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FAO WATER REPORTS 27
Economic valuation of water resources in agriculture
From the sectoral to a functional perspective of natural resource management
by
Kerry Turner
Stavros Georgiou
Rebecca Clark
Roy Brouwer
Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment
Zuckerman Institute for Connective Environmental Research
University of East Anglia, Norwich
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
and
Jacob Burke
FAO Land and Water Development Division
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FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, 2004
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Table of Contents
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Cover photograph:
Farmer pumping groundwater, Gujarat, India.
Marcus
Moench
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product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal
or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities,
or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
ISBN 92-5-105190-9
ISSN 1020-1203
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© FAO 2004
Contents
Acronyms
Preface
Executive
summary
The water resources management
problem
An integrated framework to water
resource valuation, appraisal and management
Chapter 1. The role of water in
agricultural development
Economic characteristics of
water
The dominance of agricultural water
use
Pressures on the supply of water for
irrigation
Irrigation and agricultural
development objectives
Food security
Poverty alleviation
International consensus in water
policy: water as an economic good
Chapter 2. A framework for
interdisciplinary analysis of water resources: a functional
perspective
The nature and problem of
environmental valuation
Previous studies
The functional perspective at a
catchment scale
The need for analysis at the catchment
scale
Ecosystem functioning and the
functions of water resources
Maintenance of functional
diversity
Structures, processes and functions of
water resources
Hydrological functions
Biogeochemical functions
Ecological functions
An integrated approach to
assessment
Scoping and problem
auditing
Identification of appropriate
evaluation criteria
Data collection and monitoring via
indicators
Assessment of the options under
consideration by decision-makers
Chapter 3. Economics of water
allocation
Economic appraisal and allocation of
water
Cost-benefit analysis
Cost-effectiveness
analysis
Economically efficient allocation: the
theory
Reasons for inefficient
allocation
Water allocation policy
Water allocation systems
Pricing and cost recovery in the
irrigation sector
Pricing, opportunity costs and
economic benefits
Opportunity costs of resource
depletion and degradation
Economic benefits
Chapter 4. Economic valuation of
water resources
Valuation of goods and services
provided by water
Total economic value: linking
functions and service flows
Use of economic values in the
management of water resources
The importance of water in national
development strategies
Modification of national
accounts
The setting of national and sectoral
priorities
Project, programme and policy
evaluation
Economic valuation and sustainable
development
Practical issues concerning economic
valuation
Scale
Aggregation and double
counting
Allocation over time
Risk and uncertainty
Irreversible change
Data limitations
Economic valuation techniques
Indirect approaches
Direct approaches
Environmental value transfer
Income multiplier method
Other non-economic approaches to valuation
Economic valuation of functions and
services: practice
Hydrological functions
Biogeochemical functions
Ecological functions
Review of valuation
studies
Chapter 5.
Conclusions
Values and services
Notions of efficiency
Valuations and pricing
An integrated framework to water
resource valuation, appraisal and management
The implications for sustainability of
productivity
References
Annex - Case
studies
Overview of studies
Authors: A-D
Authors: E-K
Authors: L-Q
Authors: R-Z
FAO technical
papers
Back cover
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