Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / O presente trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar a aplicaÃÃo da Outorga de Direito de uso dos Recursos HÃdricos no Estado do CearÃ, considerando a importÃncia deste entre os demais instrumentos da PolÃtica Nacional dos Recursos HÃdricos - PNRH. ApÃs realizaÃÃo de pesquisa bibliogrÃfica acerca do tema, foi apresentada uma abordagem histÃrica da problemÃtica da Ãgua nos Ãmbitos estadual e federal, relacionando a mudanÃa de cenÃrios que ora se apresentou frente ao uso deste recurso, Ãs aÃÃes realizadas no intuito de disciplinar e gerenciar seu uso, em especial no Estado do CearÃ. Foram agrupados os dados coletados na SRH - Secretaria de Recursos HÃdricos do Estado do CearÃ, entre 1996 e 2006, visando, atravÃs dos mesmos, avaliar a aplicaÃÃo da outorga no Estado do CearÃ, apÃs 10 anos de implantaÃÃo da PNRH. Ainda que escassos, os dados avaliados possibilitaram visualizar os seguintes pontos: i) a concessÃo de outorgas nÃo ocorre de forma uniforme entre as regiÃes hidrogrÃficas; ii) nÃo-linearidade do nÃmero de outorgas concedidas, quanto aos usos da Ãgua; iii) nÃo observÃncia de outorgas para o uso de diluiÃÃo de efluentes; iv) faz-se urgente a adoÃÃo de medidas de controle e disciplinamento do uso da Ãgua subterrÃnea no Estado, especialmente nas RegiÃes Metropolitana e Alto Jaguaribe; e por fim, v) alta incidÃncia de concessÃo de outorgas sem referÃncia à vazÃo correspondente, especialmente para os usos no setor de aqÃicultura. Concluiu-se que sem que haja um processo adequado de outorga, e, sobretudo de fiscalizaÃÃo posterior sobre as outorgas emitidas, nÃo serà possÃvel o atendimento dos objetivos propostos na PNRH. / The present paper has as the objective the application of the Right Granted for the usage of Hydro Resources in Ceara State, considering the importance of it among the other instruments of the National Hydro Resources Policy â NHRP. After the accomplishment of the bibliographical research about the theme, it was presented a historical approach of the water issue in a State and National level, relating the changes in scenarios that once presented resistance against the use of such resources, to the actions taken in order to discipline and to manage its usage specially in the Ceara State. Data collected from the HRS - Hydro Resources Secretariat of Ceara, between 1996 and 2006, aiming, through such, evaluate the application of grant within Ceara State, after 10 years of implementation of the NHRP. Yet scarce, the data evaluated enabled the visualization of the following points: i) the grant of right do not occur in an uniform way among the hydrographical regions; II) non-linear numbers of bestowed rights as for the water use; III) the non-observance of the grant of rights for the effluents dilution; IV) it is urgent the adoption of control and discipline methods for the use of underground water within the State, specially in the Urban Areas and in the High Jaguaribe; and, V)the high incidence of the grants of right without reference to the corresponding flow,, specially for the use of the aquiculture sector. We conclude that without an adequate granting process, and, above all of supervision of the issue of the rights granted, the accomplishment of the objectives proposed by the NHRP will not be possible.

