Download or read book Evaluating the Potential for Low Impact Development to Mitigate Impacts of Urbanization on Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems Using MIKE SHE written by Peter Andrew Dekker and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Low impact Development written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book An Evaluation of Policy Instruments for Sustainable Groundwater Management written by Ellen Marie Bruno and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many groundwater basins worldwide have seen significant reductions in the water table over time, and this is increasingly problematic in the face of climate change. Climate change is expected to cause more variability in precipitation and thus more variable surface water supplies. Groundwater acts as a buffer to fluctuations in surface water supplies, and is a critical resource in reducing the costs of climate change to agriculture. Concerns over groundwater management are particularly strong in California. The state passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2014 to provide a statewide framework for local agencies to manage groundwater. The act identifies overdrafted basins in the state and requires local groundwater agencies to correct groundwater overdraft conditions. Importantly, the groundwater law gives these local water agencies new authority to measure extraction, charge fees for pumping, and facilitate the trading of property rights for pumping. To inform water policy, I conduct an evaluation of the economic impacts of three policy instruments to manage groundwater resources: cap and trade, excise taxes, and command and control. In general, market-based instruments are more likely to obviate efficiency losses relative to command-and-control policies. Of these, cap and trade may be particularly appealing to water agencies that must eliminate overdraft because markets remove the uncertainty in reaching a management goal. However, market power in permit trading is a concern in this setting, and, if present, will reduce the efficiency gains from markets and potentially cause large distributional effects. In my evaluation of groundwater cap-and-trade, I account for the likely presence of market power in groundwater trading. Knowledge of how market power impacts the gains from trade is important for understanding the performance of markets relative to taxes in this setting. Since many water agencies restrict the export of groundwater outside basin boundaries, future groundwater markets will likely be spatially isolated. The exercise of market power may be a defining component of these markets due to the presence of large grower-shippers, the formation of coalitions among buyers and sellers, and/or competition among a few water agencies on a shared basin. To analyze the potential gains from trade in a groundwater permit market and evaluate the impacts of market power on both the magnitude and distribution of benefits, I develop a theoretical model of agricultural groundwater use and trading. The gains from trade in equilibrium are a function of five features of the model: the heterogeneity in demand for groundwater across users, the price elasticity of groundwater demand, the total allowable extraction on the basin, the allocation of permits among users, and the degree of market power. Using a flexible model framework that can reflect any degree of buyer or seller market power in the permit market, I identify the relationship between market power and the efficiency of water trading. I show that the overall efficiency impact of market power (by either buyers or sellers) is small, with a deadweight loss of at most 11% of the surplus under perfect competition. The distributional impacts, however, can be large. I evaluate the distributional impacts of market power by simulating how seller surplus and buyer surplus change as market structure varies. The flexible model of one-sided market power allows us to see how surplus measures change with any degree of market power. I show that the gains from trade accrue rapidly to those with market power. To evaluate the price sensitivity of groundwater users, I empirically estimate the price elasticity of groundwater demand with monthly, well-level groundwater extraction and groundwater price data. The data come from a basin in southern California that underlies the Coachella Valley, a major production region for citrus, dates, grapes, and vegetable row crops. Attaining reliable estimates of the groundwater demand elasticity has been challenging because micro-level data on groundwater extraction is uncommon and groundwater itself is typically free of charge. The Coachella Valley Water District is unique because it deploys a location-based volumetric pricing scheme for groundwater. Exploiting temporal and cross-sectional variation in groundwater extraction prices, I estimate a price elasticity that is the first of its kind to not rely on estimates of pumping cost for price. I report results from an OLS regression of the log of groundwater extraction on the log of prices, controlling for well and month fixed effects and conditioning on a rich array of observables, including weather, surface water use, and artificial groundwater recharge. With a statistically significant price elasticity point estimate of -0.17 that is robust to alternative specifications of the model, results suggest that increases in price modestly reduce extraction. This suggests that a tax on agricultural groundwater pumping will have small effects on basin-wide groundwater extraction, while significantly raising farming costs. Combining this estimate of the groundwater demand elasticity with estimates of the other model parameters, I estimate the gains from groundwater trade for the Coachella Valley. Results show that the gains from introducing water markets are large; economic surplus with trade is about 50% greater than under a command-and-control regime. Given an initial allocation of permits based on land holdings, the cost of compliance from a 20% reduction in basin-wide groundwater extraction can be reduced