Homework 8
Homework 8 –The Water Sustainability Summit
20 15 points, Due March 10
All quarter we have been learning about the many ways that our interactions with water are unsustainable. How do we turn this around? It turns out that more than a few people have thoughts on this. Let’s find out what you and your classmates think about their various recommendations. What do y’all think are the most important changes we must make?
To answer these questions, we’ll be sharing our assessments of a set of readings. In groups you will wade through multiple frameworks, guiding principles, and policy/action recommendations and choose what you think we should do for achieving water sustainability. This will be our Water Sustainability Summit. As a summit, your group will be sharing your determinations with the rest of the class. When all group findings have been shared, we will identify common threads and the most critical recommendations.
To prepare for this final class activity, work through the following reading assignment. As you read, make sure to take good notes on the salient points so you can share them in class online.
For the first reading, revisit the first manifesto we read on this topic:
A. Gleick, P, Gomez, S, Loh, P, and Morrison, J (1995). Ch. 3 Water and Sustainability, in California Water 2020: A Sustainable Vision. Pacific Institute. Pp. 23-28. http://pacinst.org/app/uploads/2013/02/ca_water_2020_ch_1_43.pdf
Gleick and company lists 7 “Sustainability Criteria for Water Sustainability.” Does this cover it? Is this all the guidance we need to follow? How do his recommendations compare to those found in the readings below?
Next, read the following article:
B. Clarke, T (2008). On Developing “Water Consciousness”: Eight Movement Building Principles, in Lohan, T, ed., Water Consciousness. AlterNet Books. Pp. 161-167. [pdf in the 5/30 Readings folder on Canvas]
Why do you think this particular article was assigned for everyone to read? How do the recommendations in this article compare to Gleick et al.’s? What ideology is represented in this article? What movement is he talking about and who’s driving it?
Finally, read any one of the following articles based on the number you can see next to your name in the image under the reading list. You will be expected to articulate to your group members the take home points of your article. What are the recommendations for securing water sustainability in your article? What perspectives are represented in it?
1. Hoekstra, AY (2011).The Global Dimension of Water Governance: Why the River Basin Approach Is No Longer Sufficient and Why Cooperative Action at Global Level Is Needed. Water, 3: 21-46. [Pp: 33-40]. http://www.waterfootprint.org/Reports/Hoekstra-2011-Global-Dimension-of-Water-Governance.pdf
2. United Nations Environment Programme (2009). Water Security and Ecosystem Services: The Critical Connection. http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SC/pdf/wwap_pub_side_dial_Water_Security_and_Ecosystems.pdf [Chapters 2 and 4 – pp: 13-18 & 47-51]
3. Thorton, KW, Laurin, C, Shortle, J, Fisher, A, Sobrinho, J and Stewart, M (2006). A Framework and Guidelines for Moving Toward Sustainable Water Resources Management. Water Environment Foundation. http://www.environmental-expert.com/Files%5C5306%5Carticles%5C9270%5C218.pdf [Pp: 2762-2775]
4. Brandes, O, and Brooks, D (2007). The Soft Path for Water in a Nutshell. Polis Water Project. https://poliswaterproject.org/files/2007/09/The-Soft-Path-for-Water-in-a-Nutshell.pdf [Pp: 1-25]
5. Chartres, C, and Varma, S (2010). World Water Brief: How to Avert a Water Crisis - A Six Point Plan. International Water Management Institute. http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Out_of_Water_Brief.pdf [Pp: 3-8]
If the links don’t work, you can find the pdfs in the 3/10 Readings module of the course Canvas site.
The Assignment Deliverable – Part 1
Come to class with a list of the recommendations from your article for securing water sustainability … plus your assessment of how they compare to Gleick et al.’s (1995) and Clarke’s (2008) recommendations… plus a short evaluation of what you think is most important.
You will submit this for up to 10 points and use this to pitch your article’s recommendations to others in your summit workgroup.
At a minimum, this will look like a bulleted list and 2 paragraphs, preferably typed up. Don’t forget to add your name to this document. It is suggested that you bring 5 copies for your group mates. It will help to have a “one-pager” summary to point to and language you can use.
The Assignment Deliverable – Part 2
When everyone in your group has shared the worthy insights and recommendations of their article, along with those outlined in the Gleick et al., (1995) and Clarke (2008) articles, you will be challenged to pull together one collective manifesto of
prioritized
recommendations for pursuing water sustainability. What you submit as a group will add up to 10 more points for your Homework 8 grade. You will be given more guidance on how to format this manifesto during class.
Be aware, it will likely be difficult to come to consensus on a collective set of principles or recommended actions. One of the big stumbling blocks to achieving a more sustainable relationship with the world and each other is the inability to define shared objectives and reach tricky decisions via an inclusive, multi-stakeholder process. A big goal of this activity is for you and your classmates to model the messy process and manage to come to some agreement in a very short time. If you can do this in a way that honors everyone’s perspective and contribution, then you are poised to take the lead in fostering more sustainable planning and management in the “real world.”