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In recent decades, governments in developing countries have experienced relentless pressure from key supranational finance providers (particularly the World Bank) to focus on the achievement of financial efficiency. This pressure persists despite evidence that basic institutions necessary for sustainable infrastructure and competitive commercial arrangements are often not present. This paper aims to examine the steering of urban water management in Ghana as it progressed through a first failed public-private partnership in this sector (from 2005 to 2011), and beyond to 2017. Throughout this 12-year period, the authors consider progress and barriers to the achievement of steering for sustainable development.

Publicly available documentation is examined through the lens of steering for sustainable development (Voß et al., 2007) to consider the challenges of urban water management between 2005 and 2017.

Progress towards a more sustainable approach to urban water management was achieved through greater democratic governance, public accountability and public engagement. This acted as a counter foil to power and affected improvements of knowledge and clarity of related goals. Effective sustainable management continued to be challenged, however, by on-going World Bank pressure to focus on financial efficiency.

The provision of a sustainable water supply continues to be a significant challenge for many developing countries, including Ghana. This study provides insights into how progress beyond crippling financial dependency might begin to be achieved.

Safe and sustainable water supply is critical for both the health and economic progress of citizens in developing countries such as Ghana. This study provides insight into the value of drawing from a broad range of stakeholders in seeking viable pathways towards those goals.

While water management challenges for developing countries have been significantly researched, particularly in the context of private financing arrangements, little empirical insight is provided into how governments can move forward with sustainable progress beyond the failure of such arrangements. Water management in Ghana beyond 2011 provides that unique context.

The study aims to explore institutional adaptation for sustainable water resources management at the local level in the context of increasing climate-related challenges in Zimbabwe using the case of a semi-arid area in the mid-Zambezi Valley, north of the country.

Inspired by the critical institutionalism approach, the study uses qualitative methods (i.e. key informant interviews, semi-structured interviews, community workshops and documentary review) to understand the role of different formal and informal water-related institutions vis-à-vis responding to climate-related challenges in the case study area, and how the identified institutions can improve their efforts in the context of national water and environmental policy and regulation frameworks. Thematic analysis was used for data analysis.

The study found that climatic challenges in the case study area, as in most of rural Africa, have raised the stakes in local water management with respect to regulating access to and balancing competing interests in, and demands for, water. It ultimately argues for the embracing of complexity thinking and flexibility in local water management as well as clear coordination of institutions across scales in the face of increasing climate-related challenges.

The study adds to case studies and evidence-based analyses focused on institutional alternatives for climate adaptation vis-à-vis water resources management in water-stressed rural African communities.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the issues faced by managers of inland waterways in the Southeastern USA as a guide for improvements to spill management information systems.

A survey was administered to a group of over 300 professionals representing multiple organizations involved in water quality management and/or spill response in the Southeast region of the USA to query their perceptions on leading demands and issues faced in management of inland waterways both on a daily basis and during spill response efforts.

Survey results indicated that communication is often the “weak link” in both water management and spill response activities, and that enhanced spill management information tools could serve as a valuable resource in addressing this problem. Display of spatial/visual information was deemed to be especially important to spill response personnel and should be included in the next generation of spill response systems.

The scope is limited to the Southeastern USA, but similar results would be expected in other regions where management of surface water is of concern.

In these trying economic times, the survey results serve to rank order decision‐support priorities to which available resources should be allocated and indicate areas of interest for improved support in both water resource management and spill response.

The paper provides the first documentation of the demands and decision‐support priorities of inland waterway resource managers and spill response personnel.

The purpose of this paper is to explore water management practices in four criteria – access to potable water; despoilment or pollution levels; grade of sanitation architecture; and grade of delivery architecture – in a variety of different Latin American and European nations to establish techniques that are currently been utilised in Europe that could improve water management in Latin America.

A systematic review of the available literature on water management in Europe and Latin America is performed to uncover differences and similarities in Latin American and European nations. The documents find are mostly recent, ranging from the last five years (2012-2016).

Some best practices from Europe cannot be applied in Latin America due to lack of funding. Fortunately, this is likely to change, as many Latin American nations’ economies are rapidly improving. Tentative recommendations include installing a system of pipeline that passes through all rural areas, and governments partnering with local businesses to provide sanitation, and regular sanitation and environmental inspections to minimise water pollution. It is also advisable for serious consideration to be given to achieving a measure of universality vis-à-vis water management standards across Latin America.