by 59% with trade. Furthermore, simulations show that the gains from trade remain large over a reasonable range of parameter values, meaning results are likely to generalize to other basins where trading might occur. The gains from trade remain large as the demand elasticity, the cap, the initial permit allocation, and the degree of heterogeneity in demand among users vary. Despite the potential efficiency losses due to market power, total economic surplus under cap-and-trade is still significantly larger than under command and control.In evaluating different policy instruments to manage groundwater for agriculture, my research contributes to the discussion of how best to manage this resource in groundwater-dependent regions around the world. In particular, I shed light on the role of markets to manage water in the presence of imperfect competition. Since the gains from groundwater trade are large even in the presence of market power, the potential of market power should not be used as an argument against the formation of markets.
Download or read book The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-04-30 with total page 755 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for assessing the science related to climate change. It provides policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of human-induced climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. This IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is the most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the observed and projected changes to the ocean and cryosphere and their associated impacts and risks, with a focus on resilience, risk management response options, and adaptation measures, considering both their potential and limitations. It brings together knowledge on physical and biogeochemical changes, the interplay with ecosystem changes, and the implications for human communities. It serves policymakers, decision makers, stakeholders, and all interested parties with unbiased, up-to-date, policy-relevant information. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Download or read book Watershed Models written by Vijay P. Singh and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2010-09-28 with total page 678 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Watershed modeling is at the heart of modern hydrology, supplying rich information that is vital to addressing resource planning, environmental, and social problems. Even in light of this important role, many books relegate the subject to a single chapter while books devoted to modeling focus only on a specific area of application. Recognizing the
Download or read book Climate Change and Groundwater written by Walter Dragoni and published by Geological Society of London. This book was released on 2008 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a general consensus that for the next few decades at least, the Earth will continue its warming. This will inevitably bring about serious environmental problems. For human society, the most severe will be those related to alterations of the hydrological cycle, which is already heavily influenced by human activities. Climate change will directly affect groundwater recharge, groundwater quality and the freshwater-seawater interface. The variations of groundwater storage inevitably entail a variety of geomorphological and engineering effects. In the areas where water resources are likely to diminish, groundwater will be one of the main solutions to prevent drought. In spite of its paramount importance, the issue of 'Climate Change and Groundwater' has been neglected. This volume presents some of the current understanding of the topic.
Download or read book Biogeochemistry of Wetlands written by K. Ramesh Reddy and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2022-09-10 with total page 926 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The globally important nature of wetland ecosystems has led to their increased protection and restoration as well as their use in engineered systems. Underpinning the beneficial functions of wetlands are a unique suite of physical, chemical, and biological processes that regulate elemental cycling in soils and the water column. This book provides an in-depth coverage of these wetland biogeochemical processes related to the cycling of macroelements including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur, secondary and trace elements, and toxic organic compounds. In this synthesis, the authors combine more than 100 years of experience studying wetlands and biogeochemistry to look inside the black box of elemental transformations in wetland ecosystems. This new edition is updated throughout to include more topics and provide an integrated view of the coupled nature of biogeochemical cycles in wetland systems. The influence of the elemental cycles is discussed at a range of scales in the context of environmental change including climate, sea level rise, and water quality. Frequent examples of key methods and major case studies are also included to help the reader extend the basic theories for application in their own system. Some of the major topics discussed are: Flooded soil and sediment characteristics Aerobic-anaerobic interfaces Redox chemistry in flooded soil and sediment systems Anaerobic microbial metabolism Plant adaptations to reducing conditions Regulators of organic matter decomposition and accretion Major nutrient sources and sinks Greenhouse gas production and emission Elemental flux processes Remediation of contaminated soils and sediments Coupled C-N-P-S processes Consequences of environmental change in wetlands# The book provides the foundation for a basic understanding of key biogeochemical processes and its applications to solve real world problems. It is detailed, but also assists the reader with box inserts, artfully designed diagrams, and summary tables all supported by numerous current references. This book is an excellent resource for senior undergraduates and graduate students studying ecosystem biogeochemistry with a focus in wetlands and aquatic systems.
