaign. Self-reports are only weakly related to actual changes in water consumption. Errors are widespread, and not wholly random: The accuracy of self-reports increases with household socioeconomic status and with the extent of conservation behavior. The large and nonrandom error component makes self-reports questionable as a proxy for objective measures of overall water savings in conservation research. Because knowledge about water use is both generally low and related to conservation behavior, informational feedback may be a particularly effective strategy for increasing conservation. The effectiveness of this feedback may increase with social class, however.

ABSTRACTThis paper describes a pilot project, based upon a specific approach for encouraging effective water use in schools. The project included (a) constructing two low‐cost sewage‐treatment plants for irrigation water re‐use in two schools, and (b) conducting an awareness campaign for effective water use in fifteen schools in the Jenin rural area. Data show that the campaign increased the pupils' knowledge of water and positively impacted on attitudes and practices.Statistical analysis demonstrates that good knowledge and positive attitudes in students will result in improved effective water use. The schools with pilot sewage‐treatment plants for irrigation water re‐use benefited the most and encouraged students to modify their water‐use practices.

This book examines the politics of rural development with special reference to watershed development interventions in the desert province of Rajasthan in India. Watershed development (and rainwater harvesting) is one of the most significant rural development interventions in rainfed areas of India since the early 1990s. A range of developmental actors including the state watershed department, international donors, NGOs and grassroots organisations are involved in sponsoring watershed development projects. Using multi-sited ethnography and conversational interviews with the deliverers as well as recipients of development, the book compares and contrasts the watershed interventions of the state and two different kinds of NGOs in Rajasthan. While conventional studies on watershed development have focused on the evaluation of 'success' or 'failure' of particular projects, whether implemented by the state or NGOs, the book moves beyond this narrow analytical gaze to look at the roles, agendas and interests of multiple development agencies, often partnering together and sometimes competing with each other as part of, what the author calls, the 'watershed development regime'. Taking cue from watershed development and water conservation projects over the last two decades, the book engages with the larger question of 'how' of delivering development. It examines the complex processes of cooperation, competition, negotiations, contestations and conflicts between different stakeholders, including the agents of development and differently positioned rural social groups in the context of Rajasthan. The book demonstrates that the recent interventions in watershed development and rainwater harvesting have considerably shaped the politics of development in Rajasthan in a number of ways: by becoming a site for the remaking of the 'state' and its internal relations, by disturbing the local hegemony in the countryside, by creating new relations of patronage between diverse agents and recipients of development, by increasing the associational capacity as well as creating new conflicts (intra and inter village), and by initiating competition and cooperation between the various agents of development over control of local resources and power.

This book examines the politics of rural development with special reference to watershed development interventions in the desert province of Rajasthan in India. Watershed development (and rainwater harvesting) is one of the most significant rural development interventions in rainfed areas of India since the early 1990s. A range of developmental actors including the state watershed department, international donors, NGOs and grassroots organisations are involved in sponsoring watershed development projects. Using multi-sited ethnography and conversational interviews with the deliverers as well as recipients of development, the book compares and contrasts the watershed interventions of the state and two different kinds of NGOs in Rajasthan. While conventional studies on watershed development have focused on the evaluation of 'success' or 'failure' of particular projects, whether implemented by the state or NGOs, the book moves beyond this narrow analytical gaze to look at the roles, agendas and interests of multiple development agencies, often partnering together and sometimes competing with each other as part of, what the author calls, the 'watershed development regime'. Taking cue from watershed development and water conservation projects over the last two decades, the book engages with the larger question of 'how' of delivering development. It examines the complex processes of cooperation, competition, negotiations, contestations and conflicts between different stakeholders, including the agents of development and differently positioned rural social groups in the context of Rajasthan. The book demonstrates that the recent interventions in watershed development and rainwater harvesting have considerably shaped the politics of development in Rajasthan in a number of ways: by becoming a site for the remaking of the 'state' and its internal relations, by disturbing the local hegemony in the countryside, by creating new relations of patronage between diverse agents and recipients of development, by increasing the associational capacity as well as creating new conflicts (intra and inter village), and by initiating competition and cooperation between the various agents of development over control of local resources and power

AbstractThis paper presents the results of investigations into the attitudes to the environmental risk posed by salt water intrusion into underground aquifers in the south‐eastern United States. Also investigated is whether individuals have adopted water conservation practices in light of the salt water intrusion threat. Both bivariate analysis and results from logistic regression are presented. It is shown that while a majority of respondents agree that salt water intrusion is a serious threat to the region's water supply, only a small proportion of residents practise conservation on a regular basis. It is suggested that state and local government provide incentives for residents to change their water‐use technology, which might be more effective than price mechanisms.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to performance measure certification and travel expenditures of the Soil and Water Conservation Board.