There is limited information in literature on the analysis of water management in Europe and Latin America, so this paper serves as a reference to fill the gaps, mainly in Latin America because that region is in development compared to European countries with advanced water systems.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive. It seeks first to determine whether its provisions align with modern thinking on integrated river basin management and second to assess the degree to which it has the potential to achieve legislative and inter‐agency integration throughout the Union.

This is a desktop study. The paper draws upon theories and definitions of integrated river basin management and internal integration in existing literature and then proceeds to examine the provisions of the Water Framework Directive in the light of the models identified.

The framework for river basin management in the Water Framework Directive does not fully match the modern approach to integrated river basin management. The directive is limited by its primary focus upon the single medium of water, and its consequent failure to fully address wider land use planning issues. It, therefore, also fails to achieve integration between all relevant legislative instruments. It provides a framework for stakeholder involvement that could potentially serve the goal of inter‐agency integration. However, due to the high level of discretion in the hands of member states, there is likely to be a substantial divergence of practice across the EU.

In assessing the Water Framework Directive against modern notions of river basin management and the directive's stated integrative aspirations, the paper informs implementation and practice in member states.

The purpose of this paper is to present a proposal for formulating a national water demand management policy for Jordan. The objective is to stimulate discussion on the development and adoption of a formal policy document.

The paper reviews data on water availability and use in Jordan. This is followed by a discussion of a number of policy objectives and elements.

The paper results in the formulation of a policy that should be further reviewed and made official by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation in Jordan.

The paper is a new source of information on the necessary elements of water policy.

The objective of this article is to propose a panel of management performance evaluation indicators at operator level. This panel would be the tool to be made available to an observatory that should be set up by regulation. The proposal comes at the right time given that Morocco is planning a major reform of the sector very soon. A framework law has already been promulgated for this purpose (Law 51-21 relating to the reform of public establishments).

The proposed panel is the result of (1) a review of the literature dealing with public management theories, in particular those relating to industrial and commercial public services and whose character is captive. The management of the latter requires a great deal of caution to preserve their economic balance and consequently their sustainability. (2) A review of experiences of countries is chosen because of contextual their similarities with Morocco like France having a similar legal background, Tunisia and Algeria chosen for geographical and economic similarities. The British experience is also discussed for what it represents as a liberal model in the management of public water and sanitation services, as opposed to the German model also studied and which stands as the only country where the management of public services has almost always been a communal prerogative. The analysis of these models has made it possible to identify management evaluation practices that could be adapted to the Moroccan context. (3) Research work by practitioners and reports from specialized international institutions (International Water Association [IWA]). (4) A critical analysis of a multitude of management and activity reports from 12 autonomous authorities and 4 private delegates covering 16 million inhabitants of the urban environment. A total of 15 indicators are developed. They aim to assess the effectiveness of management in terms of saving drinking water and preserving the natural environment from the pollution of water resources.

Approximately, 15 indicators for assessing water resource management in public water and sanitation services are proposed. These indicators relate to the efficiency of pipe networks, the performance of storage systems and losses in users' homes. Indicators specific to liquid sanitation systems, particularly with regard to the control of wastewater overflows into the public highway and their treatment before discharge into the natural environment, are also proposed.

The application of the results of this research could be confronted with its appropriation by the operators. Indeed, the investment involved in setting up the proposed evaluation system, as well as the conflict of interest that may arise in the process of formalizing and standardizing the system at the national level, may slow down the process of setting it up.

In practice, the implementation of a system for evaluating the performance of water resource management in public drinking water and liquid sanitation services would make it possible to optimize the volume of water to be mobilized. Substantial savings are expected both at the level of the resource itself and at the level of the investments that accompany the realization of the mobilization and distribution infrastructures. These savings will be very useful for the creation of other similar services and to serve more people.

The distribution of drinking water and liquid sanitation is a vital human need. These services are extremely captive. They are key factors in the socioeconomic development of the territory and the citizen. The impact is transversal and affects the lifestyle of the populations. On the one hand, it favors the sedentarization of the populations and on the other hand, preserves their health by fighting against the diseases of water origin. In addition, the comfort that it provides in the daily life of users is highly coveted when they are delivered in a modern way and arranged with modern technologies.

