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This dissertation identifies and explores the dilemma of regional governance, namely how to address political and economic challenges which occur at the meso-, as opposed to local, national, or international scale. Drawing on a large body of theoretical work on decentralization and federalism, this dissertation addresses the question, how do different institutional arrangements for political, fiscal, and administrative decentralization influence the capacity of political systems to capture regional-scale externalities? It does so by examining the responses of four different political systems, two federal and two unitary, to the problem of capturing economic externalities through River Basin Management (RBM), a quintessential regional issue. RBM outcomes are operationalized in terms of efficacy of capture of both water quality and quantity externalities which occur within inter-jurisdictional river basins. Through close historical analysis of six paired case studies across the four country cases, the dissertation argues that the capacity of political systems to capture regional-scale externalities depends on the ability of sub-national jurisdictions to pursue localized preferences, which is in this dissertation referred to as sub-national territorial politics. These politics are most prevalent in federal systems, which typically accord sub-national territorial jurisdictions with greater political power and fiscal resources. These political systems feature fewer and weaker regional governance institutions, and generally less effective regional-scale externality capture, than their counterparts. This dissertation contributes to a growing "sub-national turn" in comparative politics in two ways. First, it identifies the geographically-rooted interests which often shape sub-national actor preferences, particularly with respect to natural resource issues. Second, the dissertation discerns the lack of political incentives for central governments to resolve disputes between sub-national administrative jurisdictions, particularly in the federal systems in which these units are the basis for political representation at the national level.

水資源保護區與國土開發利用，都是國家重要政策，但兩者在本質上會有衝突，限制水資源保護區的土地開發利用，對受限制區的經濟、產業發展有一定程度的負面影響，為了讓全國的水源區及保護區，都有公平的回饋，並且落實「使用者付費、限制者受益」的社會公平正義暨有效的水資源管理及違法取締，於民國九十三年六月十一日，立法院三讀通過「自來水法」第十二條之一修正。臺北水源特定區居民希望將現行由台北市自來水水費每度徵收兩毛錢做為協助地方建設經費之「協建經費」名稱改為「回饋金」，因為水源特定區內的地方建設項目，本來就是政府應該做的工作，目前的「協建經費」是把應拿來補償水源區居民受到權益限制及損失的回饋金，用來做政府本來應該做的地方建設，等於變相剝削了水源特定區居民的權益。而依照水利署對目前自來水法修正的解釋中說明，自來水法於九十三年六月修正通過後屆時將訂定施行細則，並在各地成立運用小組，可依各地方需求在保育費使用上，於社福、文化、教育、產業推廣、土地徵收補償等相關項目上各自訂立適當使用比例，而未來保育費的徵收，在施行細則中回饋金的徵收費率將是隨水費附徵百分之五到百分之十五，若以百分之五徵收比例計算，目前每年協建經費的金額約一億多元，而未來開徵的「水源保育與回饋費」預期可達目前金額一倍以上。而一旦「水源保育與回饋收費辦法」暨相關施行細則通過後，開徵後經費的使用，更需有效率的執行與管理與監督功能，才能落實水資源回饋金的功用，達到政府照顧臺北水源特定區內居民的美意。 臺北水源特定區協建經費政策於臺北水源特定區內實施，從民國八十七年第一期經費撥入至今的這段期間，協建經費使用的績效是否能達到當初政策目的，符合多元利益相關人的期待，值得做相關的研究與探討，期能透過此研究讓國人更瞭解協建經費之意涵及效益。

<p> Lake Atitlan in Guatemala is a vital source of drinking water. The deteriorating conditions of water quality in this lake threaten human and ecological health as well as the local and national economy. Given the sporadic and limited measurements available, it is impossible to determine the changing conditions of water quality. The goal of this thesis is to use Hyperion satellite images to measure water quality parameters in Lake Atitlan. For this purpose <i> in situ</i> measurements and satellite-derived reflectance data were analyzed to generate an algorithm that estimated Chlorophyll concentrations. This research provides for the first time a quantitative application of hyperspectral satellite remote sensing for water quality monitoring in Guatemala. This approach is readily transferable to other countries in Central America that face similar issues in the management of their water resources.</p>

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. 01 December 2016. / Pressure on water as a resource is increasingly becoming inherent and unavoidable as economies continue to expand globally. The challenges experienced in water resource management inspired the need to understand institutional frameworks holistically. This lead to the primary purpose of this study: to explore perspectives of governance in sustainable policy development. The study intended to increase understandings of the strengths and weaknesses within governance structures in relation to contextual institutional operations and mandates. A comparative analysis of various governmental tiers in South Africa, with particular interest in Gauteng, was examined. Within Gauteng, the study focussed on district and local municipalities. Respondents comprised of participants operating at national, provincial and local level; and included institutions associated with water resource management. The participants were selected using a purposive sampling technique: snowball sampling. In assessing the identified institutions, data was gathered through the use of a questionnaire and interview questions. Together with content analysis, data was used to supplement the Institutional Analysis and Development framework; which provided a platform to incorporate actors into the research enhancing the researchers understanding of actors involved in the policy arena, including their features and functions. Areas contributing to institutional fragmentation and poor institutional linkages were indicated as management functionality in terms of the top-down management approach. This includes management styles, lack of funds, capacity and skills relevant to the implementation of IWRM. Emphasis on the development of the NWRS2 was noted to be a major driver of sustainable water resource management, rather than the IWRM. Control and coordination of cooperative governance is strongly emphatic of management functionality. Overall, key findings highlight the importance placed toward economic development, moreover than social and environmental development. Integration of institutional structures is highly recommended for successful policy implementation. / MT2017

Wetland mitigation has become a 2.4 billion dollar per year industry in the U.S. and in Virginia it leads to the replacement of 77 ha of palustrine forested wetlands (PFWs) per year with mitigation wetlands, including created forested wetlands (CFWs). Mitigation hinges on the idea that compensation wetlands lead to “no net loss of wetland function” when compared to impacted wetlands. We assessed the functions of provision of habitat and biogeochemical functions associated with production of biomass, the retention and removal of nutrients and the accumulation of soil C over 8 years in seven CFWs of approximately 11 and 20 years and compared them to natural reference wetlands (NRWs). CFW plant communities were similar to NRWs in all measured parameters in the herbaceous and shrub/sapling strata and in all strata combined. However, non-native dominance showed a significant positive linear relationship with CFW age. In the tree strata, 11 year old (yo) CFWs had lower richness than NRWs and both age classes of CFWs had lower FQI than NRWs. NRWs held 10 to 20 times more carbon in woody biomass than CFWs. Tree species composition was significantly different between CFWs and NRWs, however NRW trees were similar to CFW saplings. 11 yo CFWs held lower percentages of C, N and P and had higher Db than NRWs in both the 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth. 20 yo CFWs developed similar levels of %C, %P, bulk density (Db), and nutrient ratios in the surface and displayed rapid increases in %C and %N over 8 years. However, CFWs offered 45% lower soil total soil C storage and 50% lower %N. Furthermore, all CFWs stored lower nutrient levels than NRWs in the 10-20 cm soil depth. We found that FQI correlated positively with total C accumulation rates in woody biomass and soil C, indicating that biogeochemical function and the provision of habitat can be complimentary in CFWs. Finally, 11 and 20 yo CFWs adhered to the regulatory performance standards established for Virginia in terms of stems per ha and wetland indicator status, but all wetlands (including NRWs) failed to achieve <5% non-native species cover.

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