Naturalization and universal application of concepts such as ‘efficiency’ and ‘productivity’ by policy makers and water experts in the water sector leads water managers and water users to internalize these norms. As we show in this exploratory paper, the effects could be threefold:...

type="main" <title type="main">ABSTRACT</title> <p>Increased global trade in agricultural commodities has boosted fresh water consumption. This export of ‘virtual water’, embedded in products sold abroad, has increasingly affected local communities and ecosystems, especially in arid regions. Recent initiatives to certify...</p>

Irrigated farming is central to meeting the world's food and fodder needs and will be even more important in delivering on food security and water sustainability development priorities in the future. High population growth, climate change, increasing socio-economic growth, and water stress are...

Volumetric water control (VWC) is widely seen as a means to increase productivity through flexible scheduling and user incentives to apply just enough water. However, the technical and social requirements for VWC are poorly understood. Also, many experts assert that VWC in large-scale open...

Payments for environmental services (PES) are payments to land owners whose land management practices help to provide environmental services (ES). In the context of watershed environmental services, the most important services are the supply, purification and regulation of water. PES was...