Le 23 octobre 2000 le Parlement européen a adopté la Directive Cadre européenne sur l’Eau (2000/60/CE), directive qui règlemente pour l’ensemble des États membres de l'Union européenne la protection globale de la ressource en eau. La DCE repose sur l’articulation étroite de trois principes généraux chargés d’organiser la gestion de l’eau des États-membres. Le premier principe est une exigence de résultats exprimée par l’obligation d’atteindre « le bon état écologique » des eaux à l’échéance de 2015, 2022 et 2027. Le second principe affiché par la DCE est la prise en compte explicite des enjeux économiques par une internalisation des coûts visant, – selon le principe pollueur-payeur – à faire assumer la charge financière des dégradations de l’eau par les usagers qui en sont jugés responsables. Le troisième principe de la DCE est celui d’une participation des parties prenantes à la définition des politiques de l’eau, exprimé par l’obligation de consultation du public. Prévue dans l’article 14 de la DCE, cette consultation vise à ce que les Programmes De Mesures (PDM) de chaque bassin hydrographique soient systématiquement soumis aux observations du public à diverses étapes de l’élaboration et de l’évaluation des résultats. La prise à témoin du public dans la politique de l’eau est interprétée à la fois comme réponse politique à la défiance des citoyens vis-à-vis autorités politiques (en particulier européennes) permettant de renforcer la réactivité des gouvernants, et également comme une composante de la nouvelle gestion publique visant à substituer à la régulation étatique classique des règles gestionnaires d’arbitrage entre les différentes parties-prenantes des enjeux environnementaux. Le dispositif de recherche sociologique s’appuie sur plusieurs niveaux d’analyse : un examen comparé des déclinaisons nationales de la transposition de la DCE en France et aux Pays-Bas, analysées en termes de configurations institutionnelles, et une recherche portant sur la conception, le déroulement et les effets produits par la consultation – appréhendée comme un instrument d’action publique – telle qu’elle s’est déroulée, entre 2004 et 2009. / The European Parliament adopted in 2000 the European Water Framework Directive (2000/60/WFD), directive which regulates for all Member States of the European Union the overall protection of water resources. The WFD is based on the close linkage of three general principles responsible for organizing the water management of the Member States. The first principle is a demand for results expressed by the requirement to achieve "good ecological status" of waters in the 2015, 2022 and 2027. The second principle displayed by the WFD is the explicit consideration of economic issues in cost internalization - according to the polluter pays principle - to assume the financial burden of degradation of water users who are deemed responsible. The third principle of the WFD refers to a stakeholder participation in the definition of water policy, as expressed by the requirement for public consultation. Provided for in the Article 14 of the WFD, we assume public consultation is to ensure that the programs of measures for each watershed are routinely shown to public comment at various stages of development and evaluation of results. To witness the taking of public, in water policy, is interpreted both as a political response to the distrust of citizens vis-à-vis the political authorities (particularly European) to enhance the responsiveness of governments, and also as a component of "mind management" to substitute for state regulation of arbitration rules managers between different stakeholders on environmental issues. The device of sociological research is based on several levels of analysis: a comparison of the national and local concerning the WFD transposition in France and the Netherlands, and a research on the design, the conduct and the effects produced by public consultation, seased as policy tools, between 2004 and 2009.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / Robert K. Schaeffer / Increasing human population, economic development and climatic changes in Sub-Saharan Africa have caused water scarcity, hence an urgent need for institutional arrangements that will lead to sustainable water management. This study analyzes the impact of customary institutions on rural water management in Tanzania, and shows how they might be used to complement the statutory institutions. The study was conducted in Bariadi district, northwestern Tanzania. The data were collected from household surveys, focus group discussions, key informants, participant observations, photographs, and secondary data sources. The results indicate that customary institutions are the most commonly used in regulating equitable access to water, prevention of water pollution and abuse, and natural resource conflict resolution. The awareness of the customary laws was higher than statutory laws because of the participatory nature of the customary institutions. Statutory institutions were found to be important for regulating water development issues. Villagers were not aware of statutory laws related to equitable water access, and prevention of water pollution and abuse. The study also found that customary institutions tend to discriminate against women. Women do not have land rights and were not allowed to participate in customary institutions activities. These results suggest the need for the government to recognize the importance of customary institutions in water management. The government needs to design policies and strategies that will ensure that women’s rights are respected by the customary institutions. There is also a need for fostering women’s participation in decision making, and designing cooperative institutions that are organized and governed by resource users themselves.

Les performances et la durée de vie des piles à combustible à membrane échangeuse de protons (PEMFC) dépendent fortement de la répartition de l'eau dans les assemblages membrane électrodes (AME). Une répartition d'eau homogène et suffisante s'avère indispensable pour obtenir de bonnes performances et une grande durabilité. Fondamentalement, la répartition d'eau dans l'AME, et plus particulièrement dans la membrane, est déterminée par deux mécanismes de transport d'eau : le flux d'électroosmose, induit par les protons véhiculant les molécules d'eau de l'anode vers la cathode, et le flux de diffusion d'eau, de la cathode vers l'anode, résultant du gradient de concentration. Or, ces mécanismes sont pour l'heure encore mal connus malgré les intenses recherches menées sur le sujet. Dans ce contexte, la première partie de cette étude s'appuie sur la détermination et la quantification des mécanismes de transport d'eau dans les différents composants, et notamment dans les membranes, ainsi que sur l'étude de leur couplage. Ces propriétés ont été évaluées en fonction du degré