Water Resources and Society

2008 | 2009 | 2010

Area/catalogue: CIVE 5062
Course ID: 100999

School: School of Natural and Built Environments

Campus/course component(s):
Mawson Lakes: Lecture — Directed Study
Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Unit value: 4.5

Offered externally: No

Undergraduate elective course: No

Course details

Module 1: History of Global Water Resource Development

Historical Development
Irrigation Development
Ancient Water Systems
Green Revolution and Irrigation Expansion
•Dam Building
Hydroelectricity
Navigation and Flood Control
Urban Water Supply
Developing a Reliable Water Resource in the Early 1900s in Australia
Industrialisation
Blue Revolution
Water Development Paradigm Typology

Module 2: Dependencies between Human Users and Water Resources

Relationship between Aquatic Ecosystems and Human Users
Water values, and Water as a Social, Economic and Environmental Good
Drinking Water, Fisheries, Recreation, Subsistence Agriculture
Floodplain Agriculture
Water Availability in Developed vs. Developing Nations
Social and Economic Development, Consumption
Effects on Climate and Differential Impacts on Water Availability

Module 3: Geopolitics and Hydro-politics of Water

International River Systems, Geopolitics and River Basins
Trans-boundary Water Transfers, and Institutional and Legal Implications
Water conflicts, including Hydro-politics, Water and National Security,
Geopolitics, Hydro-politics, Water and National Security, Nation vs Nation, State vs State, Farms vs Cities, Environment vs Other Users, Consumers vs Suppliers

Module 4: Water and Society

Water Ethics, Human Rights to Water, Access and Equity, and
Water as a Social and Economic Good
Poverty and the Environment
Water and Human Health
Factors Driving Trends in Water Use and Water Quality, including Population,
Consumption, Global Economics and “Debt”
The Costs of Unsustainable Water Use, including Loss of Ecosystem Services,
Health Burden and Resource Loss via Degradation, Evaporative Loss

Module 5: The Market in Water: Water Ownership and Water Trading

Water Ownership and Cost of Water
Public Utilities, Corporatisation and Privatisation and Neo-Liberal Models: Drivers and Risks of Privatization
Globalization and International Water Trade, including The Economics of Water and
International trading in water
Institutional Changes in Water Ownership and Decision Making, including Water Trading
Community Involvement, including Potable supply and Catchment Management
Potable supply, including Catchment Management
Federal vs Local Control

Module 6: Sustainability in Water Management

Introduction
Sustainable Utilization of Aquatic Ecosystems and Water Resources
Natural Capital
Valuing Aquatic Ecosystem Services, including Values, Rationality, Price Theory, How Values are Usually Set, Proxy Prices, Contingent Valuation
Water, the Economy and Externalities, including Incorporating Environmental Values Into Economic Analysis, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics
Market and Policy Failure
Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Value of Restoring Ecosystem Services, including Monetary Values, Cost Definitions, Intangibles, Utility and Adjustments to Money Values
ESD and Water
Policy Instruments for Sustainable Water Use
Environmental Policy in Developing Countries, including Subsidies vs. Incentives, Property Rights, International Assistance, Obstacles to ESD of water, Wealth Distribution and Economic Imperatives, Population and Lifestyle

Text book/s:

Course coordinator/s:

Professor Simon Beecham

Fee information for this course

EFTSL: 0.125

Please note all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.

UniSA offers courses to students either:

as part of a Commonwealth Supported program
as part of a postgraduate fee-paying program
as part of a program for fee-paying international students
as a non-award enrolment

Not all courses are available on all of these bases, and students must check to ensure that they are permitted to enroll in a particular course.

International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the applicable cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award tuition fees are set by the Division offering the course. How to determine the relevant non award tuition fee

The student contribution amount for students enrolling in this course as part of the requirements of a program for which they are Commonwealth Supported may be determined below:

Commonwealth Supported Band Amount: Band 2
How to determine your Commonwealth Supported course fee (student contribution)

Learning resources for this course

Resources specific to this course

General learning resources available through the Learning and Teaching Unit

Course evaluation online – student access only

Course evaluation online – staff access only

Assignment submission online

Open AssignIT

General Library resources

Support resources for this course

Technical/computer assistance

Administrative services

Campus Central
myUniSA
Class Timetable (Study Period 5 - 2009)
Class Timetable (Study Period 6 - 2009)
More information about textbooks is available from Unibooks (clicking on the Unibooks logo will take you out of the University's web site)

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