Articles | Volume 19, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-675-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-675-2015
Research article
 | 
03 Feb 2015
Research article |  | 03 Feb 2015

Protecting environmental flows through enhanced water licensing and water markets

T. Erfani, O. Binions, and J. J. Harou

Related authors

Balancing ecosystem services with energy and food security – Assessing trade-offs from reservoir operation and irrigation investments in Kenya's Tana Basin
A. P. Hurford and J. J. Harou
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 3259–3277, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-3259-2014,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-3259-2014, 2014

Related subject area

Subject: Water Resources Management | Techniques and Approaches: Modelling approaches
An investigation of anthropogenic influences on hydrologic connectivity using model stress tests
Amelie Herzog, Jost Hellwig, and Kerstin Stahl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4065–4083, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4065-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4065-2024, 2024
Short summary
The H2Ours game to explore water use, resources and sustainability: connecting issues in two landscapes in Indonesia
Lisa Tanika, Rika Ratna Sari, Arief Lukman Hakim, Meine van Noordwijk, Marielos Peña-Claros, Beria Leimona, Edi Purwanto, and Erika N. Speelman
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3807–3835, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3807-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3807-2024, 2024
Short summary
Drainage assessment of irrigation districts: on the precision and accuracy of four parsimonious models
Pierre Laluet, Luis Olivera-Guerra, Víctor Altés, Vincent Rivalland, Alexis Jeantet, Julien Tournebize, Omar Cenobio-Cruz, Anaïs Barella-Ortiz, Pere Quintana-Seguí, Josep Maria Villar, and Olivier Merlin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3695–3716, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3695-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3695-2024, 2024
Short summary
Impact of reservoir evaporation on future water availability in north-eastern Brazil: a multi-scenario assessment
Gláuber Pontes Rodrigues, Arlena Brosinsky, Ítalo Sampaio Rodrigues, George Leite Mamede, and José Carlos de Araújo
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3243–3260, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3243-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3243-2024, 2024
Short summary
How economically and environmentally viable are multiple dams in the upper Cauvery Basin, India? A hydro-economic analysis using a landscape-based hydrological model
Anjana Ekka, Yong Jiang, Saket Pande, and Pieter van der Zaag
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3219–3241, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3219-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3219-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Acreman, M.: Linking science and decision-making: features and experience from environmental river flow setting, Environ. Modell. Softw., 20, 99–109, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2003.08.019, 2005.
Acreman, M. C. and Dunbar, M. J.: Defining environmental river flow requirements – a review, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 8, 861–876, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-8-861-2004, 2004.
Acreman, M. C. and Ferguson, A. J. D.: Environmental flows and the European Water Framework Directive, Freshwater Biol., 55, 32–48, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02181.x, 2010.
Arthington, A. H., Bunn, S. E., Poff, N. L., and Naiman, R. J.: The challenge of providing environmental flow rules to sustain river ecosystems, Ecol. Appl., 16, 1311–1318, 2006.
Bjornlund, H.: Efficient water market mechanism to cope with water scarcity, Int. J. Water Resour. Develop., 19, 553–567, 2003.
Download
Short summary
This paper simulates river basin water markets under two licensing regimes: fixed volumetric allowances and scalable licensing with dynamic environmental minimum flow requirements. The model is applied to the Great Ouse River basin in eastern England, with each water user from four main sectors represented individually. The results suggest that the scalable licensing system is more effective in protecting environmental flows, at the opportunity cost of 10-15% of economic benefits to water users.