Participants and non-participants of place-based groups: An assessment of attitudes and implications for public participation in water resource management

Large rivers are particularly under pressure due to multiple uses which often have severe impacts on ecosystems, or water quality and flow. Conflicting aims and a lack of integration and cooperation in planning and management are not beneficial to sustainable management. Important elements of integrated river basin management (IRBM) include both water quality aspects and floodplain and flood risk management. On the other hand, land use and land use planning are also both of great importance for sustainable river management.

The implicit hydrologic dimensions of international efforts to mitigate climate change, specifically potential impacts of the Clean Development Mechanism-Afforestation/Reforestation (CDM-AR) provisions of the Kyoto Protocol (KP) on global, regional and local water cycles, are examined. The global impact of the redistribution of water use driven by agriculture and land use change, of which CDM-AR can be a contributing factor, is a major component of ongoing global change and climate change processes.

ILWIS for Windows is a Windows-based, integrated GIS and Remote Sensing application consisting of: (i) Display of raster and multiple vector maps in map windows; (ii) Display of tables in table windows; (iii) Interactive retrieval of attribute information, (iv) Image processing facilities, (v) Manipulation of maps in a Map Calculator; (vi) Manipulation of tables in a Table Calculator; (vii) GIS analysis tools and (viii) Script language to perform \'batch\' jobs. With Windows, you can start one operation and keep it running while you start one or more additional applications.

The concept of critical nutrient amounts (CNA) for a watershed was developed to address eutrophication in surface waters from diffuse (non-point) source pollution. CNA is defined as the maximum allowable applied or generated amount (AGA) of a nutrient from natural and human sources that can be emitted and still allow compliance with water quality standards.

Freshwater resources are becoming increasingly limited in many parts of the world, and decision makers are demanding new tools for monitoring water availability and rates of consumption. Remotely sensed thermal-infrared imagery collected by Landsat provides estimates of land-surface temperature that allow mapping of evapotranspiration (ET) at the spatial scales at which water is being used. This paper explores the utility of moderate-resolution thermal satellite imagery in water resource management.

Managing drought in agriculture has taken on growing importance as population growth and environmental concerns place increasing pressures on agricultural water use. One alternative for agricultural water resource management in areas of recurrent drought is allocation through market mechanisms. While past research has aimed to explain why farmers are reluctant to participate in already established water markets, this research seeks to identify the appropriate market mechanism given farmers' preexisting attitudes toward water markets.

An attempt is made here to shed light on how water legislation could address the climate change challenge. Although climate change legislation provides a framework for the integration of climate change issues into government policies on several topics, it does not cover water resources as such. Therefore, water legislation must provide for such integration. The challenge is to find a balance between well-defined water rights, duties and administrative functions on the one hand and, on the other, the flexibility required to respond to the vagaries of a changing climate.

Dutch peatlands have been subsiding due to peat decomposition, shrinkage and compression, since their reclamation in the 11th century. Currently, subsidence amounts to 1–2 cm/year. Water management in these areas is complex and costly, greenhouse gases are being emitted, and surface water quality is relatively poor. Regional and local authorities and landowners responsible for peatland management have recognized these problems. In addition, the Netherlands Royal Meteorological Institute predicts higher temperatures and drier summers, which both are expected to enhance peat decomposition.