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20 - Irreversibility and sustainability in water resources systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 January 2010

Janos J. Bogardi
Affiliation:
Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO, Paris
Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz
Affiliation:
Research Centre of Agricultural and Forest Environment, Polish Academy of Sciences
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Summary

ABSTRACT

One of the main characteristics of the sustainability concept is in the long-term evaluation of the possible set of outputs from any decision. Due to the fact that water resources projects have an extremely long physical lifetime and quite broad and diverse impacts, ranging from social, to environmental and economic outputs, the impact evaluation procedure is subjected to a substantial degree of uncertainty. Another approach is seen in the identification of actions that are as far as possible reversible to be able to cope with unexpected and disadvantageous outputs. It is the objective of this chapter to analyze the usefulness of measures such as reversibility to characterize sustainability. Two examples are investigated from which one is based on utilities that are time dependent, while in the other example a physically based approach is emphasized. Both examples refer to water and environmental management.

INTRODUCTION

Water management structures are designed for a long life time. Several reservoirs in the Middle East have been continuously operated for centuries and irrigation schemes date back over millennia (Garbrecht 1985; Garbrecht and Vogel 1991; Hartung and Kuros 1991; Glick 1970; Schnitter 1994; Petts, Möller, and Roux 1989). Similarly, navigation channels in Europe are being utilized since the medieval age, first for shipping purposes and now for recreation and tourism. On the other hand, many examples are known where reservoir capacity has been quickly decreased due to sedimentation processes, and large irrigation schemes are referenced which quickly lead to salinization of soils to such an extent that the irrigated area had to be abandoned (Goldsmith and Hildyard 1984).

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2002

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