•Societal values for water are analysed from 1843 to 2011 in Australia.•A transition from economic to environmental focus accelerated from the 1970s.•Policy emphasising environmental outcomes ...followed this transition from the 1990s.•Individual policy interventions are often triggered by Drought and other crises.
Societal values are generally seen as leading to changes in human decisions and behavior, but have not been addressed adequately in current water management, which is blind to changes in the social drivers for, or societal responses to, management decisions. This paper describes the evolution of the societal value of water resources in Australia over a period of 169 years. These values were classified into two groups: those supporting economic development versus those supporting environmental sustainability. The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper was used as the main data source to track the changes in the societal value of water resources. Content analysis was used to create a description of the evolution of these societal values. Mathematical regression analysis, in combination of transition theory, was used to determine the stages of transition of the societal value, and the co-evolved social-ecological framework was used to explain how the evolution of societal values interacted with water management policies and practices, and droughts. Key findings included that the transition of the societal value of water resources fitted the sigmoid curve – a conceptual S curve for the transition of social systems. Also, the transition of the societal value of water resources in Australia went through three stages: (1) pre-development (1900s–1962), when the societal value of water resources was dominated by economic development; (2) take-off (1963–1980), when the societal value of water resources reflected the increasing awareness of the environment due to the outbreak of pollution events; (3) acceleration (1981–2011), when the environment-oriented societal value of water resources combined with the Millennium Drought to trigger a package of policy initiatives and management practices focused on sustainable water resource use. The approach developed in this study provides a roadmap for the development of new disciplines across social and natural science.
Saline water irrigation can change soil environment, which thereby influence soil microbial process. Based on a field experiment, the shifts in soil microbial metabolic activities and community ...structures under five irrigation salinities were studied using Biolog and metagenomic methods in this study. The results demonstrated that microbial metabolic activities were greatly restrained in saline water irrigated soils, as average well color development (AWCD) reduced under all saline water irrigation treatments. Although no significant difference in carbon substrate utilization of all six categories was observed among Mild, Medium, High and Severe treatments, the consumption of sole carbon source was significantly varied. Especially, asparagine, galacturonic, putrescine and 4-benzoic acid played a decisive role in dominating the differences. Soil bacterial richness and diversity increased with irrigation salinity while the number of bacterial phyla decreased. Three significantly increased (Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Chloroflexi), two decreased (Planctomycetes, Bacteroidetes) and two irresponsive (Gemmatimonadetes and Acidobacteria) phyla were observed as the dominant groups in saline water irrigated soils. The results presented here could improve the understanding of the soil biological process under saline circumstance.
Display omitted
•Soil microbial activities were greatly restrained in saline water irrigated soils.•Significant differences in sole carbon source utilization were detected.•Soil bacterial richness and diversity increased with irrigation salinity.•The number of bacterial phyla decreased with irrigation salinity.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda 2030 represent an ambitious blueprint to reduce inequalities globally and achieve a sustainable future for all mankind. Meeting ...the SDGs for water requires an integrated approach to managing and allocating water resources, by involving all actors and stakeholders, and considering how water resources link different sectors of society. To date, water management practice is dominated by technocratic, scenario‐based approaches that may work well in the short term but can result in unintended consequences in the long term due to limited accounting of dynamic feedbacks between the natural, technical, and social dimensions of human‐water systems. The discipline of sociohydrology has an important role to play in informing policy by developing a generalizable understanding of phenomena that arise from interactions between water and human systems. To explain these phenomena, sociohydrology must address several scientific challenges to strengthen the field and broaden its scope. These include engagement with social scientists to accommodate social heterogeneity, power relations, trust, cultural beliefs, and cognitive biases, which strongly influence the way in which people alter, and adapt to, changing hydrological regimes. It also requires development of new methods to formulate and test alternative hypotheses for the explanation of emergent phenomena generated by feedbacks between water and society. Advancing sociohydrology in these ways therefore represents a major contribution toward meeting the targets set by the SDGs, the societal grand challenge of our time.
Plain Language Summary
Water crises that humanity faces are increasingly connected and are growing in complexity. As such, they require a more integrated approach in managing water resources,which involves all actors and stakeholders and considers how water resources link different sectors of society. Yet, water management practice is still dominated by technocratic approaches, which emphasize technical solutions. While these approaches may work in the short‐term, they often result in unintended consequences in the long‐term. Sociohydrology is developing a generalizable understanding of the interactions and feedbacks between natural,technical and social processes, which can improve water management practice. As such, advancing sociohydrology can contribute to address the global water crises and meet the water‐related targets defined by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
Key Points
The crises that humanity faces over access to a clean water supply are increasingly connected and are growing in complexity
Sociohydrology researchers must address several scientific challenges to strengthen basic knowledge and broaden the range of solvable problems
Advances in sociohydrology research are progress toward meeting the targets defined by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
Display omitted
•Streamflow declined, and centre of timing increased due to rainfall decline and river regulation.•Inevitable effects of climate change and river regulation would reduce water ...availability.•Reduced water storage in lower parts of river systems would compromise ecosystems health.•Management should include reversing the change in centre of timing as a primary objective.