d'hydratation et de la température à l'aide de deux méthodes originales développées dans cette thèse. Afin d'homogénéiser la répartition d'eau, et ainsi d'améliorer les performances des PEMFC, le développement d'une nouvelle structure de membrane à gradient de masse équivalente a fait l'objet de la deuxième partie de l'étude. Cette nouvelle structure membrane a été étudiée par la caractérisation de ses propriétés du transport d'eau, par la détermination de la répartition d'eau ex et in-situ par spectroscopie Raman confocale ainsi que par des tests électrochimiques. Les performances électrochimiques ont été corrélées aux propriétés de transport d'eau, selon l'orientation du gradient de masse équivalente de la membrane par rapport au sens des protons. Nous avons ainsi démontré qu'il est possible de modifier la répartition d'eau et les performances en modifiant le sens de la structure de la membrane par rapport aux réactions électrochimiques. / Water management is a fundamental issue for the improvement of the PEMFC technology. The cell performances and life time depend strongly on the water repartition in the Membrane Electrodes Assembly (MEA). This water repartition within the MEA is mainly governed by two flows across the membrane : electroosmosis, which drags water molecules from the anode to the cathode and often leads to local depletion of water in the membrane at the anode side ; back diffusion (from cathodeto anode) induced by the water concentration gradient generated from the water produced at the cathode side, which allows to hydrate the membrane and the anode. For nowadays, these phenomena are still under debate in spite of numerous researches. In this context, this work is firstly focused on the determination and the quantification of the mechanisms of water transport in different components, particularly in the membranes, as well as their coupling thanks to two original methods developed in this work. In the aim to achieve a more homogeneous water repartition, and consequently to improve the cell performance, a new membrane structure based on an inner gradient of equivalent weight has been fabricated. Its water transport properties, the cell performance, and the ex and in-situ water repartition have been characterised. A consistent relationship between the performance and the membrane water transport properties have been established depending on the direction of the gradient of equivalent weight compared to the protons flow.

This research used an Integrated Water Resource Management approach to investigate how Water Demand Management (WDM) measures at government, utility and end-user levels could contribute to providing sustainable water supply to Bahrain, which is in an arid to semiarid region. The main driver for this research was the supply-driven orientation favoured by policy makers and practitioners in Bahrain with little consideration for demand management. This leads to a high estimated gross per capita consumption 525 l/c/d as of 2010. There was also a need to investigate the institutional environment for managing water resources and delivering sustainable water supply to Bahrain. The research adopted a case study methodology which included qualitative analysis of interviews and documents from the water authority, and quantitative analysis of questionnaire surveys and pilot studies. The research adopted a cross-sectional approach to the analysis of activities associated with WDM practice in Bahrain. All findings and conclusions were evaluated/validated using surveys distributed to water experts and customers. Based on their feedback, findings and conclusions were revised. The main finding of this research was that the tariff is highly subsidized by the government and there is no encouragement for water savings. The low tariff leads to low revenue which in turn affects the budget allocated to the relevant departments and units at the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA). This impacts negatively on their activities. It was found that there is no effective strategy for integrated water resources management; there is a high level of Non Revenue Water (NRW) (38%); and limited reuse of grey water and water use saving devices. In addition there is a lack of public awareness and understanding of the benefits of WDM among all levels of society including professionals and water supply providers. The research concluded that improving water use efficiency in Bahrain should be a priority due to the current high water supply costs. There is a need for proper legislation that enforces the use of WDM; establishment of a national WDM committee with the Water Resources Directorate, and for water resource professionals to follow WDM oriented policies. The research proposed six areas to be further investigated to achieve more efficient use of water: (a) Water tariff reform to recover full water supply costs; (b) institutional reform through activating and enforcing Water Resources Council roles; (c) promoting public awareness about WDM and its benefits; (d) reducing non revenue water; (e) applying positive economic sliding scale incentives for customers who reduce their water consumption.

L'eau douce est devenue un sujet de préoccupation majeur depuis la fin du XXe siècle, tant au niveau international qu'au niveau national. L'eau douce est une ressource rare et inégalement répartie dans la région méditerranéenne. La surexploitation des eaux de surface et des eaux souterraines ainsi que la dégradation de la qualité de l'eau sont également deux problèmes urgents pour cette région. Les pays méditerranéens ainsi que la communauté internationale se sont engagés dans la recherche d'une meilleure gestion de l'eau douce. Nombre d'études, de programmes et de coopérations internationales sont là pour en témoigner. Nous avons constaté que les engagements nationaux et internationaux existants ne répondaient que partiellement à ces problèmes urgents relatifs à l'eau douce. En tenant compte des situations particulières de la région, nous avons développé les perspectives d'une norme commune sur l'eau douce pour la région méditerranéenne. / Fresh water has become a major concern since the late twentieth century in both international and national level. Fresh water resources are scarce and spread unequally in the Mediterranean region. Overexploitation of surface water and groundwater, as well as degradation of water quality are two pressing issues for this region. Mediterranean countries and the international community have engaged in the search for a better management of fresh water. Lots of studies, programs and international cooperations are there to prove this. We found that the existing national and international undertake only partially these urgent problems related to freshwater. Taking account the particular circumstances of the region, we have developed the prospects for a common norm for fresh water to the Mediterranean region.

