ABSTRACT Chile's 1,981 Water Code (CA81) established a market-oriented allocation model based on private, perpetual, and tradable water rights, sharply limiting the state's regulatory role. Over time, water scarcity, socio-environmental conflicts, and sustained academic and policy critiques revealed governance gaps regarding human needs, ecosystem protection, hoarding and non-use, state authority, and climate adaptation. This article examines Law No. 21,435 (CA22), enacted in 2022, asking whether it fundamentally transforms Chilean water law or incrementally adjusts CA81. It combines a systematic review of 63 studies on CA81 with a detailed legal and policy analysis of CA22, structured around eight critique clusters that encompass regime design, state capacity, distributional outcomes, environmental safeguards, conflict and judicialization, hoarding, and maladaptation. The findings show that CA22 recognizes access to drinking water and sanitation as an essential, inalienable human right, strengthens ecosystem protection, converts new water rights into temporary and conditional concessions, and expands the powers of the Dirección General de Aguas to intervene in allocation and scarcity management. Yet persistent institutional fragmentation, information deficits, uneven water markets, and over-allocation under climate stress mean that the reform yields a hybrid governance regime that reorients the neoliberal model.

ABSTRACT Public engagement has become a key factor in the successful implementation of public policies. Governments often encourage the public to support their policies through risk communication. This study explores how different communication strategies used by government agencies and intermediaries influence people's willingness to participate in a local water supply project. A 3-year communication case was examined to understand the conditions that shape motivation and encourage sustained involvement. A structured interview questionnaire based on behavioral motivation models from the theory of planned behavior and goal-framing theory was conducted to analyze the factors influencing participation. The results show that accessible information, emotional reassurance, and shared community values play decisive roles in encouraging engagement, while indirect influences through trust are also critical. This study contributes by clarifying how communication strategies shape public motivation, strengthening community participation, and offering practical guidance for building trust and long-term policy acceptance.

ABSTRACT The social tariff is a policy that provides water supply and sanitation services at affordable prices for financially vulnerable households. A state regulatory agency of the Brazilian water and sanitation sector drafted a new regulation and conducted inspections to promote the implementation of this policy. This article analyzes the effect of the regulation and enforcement on the degree of implementation of the social tariff. It introduces an index that measures the implementation of this policy. The data analyzed are unprecedented, corresponding to a sample of 572 municipalities of the Minas Gerais state. The results of the Wilcoxon tests indicate an increase in the implementation of the social tariff in all regions of the Minas Gerais state after regulatory enforcement. The results of the panel data models suggest that the regulation increases the implementation of this policy. This article contributes to the literature by highlighting the importance of regulation in the implementation of pro-poor policies in the water supply and sanitation sector. In addition, it contributes so that other regulatory agencies can adopt the implementation index to inspect the social tariff.

ABSTRACT California's San Joaquin Valley is a major agricultural region, but its reliance on irrigated farming has caused severe groundwater overdraft, leading to land subsidence and potential seismic risks. To address this, the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) aims to achieve groundwater sustainability by 2040. Compliance with SGMA is expected to remove significant land from production, prompting efforts to repurpose former farmland for multibenefit uses. Since most of this land is privately owned, understanding producer perspectives is essential. This study explores those perspectives through interviews with 9 producers and analysis of 91 local newspaper articles. Data were coded using NVivo software to identify patterns related to SGMA impacts and land repurposing views. Results show producers experience uncertainty and frustration with SGMA but remain cautiously optimistic about future social and environmental benefits. SGMA has also encouraged more stakeholder collaboration. Solar energy projects and groundwater recharge were seen as promising repurposing options, while habitat conservation efforts were seen as less viable without financial incentives. These findings offer insights into how policy-driven land transitions are perceived by producers and provide guidance for similar efforts in other arid and semi-arid regions worldwide.

ABSTRACT Morocco is a hot spot for climate change, and the impacts of regional decreases in precipitation are experienced acutely in the High Atlas Mountains. Irrigated terraces are central to High Atlas livelihoods and rely on irrigation systems that utilize community-based water allocation, enforced through local governance. This paper explores how irrigation water governance is coping with water scarcity in four villages in Al Haouz Province, based on surveys and focus group discussions. We found that governance and infrastructure have continued to function without increased social conflict, but cropping intensity has been reduced. Increasing drought events with progressive climate change are likely to erode the viability of cropping systems as a foundation for rural livelihoods in the High Atlas region. Pathways for increasing climate resilience should support the continuity of local irrigation systems through community-prioritized actions.

