Status: this preprint was under review for the journal HESS but the revision was not accepted.
Values in water management
Erik Mostert
Abstract. Values play a key role in water management and natural resources management more generally. They can be used by individuals, groups, organisations and whole societies to judge and justify actions. In addition, they can be enacted in practice and embodied in water institutions and infrastructure. Values can be seen as responses to the necessities of human existence and the need to live together and form functioning societies. Mechanisms that can explain their origin, effects and development include reciprocity, socialisation, formal and informal sanctioning, new information, and socio‒economic change. Depending on the type of value, different measurement methods can be used, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, Q methodology, content analysis of cultural texts such as newspaper articles, argumentation analysis and participant observation. The article recommends research at the level of social groups and organisations because of the large role these play in water management. Consequently, it is important to measure their values, including both their environmental values ‒ how they relate to their environment ‒ and their social values ‒ how they relate to each other.
Received: 28 May 2019 – Discussion started: 14 Jun 2019
Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this paper. While Copernicus Publications makes every effort to include appropriate place names, the final responsibility lies with the authors. Views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
Values play a key role in water management. This paper discusses how values can affect water management, how they emerge and how they change. In addition, it provides an overview of methods for actually measuring values. Given the importance of social groups and organisations in water management, the paper recommends to measure both their environmental values ‒ how they relate to their environment ‒ and their social values ‒ how they relate to each other.
Values play a key role in water management. This paper discusses how values can affect water...
- Printer-friendly version
- Supplement