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Depicting Rubin’s Vase or Faces: Clarifying the Practical Value of Integrated Water Resource Management

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  • Tong Xu

    (Utrecht Center for Water, Oceans, and Sustainability Law (UCWOSL), Utrecht University, 3584 BH Utrecht, The Netherlands)

Abstract

This paper responds to the significant challenges to Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and clarifies its practical value as a theoretical framework. Through thorough theoretical analysis, this paper examines how IWRM can be applied to distinguish water resource management (WRM) as an observable domain with an open boundary and foster sustainable ecosystem management by emphasizing the functional differentiation of WRM. Compared to the examination made solely from the WRM perspective, an IWRM perspective can better develop the structural complexity of the WRM domain and help expose misunderstandings regarding integration issues. Most importantly, IWRM is not merely an explanatory theoretical framework but also a defensive one. It can facilitate structural coupling between WRM and other domains to reduce conflicts and enable concerted action. However, this role of IWRM has been overlooked for a long time.

Suggested Citation

  • Tong Xu, 2023. "Depicting Rubin’s Vase or Faces: Clarifying the Practical Value of Integrated Water Resource Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-17, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:13:p:10281-:d:1182447
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marleen van Rijswick & Jurian Edelenbos & Petra Hellegers & Matthijs Kok & Stefan Kuks, 2014. "Ten building blocks for sustainable water governance: an integrated method to assess the governance of water," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(5), pages 725-742, September.
    2. Mark Giordano & Tushaar Shah, 2014. "From IWRM back to integrated water resources management," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 364-376, September.
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