Water conservation : towards an ethical framework

Abstract EN

Giving the fact that water is basic to life, and water conservation is an issue of high necessity, an ethical dimension persists in every decision related to water.

By explicitly revealing the ethical ideas underlying water-related decisions, human society’s relationship with water, and with natural systems of which water is part, can be contested and shifted or be accepted with conscious intention by human society.

In recent decades, improved understanding of water’s importance for ecosystem functioning and ecological services for human survival is moving us beyond this growth-driven, supply-focused management paradigm.

Environmental ethics challenge this paradigm by extending the ethical sphere to the environment and thus water or water conservation per se.

An ethical approach is a legitimate, important, and often ignored approach to effect change in environmental decision making.

This qualitative research explores principles of water ethics and examines the underlying ethical precepts of selected water policy examples.

The constructed water ethic principles act as a set of criteria against which a policy comparison can be established.

This study shows that water conservation is a progressive issue by embracing full public participation and a new planning model, and knowledge-generation initiatives.

However, making ethical ideas explicit in assessment and formation of equitable and sustainable water policy is a matter of necessity not a privilege.