ERM 449Sustainable Water Management: Economics and Policy
Water resource management is of fundamental importance to human societies and natural ecosystems. Yet, despite millennia of human experience in managing water resources, water shortages and water quality degradation harmful to the health and prosperity of people and to ecosystems are common, and stresses on water are expected to increase globally in coming years. Growing populations and incomes are increasing the demand for scarce water while creating new stresses on water quality. Climate change and changes in land use and land cover that accompany population growth and climate change are affecting water supplies and water quality. Addressing existing and emerging water problems requires understanding the underlying causes, and the development and implementation of remedies that are effective, efficient, resilient, fair. This is a multi-disciplinary problem. This course introduces students to the methods and contributions of economics as a behavioral and decision science to the task. Topics include water supply costs, water demands, ecosystem services and values provided by water, efficiency and fairness in water use, water rights institutions, water markets, water pricing, effluent taxes, pollution permit trading, and methods of water project and policy evaluation.