Zachary A. Smith

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

This chapter addresses the substance of the United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, especially as it relates to non-monetary values and ecosystem and hydrologic services. First, we address the emerging global trend toward attending to community environmental values. Next, we attend to community values and ecosystem and hydrologic services. Finally, we recount the conclusions and progress following the MA. Overall, the conclusions of the report highlight the relationship between the desire to include community values and the ability to do so.

Comparative groundwater management: findings from an exploratory global survey

We present data from a comparative exploratory global survey on groundwater resource management on issues of law and policy, legal ownership, control, and access. A questionnaire pilot-survey was mailed to agencies and departments involved in water management in 185 countries. We obtained feedback from 104 countries representing a 54% response rate. Data results were analysed using descriptive statistics. The study proceeds with a brief introduction to the study followed by a discussion of the methods of data collection, sources of data, major findings, and problems of the survey. It concludes with a discussion on the policy implications of the surveys results on conventional groundwater resource management.

Perspective from the Field: Collaborative Management in Natural Resources and Environmental Administration

In 2006, Tomas Koontz and Craig Thomas wrote, “If the 20th century was the year of the administration state then the 21st century may be the year of the collaborative state” (Koontz and Thomas, 2006). Koontz and Thomas were correct in one respect—collaborative management has come to be a part of environmental and natural resources decision making at almost every level of government and in almost every subset issue area. The question this essay addresses is: Is this necessarily a good thing? More specifically, are there situations in which collaborative management works well and others in which it should be avoided entirely?

Administering Public Art Programs in Arizona's Cities and Towns: Development, Operation, and Promotion

This article contributes to our understanding public art at the local level by providing analysis of local government public art programs. A survey was conducted with cities and towns in Arizona that have public art programs. The article begins by defining public art and explaining how government funding for public art began in the United States. Next, it highlights the benefits of public art. Public art program funding sources, budgets, maintenance, personnel, and promotion techniques are discussed for the cities/towns surveyed. Last, recommendations are provided for cities/towns seeking to create or expand their public art programs.

Water and Federalism in the 1990s

Federalism has always been an issue in water management. The phasing out of grants for the construction of sewage treatment plants, the reduction of the federal contribution for construction of water development projects, the decrease infederal expendituresfor basic water data collection, and the lack offederalfunds for state dam-safety programs have all had an impact on water management and intergovernmental relations. This article summarizes contemporary issues in intergovernmental relations and water policy. First, the relationship between water, environmental protection, and federalism is examined. Then, the shifting financial responsibility for water pollution control from the federal to state and local governments is reviewed.

PERSPECTIVES FROM THE FIELD: Sustainability: Guiding Principle or Broken Compass?

Sustainability has become a guiding principle, a goal, and, in many cases, a standard for businesses, governments, nongovernmental organizations ~NGOs!, institutions of higher education, and environmental practitioners alike. Over the last quarter century, a widespread flurry of action in the name of sustainability has been burgeoning in a variety of settings and nations. A simple Internet news search reveals literally thousands of examples of different actors and organizations taking action in the name of sustainability. From the development of new university curricula to corporate sustainability reports, sustainability is invoked as a driving force for an everincreasing number of organizations. The concept has become a rallying cry for a new way of operating and functioning. Like the environmental movement of the 1970s, the sustainability movement is marked by mobilization and an increased awareness of the challenges facing our current generation, as well as those who will come after us. Yet, it is not clear that actions taken in the name of creating a sustainable future are all based upon a consistent understanding of the concept of sustainability. In other words, are we all speaking the same language when it comes to the concept of sustainability and, similarly, sustainable development?

Value in water resources management: What is water worth?

Abstract: There are volumes of works that estimate the monetary values of water; however, intangible values of water are often overlooked. This article explores the meaning of value as it relates to certain intangible values. We believe that a better understanding of some non‐market values can improve decision making by water managers.

Public Art in Municipal Administration

ABSTRACT Many arts administrators in municipal government lack formal training in arts and cultural management or any specific coursework dealing with public art. Many Masters of Administration programs do not offer arts and cultural administration as an emphasis. This article reports the results of a survey of human resources managers in cities with populations of more than 50,000 to determine their interest in employees who have an arts and cultural management background and their understanding of the meaning of public art.

Economic Grounds for Current Practices of Water Management

This chapter highlights the ways in which societies sanction the discipline of economics as a way to reflect value. We use the word “sanction” here to denote permission or approval from governmental authority that validates a course of action, or in this case, use. Seen in this light, the sanction of the discipline of market economics influences or dictates the formation of choice. Before we address water management and non-monetary values, it is important to look at the indoctrinations from which attitudes about market economics emanate. With these in mind, we can better understand why choices about monetary uses of water use are sanctioned. A glance at Western political theory provides the basis for understanding the economic grounds that guide current practices in water management.

Cooperative Communities: The Future of Water Management

This chapter focuses on the human right to water. Over the past 50 years, the UN has defined human rights, many of which concern issues of environmental justice. UN General Comment No. 15 served to refine the human right to water, recognizing it as “a public good fundamental for life and health.” It is estimated that women spend a combined total of 200 million hours per day collecting water, making them subject to violence on long treks and susceptible to water-borne illness. Other global initiatives have addressed issues of gender equality and equality for minorities. We summarize our suggestions for water managers. Representatives of public trust, water managers ought to represent community values. In doing so, they can serve the tenets of “water democracy.”