Water Resources Management

IEF member Mark Griffin submitted his dissertation for his MSc in Climate Change and Development for Distance Learning Students of the University of London, Centre for Development, Environment and Policy (CeDEP), SOAS University of London, on 23 April 2021. This is now in revision and will be available later.

Abstract

In 1977, Mar del Plata, Argentina, hosted the first International United Nations Conference on Freshwater Resources. This paper reviews water development publications and events since then, aiming to provide to individuals engaged in public discourse for community development an opportunity to make personal qualitative assessments of real water development progress.

The review notes a changing spatial focus, ranging from initial efforts to bring relief to “underdeveloped” poorer countries, to the more recent focus to maintain development momentum despite water-related complexities, challenges, and uncertainties at the global scale. The timeframe coincides with the Industrial Revolution’s “Great Acceleration” where multiple variables are coupled with economic development, population, resource consumption, and environmental degradation.

A broad view of progress is taken that requires a reframing of collected historical data to apply to the full timespan, and questions whether currently-used indicators for shorter timespans are still valid and credible. The broader reframed format may also be more appropriate for future assessment as global challenges become more acute. The relationship of freshwater development progress to sustainable development suggests that the broader reframed water progress indicators can serve as proxy for development progress overall.

The relevance of “progress” relates to trust, capacity-building, and genuine participation. Copious factual data, some of which seem contradictory, can be confusing to lay persons and to development professionals alike, which is why this paper uses a mixed-methods pragmatic approach to give the readers a toolbox for making personalized qualitative assessments, which in-turn relate to personal commitment for change.