Timing of delivery of environmental water is essential for restoring and conserving riverine ecosystems. However, change in the timing of occurrence of streamflow and its implications on environmental water allocation and river ecosystems are often ignored in current environmental water research and management. We adopted the centre of timing approach to analyse the change in the occurrence of streamflow due to climate change (through a change in rainfall) and river operations (flow regulation and diversion) in the Goulburn-Broken catchment, Victoria, Australia. It was found that annual streamflow in the catchment declined by an average of 47%, while centre of timing increased by an average of 36%. These changes were 52% attributable to rainfall decline and 48% to river regulation. A decline in annual streamflow (35%) and an increase in centre of timing (21%) across the Goulburn River would be observed by 2050 as an impact of climate change. Current management efforts should be directed at reversing the change in centre of timing to support the sustainable management of riverine systems. The Goulburn-Broken catchment is typical of managed catchments in many areas of the world with forecast rainfall reduction, and the findings are likely to be widely applicable.
Groundwater recharge is one of the important factors determining the
groundwater development potential of an area. Even though recharge plays a
key role in controlling groundwater system dynamics, ...much uncertainty remains
regarding the relationships between groundwater recharge and its governing
factors at a large scale. Therefore, this study aims to identify the most
influential factors of groundwater recharge, and to develop an empirical
model to estimate diffuse rainfall recharge at a global scale. Recharge
estimates reported in the literature from various parts of the world
(715 sites) were compiled and used in model building and testing exercises.
Unlike conventional recharge estimates from water balance, this study used a
multimodel inference approach and information theory to explain the
relationship between groundwater recharge and influential factors, and to predict
groundwater recharge at 0.5∘ resolution. The results show that
meteorological factors (precipitation and potential evapotranspiration) and
vegetation factors (land use and land cover) had the most predictive power
for recharge. According to the model, long-term global average annual
recharge (1981–2014) was 134 mm yr−1 with a prediction error ranging
from −8 to 10 mm yr−1 for 97.2 % of cases. The recharge estimates
presented in this study are unique and more reliable than the existing global
groundwater recharge estimates because of the extensive validation carried
out using both independent local estimates collated from the literature and
national statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In a water-scarce future driven by increased anthropogenic development, the results from
this study will aid in making informed decisions about groundwater potential
at a large scale.
•The total coal consumption cap reduces coal output.•The cap facilitates adjusting the structure of energy consumption.•The cap has significant positive effects on the protection of water ...resources.•Total coal consumption exceeds the coal mining scale constrained by total water use.•A holistic approach to the challenges China faces related to water is critical.
China’s coal-based energy supply inflicts destructive damage upon the ecological environment, though it has simultaneously safeguarded the rapid development of China’s economy in recent decades. To promote ecological recovery and accelerate the adjustment of its industrial structure, China is poised to fully implement a total coal consumption cap through the “13th Five-year Plan” (2016–2020). This study assesses the feasibility of this strategy from the perspective of water resources, exploring and predicting outcomes from 2012 to 2050. After first measuring the water resources demands for the life-cycle of coal, this study then analyzes the destructive effects on water resources from coal production through to consumption, before finally evaluating the water conservation synergy effects under different plans for capped coal consumption. The results reveal that implementing a total coal consumption cap could reduce the adverse effects on the water resources system due to coal mining, washing, conversion, and utilization by comprehensively promoting conservation and protection of water resources. The study directly compares the two cap strategies of “behave as usual” and “reinforced total consumption control,” finding that neither of these strategies can totally satisfy China’s existing requirements for water resources management. In future, China’s total coal consumption will exceed the feasible scale of coal mining as restrained by total water use limits, and the required quantity of water for conversion and utilization of coal will also exceed its water use limit. Therefore, to achieve coordinated progress between the development of the coal-related industry and sustainable utilization of water resources, the Chinese government urgently needs to further reinforce total coal consumption controls and actively popularize the application of water-saving technology. In addition, the study estimates the damage to water resources due to China’s coal consumption, determining the value of lost water resources per ton of coal consumption nationwide to be 52.76 yuan. If all of China’s coal enterprises could apply water-preserving mining technology and make full use of mine water for production, the loss of water resources nationwide per ton of coal consumption could be lowered to 40.91 yuan. Therefore, the study advocates the combination of a market price adjustment mechanism and a macro total control strategy to maximize the synergic benefits between energy and water resources in China.