Download or read book Pathways to Urban Sustainability written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-11-11 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cities have experienced an unprecedented rate of growth in the last decade. More than half the world's population lives in urban areas, with the U.S. percentage at 80 percent. Cities have captured more than 80 percent of the globe's economic activity and offered social mobility and economic prosperity to millions by clustering creative, innovative, and educated individuals and organizations. Clustering populations, however, can compound both positive and negative conditions, with many modern urban areas experiencing growing inequality, debility, and environmental degradation. The spread and continued growth of urban areas presents a number of concerns for a sustainable future, particularly if cities cannot adequately address the rise of poverty, hunger, resource consumption, and biodiversity loss in their borders. Intended as a comparative illustration of the types of urban sustainability pathways and subsequent lessons learned existing in urban areas, this study examines specific examples that cut across geographies and scales and that feature a range of urban sustainability challenges and opportunities for collaborative learning across metropolitan regions. It focuses on nine cities across the United States and Canada (Los Angeles, CA, New York City, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh, PA, Grand Rapids, MI, Flint, MI, Cedar Rapids, IA, Chattanooga, TN, and Vancouver, Canada), chosen to represent a variety of metropolitan regions, with consideration given to city size, proximity to coastal and other waterways, susceptibility to hazards, primary industry, and several other factors.
Download or read book Cities of the Future written by Vladimir Novotny and published by IWA Publishing. This book was released on 2007-09-04 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is developed from and includes the presentations of leading international experts and scholars in the 12-14 July, 2006 Wingspread Workshop. With urban waters as a focal point, this book will explore the links between urban water quality and hydrology, and the broader concepts of green cities and smart growth. It also addresses legal and social barriers to urban ecological sustainability and proposes practical ways to overcome those barriers. Cities of the Future features chapters containing visionary concepts on how to ensure that cities and their water resources become ecologically sustainable and are able to provide clean water for all beneficial uses. The book links North American and Worldwide experience and approaches. The book is primarily a professional reference aimed at a wide interdisciplinary audience, including universities, consultants, environmental advocacy groups and legal environmental professionals.
Download or read book Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States written by U.S. Global Change Research Program and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-08-24 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Summarizes the science of climate change and impacts on the United States, for the public and policymakers.
Download or read book Our Common Future written by and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Forest Hydrology written by Devendra Amatya and published by CABI. This book was released on 2016-09-14 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forests cover approximately 26% of the world's land surface area and represent a distinct biotic community. They interact with water and soil in a variety of ways, providing canopy surfaces which trap precipitation and allow evaporation back into the atmosphere, thus regulating how much water reaches the forest floor as through fall, as well as pull water from the soil for transpiration. The discipline "forest hydrology" has been developed throughout the 20th century. During that time human intervention in natural landscapes has increased, and land use and management practices have intensified. The book will be useful for graduate students, professionals, land managers, practitioners, and researchers with a good understanding of the basic principles of hydrology and hydrologic processes.
Download or read book Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-05-28 with total page 593 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. This Special Report explores the social as well as physical dimensions of weather- and climate-related disasters, considering opportunities for managing risks at local to international scales. SREX was approved and accepted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 18 November 2011 in Kampala, Uganda.
