As the pressure on the water resources mounts within a river basin, institutional innovation may occur not as a result of a planned sequence of adjustments, but arising out of the interplay of several factors. By focusing on the basin trajectory this paper illustrates the importance of...

An important source of political opposition to measures aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) arises from concerns over their negative effects on the competitiveness of domestic firms, especially those that are energy-intensive and exposed to competition from foreign producers....

We examine optimal irrigation water allocation on the West Bank using a linear mathematical programming model. Our analysis involves five agricultural zones and five fruit and vegetable crops: tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, squash and citrus. We analyze three scenarios: (1) maintaining the...

Although spate irrigation systems are risk-prone, they can be an important component for livelihood security in semi-arid areas. Spate uses water (flood water), which upstream users often do not require, as rainfall during these periods is more than sufficient. The use of this flood water for...

This paper discusses four questions about the recent water law reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa, which strengthen permit systems. First, do permit systems continue to dispossess rural small-scale users, as intended by European colonizers who introduced principles of Roman law? Second, is it wrong...

Catchment forums have to address the reality that river catchments typically cover several administrative districts and have overlapping arrangements of state-led and locally created institutions. Institutional nesting has been proposed to integrate local arrangements. However, the creation of a...

Water is one of the most valuable natural resources in the West Bank, Palestine. Due to its limited availability, it is a resource that needs particular protection. Although agriculture consumes most of the water (70%) in the West Bank, the domestic water supply is strategically not less...