Open AccessEconomic Foundations for the Interdisciplinary Modeling of Water Resources Under Climate Change
Author(s) -
Elbakidze Levan,
Cobourn Kelly M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of contemporary water research and education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1936-704X
pISSN - 1936-7031
DOI - 10.1111/j.1936-704x.2013.03165.x
Subject(s) - water resources , climate change , scarcity , water scarcity , integrated water resources management , management science , environmental resource management , economic model , environmental economics , environmental planning , computer science , environmental science , economics , ecology , microeconomics , biology
Climate change is likely to alter the scarcity of water resources, contributing to increased concern among policymakers and water managers about how to best allocate water among competing uses. Hydroeconomic models provide a means of integrating human and biophysical systems to understand the impacts of alternative water policies. This article discusses foundational concepts related to economic efficiency, with a specific focus on the equimarginal principle, and presents a modeling framework that demonstrates how to use these concepts as a starting point for an interdisciplinary model of water resources management. The modeling framework accommodates concerns about allocating water across competing uses, over time, and with stochastic water availability.