Download or read book Water for the Environment written by Avril Horne and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2017-08-16 with total page 760 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Water for the Environment: From Policy and Science to Implementation and Management provides a holistic view of environmental water management, offering clear links across disciplines that allow water managers to face mounting challenges. The book highlights current challenges and potential solutions, helping define the future direction for environmental water management. In addition, it includes a significant review of current literature and state of knowledge, providing a one-stop resource for environmental water managers. Presents a multidisciplinary approach that allows water managers to make connections across related disciplines, such as hydrology, ecology, law, and economics Links science to practice for environmental flow researchers and those that implement and manage environmental water on a daily basis Includes case studies to demonstrate key points and address implementation issues
Download or read book Urban Drainage Modeling written by Robert W. Brashear and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 970 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection contains 91 papers presented at a specialty symposium on urban drainage modeling at the World Water and Environmental Resources Congress, held in Orlando, Florida, May 20-24, 2001.
Download or read book Integrated Groundwater Management written by Anthony J Jakeman and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-08-05 with total page 756 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of this book is to document for the first time the dimensions and requirements of effective integrated groundwater management (IGM). Groundwater management is a formidable challenge, one that remains one of humanity’s foremost priorities. It has become a largely non-renewable resource that is overexploited in many parts of the world. In the 21st century, the issue moves from how to simply obtain the water we need to how we manage it sustainably for future generations, future economies, and future ecosystems. The focus then becomes one of understanding the drivers and current state of the groundwater resource, and restoring equilibrium to at-risk aquifers. Many interrelated dimensions, however, come to bear when trying to manage groundwater effectively. An integrated approach to groundwater necessarily involves many factors beyond the aquifer itself, such as surface water, water use, water quality, and ecohydrology. Moreover, the science by itself can only define the fundamental bounds of what is possible; effective IGM must also engage the wider community of stakeholders to develop and support policy and other socioeconomic tools needed to realize effective IGM. In order to demonstrate IGM, this book covers theory and principles, embracing: 1) an overview of the dimensions and requirements of groundwater management from an international perspective; 2) the scale of groundwater issues internationally and its links with other sectors, principally energy and climate change; 3) groundwater governance with regard to principles, instruments and institutions available for IGM; 4) biophysical constraints and the capacity and role of hydroecological and hydrogeological science including water quality concerns; and 5) necessary tools including models, data infrastructures, decision support systems and the management of uncertainty. Examples of effective, and failed, IGM are given. Throughout, the importance of the socioeconomic context that connects all effective IGM is emphasized. Taken as a whole, this work relates the many facets of effective IGM, from the catchment to global perspective.
Download or read book Adapting to Climate Change in Urban Areas written by David Satterthwaite and published by IIED. This book was released on 2007 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper discusses the possibilities and constraints for adaptation to climate change in urban areas in low- and middle-income nations. These contain a third of the world's population and a large proportion of the people and economic activities most at risk from sea-level rise and from the heatwaves, storms and floods whose frequency and/or intensity climate change is likely to increase. Section I outlines both the potentials for adaptation and the constraints. Section II discusses the scale of urban change. Section III considers direct and indirect impacts of climate change on urban areas and which nations, cities and population groups are particularly at risk. This highlights how prosperous, well-governed cities could generally adapt, but most of the world's urban population lives in cities or smaller urban centres ill-equipped for adaptation. A key part of adaptation concerns infrastructure and buildings - but much of the urban population in Africa, Asia and Latin America lack the infrastructure to adapt. Most international agencies have long refused to support urban programmes, especially those that address these problems. Section IV discusses innovations by urban governments and community organizations and in financial systems that address such problems, including the relevance of recent innovations in disaster-risk reduction for adaptation. It notes how few city and national governments are taking any action on adaptation. Section V discusses how local innovation in adaptation can be encouraged and supported at national scale, and the funding needed to support this. Section VI considers the mechanisms for financing this and the larger ethical challenges that achieving adaptation raises - especially the fact that most climate-change-related urban (and rural) risks are in low-income nations with the least adaptive capacity, including many that have contributed very little to greenhouse-gas emissions.