ABSTRACT China has implemented the most comprehensive River Chief System (RCS) globally to enhance water quality, yet its impact on water poverty and economics remains insufficiently understood. This study investigated the effect of the RCS on water poverty in China via a difference-in-differences model based on data from 31 provinces spanning the period from 2007 to 2021. The results revealed that the RCS led to a 1.69% reduction in water poverty, with technological innovation and strengthened environmental regulation identified as key mechanisms. Heterogeneity analysis showed that the RCS had a significantly stronger effect on water poverty in provinces that adopted it before 2016 and in regions with inadequate water infrastructure, with results significant at the 1% level. The cost–benefit analysis further demonstrated that the RCS had generated an economic benefit of 562.9 billion yuan, approximately equivalent to USD 84.77 billion. This paper underscores the significance of RCS policies and offers insights for refining policy optimization aimed at enhancing the sustainable management of water resources.

ABSTRACT Water and energy stakeholder networks play a pivotal role in managing complex socio-environmental systems. Understanding how different groups contribute to decision-making is critical for developing coherent policies. This study examines how farmers in six villages of the Doroud-Boroujerd Basin, Lorestan Province, Iran, adapt to water scarcity and energy insecurity. Using the Integrated Social Network and Structural Adaptation Framework (ISNSAF), it explores how individual and social capital - particularly networking ties, social support, and leadership - enhance farmers' capacity to cope with environmental stress. The ISNSAF combines Social Network Analysis (SNA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to assess the influence of network structures and social interactions on resilience and resource management behaviors. Findings show that key network metrics, such as centrality and density, positively affect adaptive capacity by facilitating information exchange, trust, and cooperation. Policy recommendations include multi-level governance, local capacity-building, and the creation of web-based energy cooperatives to support renewable energy and community autonomy. This research highlights the importance of social networks and participatory governance in building resilience, offering a scalable approach for sustainable resource management. The results are especially valuable for policymakers aiming to promote environmental protection and economic stability in vulnerable agricultural regions.

ABSTRACT In Africa, water conflicts are increasing, posing significant threats to livelihoods. Unraveling the spatial pattern and drivers of water conflicts is essential for anticipating risks and targeting water policies. However, there is a lack of evidence to support this need. Using a multi-scale spatial approach, we examine the spatially heterogeneous influence of drought on intrastate water conflicts and how this may shape future water conflict patterns. We construct a unique dataset of water conflicts at the pixel level from 2010 to 2024 for 21 African countries. Results show that drought increases water conflict fatalities, with a 0.7% rise per 10 km closer to a country's border. Future droughts are anticipated to result in different trends in water conflict fatalities across areas. This pattern is not explained by the overall security situation or factors like irrigation, but may stem from weaker water governance in border areas, implying that stronger water governance may partially mitigate the impact of drought-driven water scarcity on intensifying water conflicts. Our study highlights the importance of identifying areas that face a dual risk from drought and inadequate governance to inform decision-making that strengthens water governance and de-escalates water conflicts.

ABSTRACT One of the main challenges facing the water sector worldwide relates to the availability of water for households. However, it is not only important to analyze availability but also affordability, taking into account equity aspects. In this regard, by estimating indicators proposed by the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene (JMP) and using statistical tests of means (ANOVA), it is evident that, in the case of Bolivia, for 2021, basic access to water service was 90.3% nationwide, 98.1% in the urban sector, and 73.0% in the rural sector, demonstrating a statistically significant difference between the two geographic areas. And if considered by income decile, for example, at the national level, the difference between the first and tenth deciles is almost 22.5%. In this sense, although water policy in Bolivia has advanced in recent years, it is important to consider actions to reduce this inequality and thus achieve greater social well-being, especially for the most vulnerable households. Consideration should be given to designing policies that provide assistance, primarily to the most vulnerable sectors, for example, by prioritizing investments in the sector to expand or improve the water network or distribution systems.

ABSTRACT Performance indicators (PIs) are important parameters in the management of water services. Regulators have developed empirical analysis utilising PIs to rank an urban water utility (UWU) in a competitive scenario. Empirical analyses employ assumptions that, on the other hand, contribute to the chances of favouritism. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a non-parametric approach used in assessing the efficiency of a decision-making unit. However, the DEA benchmarking technique makes many UWUs efficient, limiting regulators to discern who is the best performer because even a weakly performing UWU identified in empirical analysis can be efficient. This study presents a consistency analysis of the conventional DEA and DEA for ratios through the DEA approach in a network form that benchmarks a UWU in a competitive scenario using absolute and ratio information. The assessment indicates that DEA for ratios contributes to the management of UWUs. When DEA for ratios is applied in UWU efficiency assessment, the results of efficient and inefficient UWUs can be used to compare their indicators achievements and develop relevant policies to improve operations. Thus, a weak-performing UWU can adopt management incentives used by the efficient UWU and enhance performance in the next assessment period.