Water Wars, War of the Well, and Guerilla Well-fare

摘要

Conflicts over water can be best described as a "wicked" planning problem that has uncertain boundaries, defies absolute solutions, and can be a symptom of larger problems (Rittel and Webber 1973). Yet, Delli Priscoli and Wolf (2009) state that water compels us to think regionally, that (1) the price for control over an agreement over water is sharing ownership and cooperating in both the process and outcome of the agreement; (2) the transaction costs are escalating beyond traditional management methods; (3) the available money to identify needs is contracting; (4) the public awareness of water resources is growing and changing; and (5) the traditional legal systems are unable to cope with change. These are just a few reasons why water conflicts may be well suited to conflict resolution through collaboration. As Wolf (2008) eloquently puts it, "Water ignores all separations and boundaries save for those of the watershed itself. As such, it offers a vehicle to bring those who share it together.