The regulation of public drinking water and liquid sanitation services in Morocco is the weakest link in the sector. The Ministry of the Interior is legally responsible for setting up a standard system for evaluating the management of these services to fill this gap (organic law 113-14 on municipalities). Unfortunately, this initiative is not yet underway. The opportunity to apply the results of this research is well timed. Morocco plans to launch a global reform of the sector starting in 2022–2023 (Law 50-21 on the reform of public institutions).

The purpose of this paper is to describe drinking water management in the 31 states and the capital of Mexico, its municipalities and the most populated boroughs.

Using a validated instrument with exploratory and confirmatory factorial analysis, this research with quantitative approach analyzes management factors such as coordination, responsiveness, financing, organizational design, training and staff capacity in a sample of 333 managers of drinking water in the country.

More than half of the managers qualified management as regular (55.55 percent). The entities with better management are Mexico City with high and medium values of 18.75 and 75.00 percent, Nuevo León with 10.00 and 70.00 percent and Yucatan with 10.00 and 30.00 percent, respectively. The lowest scores are concentrated in Oaxaca (74.07 percent), Guerrero (66.67 percent) and Puebla (50 percent). The rest of the federal entities fluctuate between the medium values.

There is limited information in literature on drinking water management description in Mexico, in its most populated municipalities and boroughs, because they have not conducted research that integrate variables of a statistically validated model, focused on critical factors of management in the country. The results allow conducting an analysis of the country’s entities for the state to strengthen its management.

This paper aims to develop a framework to examine corporate water reporting (CWR) that considers the context in emerging economies and determine if and how companies are addressing the distinct water-related challenges and opportunities that they face in any given location.

This study combines a concise profile of the context of water resources management in Peru with a review of CWR guidelines and thematic content analysis of water information in sustainability reports for 34 companies operating in Peru. These data are then used to inform the development of a CWR typology via the use of a cluster analysis complemented by within-case and cross-case qualitative analysis of companies.

This study highlights the incomplete nature of most CWR practices of companies in Peru, with an emphasis on internal firm operations. Where companies do provide information on water risk and stakeholder engagement, there is insufficient detail to provide a clear picture of contributions to sustainable water management at the local level. The main drivers for CWR in Peru appear to be pressure from international markets, regulation and other normative issues.

The findings indicate that companies need to place more emphasis on the local context when reporting on water risks and activities, which could be achieved through the use of CWR frameworks that integrate both international and sectoral CWR guidelines, along with indicators related to good water governance, water, sanitation and hygiene service delivery and the sustainable development goals, as together they provide a more comprehensive reflection of the broader challenges and opportunities related to corporate water management.

This paper presents the first framework specifically developed to evaluate CWR practices with consideration of the context of an emerging economy.

Water management is an emerging practice. This paper aims to propose a theoretical model of a corporate water management system (WMS) and empirically explores whether superior water management improves water use performance.

Our model of WMS consists of 10 structural elements. We draw on self-discipline theory to predict the results and use archival data from the Carbon Disclosure Project to measure and evaluate the overall quality and effectiveness of the water management of our sample companies.

Companies motivated to adopt self-discipline tend to proactively implement high-quality WMSs. However, further analyses suggest that water management without regulatory sanctions appears insufficient for reducing water usage, at least in the short term. Overall, this study reveals a clear and growing tendency for businesses to manage water risks and a corresponding momentum toward more rigid control of water consumption.

Corporate participation in the Carbon Disclosure Project survey is voluntary. Thus, the data in this paper are subject to self-selection bias, and what the companies claim concerning their behavior may not reflect the reality of their business practices. In addition, the inferences drawn here are based on data from only large firms. Future researchers could investigate whether and how corporate WMS continued to develop or decline in recent years, and how such practices integrate with other aspects of management (including carbon and energy).

This paper responds to water scarcity by exploring how the development of corporate WMS is driven by self-discipline motivation. This study sets out an agenda for the future of water accounting and management which can be used to guide research and stimulate extension in practice. Governments and non-governmental organizations may utilize the results to guide and bind corporations to achieve sustainability.

The efficient use of freshwater is essential for sustainability, but limited studies have addressed the issue. The current paper explores this important issue, and our findings suggest regulatory institution is necessary to effectively enhance water usage.

This paper represents an early attempt to model corporate water management practices. A WMS should facilitate resilience in water management, measurement of water performance, and comparability among firms. This study contributes to the conceptualization and empirical assessment of self-discipline in motivated water management and enhances the validity and applicability of the theory of self-disciplining in sustainability research.