Path coefficient, p test value and R2 value of policy influence ecosystem.
Display omitted
•Policy implementation is a key element of ecological governance.•Policy factors play a important role in ...the evolution of the Tianzhu ecosystem.•The adjustment of planting industry is the key to ecological improvement.•To strengthen the intensity of grazing and other animal husbandry policy research.
Policy is a key element of ecological governance, however, insufficient attention has been given to how different policies and regulations in a systematic way affect ecosystem processes and functions. This study evaluated the impact of ecological policies in the national key ecological functional areas (NKEFAs) since 1990, taking Tianzhu County as a case study. We first evaluated the change in policy intensity through quantitative analysis of policy texts, then analyzed the change in the ecosystems with carbon storage, habitat quality, ecosystem service and water conservation. Finally, the partial least squares (PLS) was used to quantify the effective path for and effect of policies on the ecosystem through adjustments in agriculture, animal husbandry and population. The results showed that policies have a significant direct impact on the agricultural planting industry, animal husbandry and population size and structure, and have a significant indirect impact on the whole ecosystem. The research demonstrated the usefulness of applying PLS-SEM and ecosystem function indicators to evaluate the impact of ecological governance policies on ecosystems in NKEFAs. The research can provide reference for the ecological policy making of NKEFAs.
Abstract
The needs and capacities to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) differ across regions and nations, but little research has been done to investigate their similarities and ...differences. Here, we proposed using SDG bundles (i.e. groups of regions with similar performances on all individual SDGs) to classify regions when assessing SDG progress and applied the method at the provincial level in China from 2000 to 2015. Five SDG bundles with distinct characteristics were identified. The dominant bundles changed from ‘poor performance for all SDGs’ in 2000 to ‘high scores for environmental and some social SDGs and intermediate scores for others’ and ‘low scores for environmental SDGs but high scores for others’ in 2015, indicating the overall improvement of China’s sustainable development level. However, no bundle had relatively high scores in all SDGs, implying that China has much work left to do. Changes in the SDG bundles across space and time were related to regional socioeconomic development, climate, and geographic conditions. This study sheds light on identifying regions’ strengths and weaknesses in achieving all SDGs, which can inform targeted sustainability actions for regions within certain SDG bundles and promote collaborations among regions with different bundles.
Flooding has become one of the most dangerous and expensive disasters due to urbanization and climate change. Tools for assessing flood impact are required to support the shift of flood mitigation ...management from post-disaster recovery and reconstruction to community-driven pre-disaster warning and preparation. This study aims to develop an integrated approach to spatially assess the economic and social losses and ecological gain and identify the geographical factors of locations with high impacts of floods in Brisbane using the datasets collected from both the 2011 and 2022 flood events. Water depth, inundated area, land cover, ecosystem service value, mortality, and morbidity were considered to assess flood impacts. It is found that downstream (above 23,500 m from the upper stream) riverside communities (within 800 m of the river) with low altitudes (below 15 m) are more likely to experience significant flood damage. Flood impacts have bell-shaped developments with elevation and direct distance to the upstream river source and an exponential decline with distances to the river. These findings have implications for formulating future urban land use and community-tailored mitigation strategies, particularly for flood warning and preparation.
In China, upper-level healthcare (ULHC) and lower-level healthcare (LLHC) provide different public medical and health services. Only when these two levels of healthcare resources are distributed ...equally and synergistically can the public's demands for healthcare be met fairly. Despite a number of previous studies having analysed the spatial distribution of healthcare and its determinants, few have evaluated the differences in spatial equity between ULHC and LLHC and investigated their institutional, geographical and socioeconomic influences and spillover effects. This study aims to bridge this gap by analysing panel data on the two levels of healthcare resources in 31 Chinese provinces covering the period 2003⁻2015 using Moran's
models and dynamic spatial Durbin panel models (DSDMs). The results indicate that, over the study period, although both levels of healthcare resources improved considerably in all regions, spatial disparities were large. The spatio-temporal characteristics of ULHC and LLHC differed, although both levels were relatively low to the north-west of the Hu Huanyong Line. DSDM analysis revealed direct and indirect effects at both short-and long-term scales for both levels of healthcare resources. Meanwhile, the influencing factors had different impacts on the different levels of healthcare resources. In general, long-term effects were greater for ULHC and short-term effects were greater for LLHC. The spillover effects of ULHC were more significant than those of LLHC. More specifically, industrial structure, traffic accessibility, government expenditure and family healthcare expenditure were the main determinants of ULHC, while industrial structure, urbanisation, topography, traffic accessibility, government expenditure and family healthcare expenditure were the main determinants of LLHC. These findings have important implications for policymakers seeking to optimize the availability of the two levels of healthcare resources.
PDF