Water scarcity is a global concern. Even in non-drought environments the political, economic and environmental costs of developing new water resources may favour conservation. Recent CCP research for Anglian Water reviews the effectiveness of two demand-side interventions to reduce residential water consumption: Increasing Block Tariffs (IBTs) and behavioural interventions.

This innovative interdisciplinary study focuses on the history, science, and policy of tree planting and water conservation in South Africa. South Africa's forestry sector has sat—often controversially—at the crossroads of policy and scientific debates regarding water conservation, economic development, and biodiversity protection. Bennett and Kruger show how debates about the hydrological impact of exotic tree planting in South Africa shaped the development of modern scientific ideas and state policies relating to timber plantations, water conservation, invasive species control, and biodiversity management within South Africa as well as elsewhere in the world. Forestry and Water Conservation in South Africa shows how scientific research on the impact of exotic and native vegetation led to the development of a comprehensive national policy for conserving water, producing timber, and protecting indigenous species from invasive alien plants. Policies and laws relating to forests and water began to change in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a result of political and administrative changes within South Africa. This book suggests that the country's contemporary policies towards timber plantations, guided by the National Water Act of 1998, need to be reconsidered in light of the authors' findings. Bennett and Kruger also call for more interdisciplinary research and greater emphasis on integrated policies and management plans for forestry, invasive alien plants, water conservation, and biodiversity preservation.

Presented at Irrigated agriculture responds to water use challenges - strategies for success: USCID water management conference held on April 3-6, 2012 in Austin, Texas. ; Includes bibliographical references. ; Population growth and climate variability are increasing pressures on limited water resources, and extensive collaboration is needed to develop long-term working solutions to this complex issue. Agriculture consumes an estimated 90 percent of available water resources in the western U.S., and future water needs for an expanding urban population will likely come from agriculture. Therefore, it is increasingly urgent for farmers, water managers, extension agents, and policy-makers to understand agricultural water conservation methodology, technology, and policy to make informed management decisions. Reliable information on the subject is often not readily available to water users, especially outside of the academic and government communities. The USDA-NIFA Northern Plains and Mountains Regional Water Team (NPM) has addressed the need for increased knowledge, understanding and adoption of agricultural water conservation through an innovative web-based project. The Agricultural Water Conservation Clearinghouse (AWCC) seeks to join communities of practice to collaboratively address the complex issues of agricultural water use. The AWCC is designed as a comprehensive resource for the latest news, research, literature and tools related to agricultural water conservation. The focal point of the AWCC is a library that contains references to published materials populated by Extension specialists, research scientists, and educators, providing a refined bibliographic review of agriculture water conservation grey literature. The Library encompass over 3,600 entries of refereed journal articles, books, reports, theses and dissertations, and conference proceedings. The AWCC has been searched by over 21,000 users since it was unveiled in 2008 and participation continues to grow.

AbstractA growing number of studies have linked mindfulness with the adoption of environmentally friendly behaviors. We aim to contribute to this emergent research by putting forward a model in which the relationship between mindfulness and a specific pro‐environmental behavior, water conservation, is indirect. In this pursuit, we draw on the hierarchical model for the influence of psychological characteristics on individuals' behaviors. We propose that the relationship between mindfulness and water conservation is mediated by environmental beliefs, namely water utilitarian beliefs, and consumer abilities, specifically water‐related perceived consumer effectiveness. To collect the data, we relied on a pretested self‐report questionnaire that was distributed in a Portuguese municipality. We retained the responses from 876 individuals, for a net response rate of 54.8%. The research model was tested with structural equation modeling. The results indicate that mindfulness is negatively related to water utilitarian beliefs, that these are negatively related to perceived consumer effectiveness, which, in turn, is positively associated with water conservation behavior. In addition to these direct relationships, the results show that mindfulness is indirectly related to water conservation behavior and to perceived consumer effectiveness, and that water utilitarian beliefs are indirectly related to water conservation behavior. These novel results are used to derive managerial implications.