Les politiques de préservation de la biodiversité (Grenelle 1 et 2, trames vertes et bleues) et les politiques de gestion de l'eau et des milieux aquatiques (Directive cadre européenne sur l'eau, LEMA) enjoignent les collectivités de protéger et restaurer des corridors écologiques. Cependant, dans le cas de rivières fortement modifiées, comme c'est le cas des rivières périurbaines d'Ile-de-France, cette mesure fait l'objet de controverses quant à la faisabilité hydraulique des restaurations (risques d'assecs et d'inondations) et à leur intérêt en termes de qualité de l'eau. Les différents acteurs en charge de la gestion de ces rivières, mais également les scientifiques travaillant sur ces rivières (écologues, hydrologues, géographes,…) ne parviennent pas à construire une expertise partagée pour définir les conséquences, bénéfiques ou négatives, de cette restauration écologique.Nous avons fait l'hypothèse que les controverses autour de l'idée de restauration des cours d'eau, étaient en grande partie structurées par la mobilisation de différents types de connaissances et de représentations pour gérer ces cours d'eau. Il nous a dès lors semblé intéressant de mener, dans deux cas de figure très différents, deux démarches de concertation dans le but de favoriser une confrontation de ces expertises et représentations. Nous avons ensuite observé les effets produits par ces dispositifs sur la construction d'une expertise locale permettant une action collective en vue d'une restauration des continuités. Dans un cas, nous avons mené une démarche de « modélisation d'accompagnement » sur la rivière du Grand Morin, pour discuter de la restauration de la continuité longitudinale, en mêlant les expertises de chercheurs, d'élus, de représentants de l'Etat et de représentants d'usagers. Dans un second cas, nous avons mené une démarche de « jury citoyen » sur la vallée de l'Orge, visant à débattre de la restauration de la continuité latérale (trames vertes et bleues) avec des gestionnaires (syndicats, techniciens,…), des élus, des représentants d'associations et des citoyens. Ces arènes de concertation étaient des lieux privilégiés pour observer les échanges et les possibilités de co-construire des connaissances. Elles nous ont aussi permis d'étudier la mise en œuvre de la continuité écologique au niveau local en zone périurbaine, et d'étudier comment cette politique publique pouvait devenir l'objet d'une action collective entre tous les acteurs concernés. Nous avons choisi d'explorer les débats et les échanges entre les participants d'une manière dynamique, du point de vue des acteurs qui y participent, afin de voir comment se forge une action collective. Nous réalisons une comparaison entre les positions des participants avant et après les démarches de concertation. L'hybridation de savoirs permise par ces procédures produit des apprentissages chez les participants. Elle permet d'expliciter les valeurs et représentations qui sont derrière les connaissances de chacun. Ces démarches facilitent la construction d'une représentation commune du système. Elles permettent de débattre des incertitudes, de montrer ce qu'on ne sait pas, et donc de (re)poser des choix politiques face aux lacunes de connaissances techniques. Elles permettent d'approfondir la définition de la continuité écologique, et d'alterner des moments de politisation et dépolitisation de cet objet technique. Bien que ces procédures ne changent pas fondamentalement le cours de la décision publique, elles permettent un recadrage de la question, une forme de légitimation et d'appropriation de la continuité écologique. Elles permettent de construire une certaine confiance entre les participants, en changeant le collectif et la dynamique des débats. En ce sens on peut dire qu'elles facilitent l'action collective, en transformant un objet technique en objet socio-technique / Biodiversity preservation and water management policies (WFD, Grenelle 1 and 2) require local stakeholders to restore ecological corridors and natural functions of rivers and aquatic environments. Implementing this measure on semi-artificial rivers in the Ile-de-France region can be an issue. In this context, river managers use dams to regulate the water level and to prevent floods. Therefore, they are reluctant to remove them. We made the assumption that those controversies about ecological continuity were mostly due to the diversity of expertise and representation of nature management. Therefore, we conducted two participative procedures to discuss those types of expertise and representations, on two different rivers in the Ile-de-France region: the Morin River and the Orge River. We studied the effects of those procedures and their ability to create collective action in order to restore continuities. On the Morin River, a companion modeling process was conducted to debate about longitudinal ecological continuity, associating scientists, elected representatives and user representatives (kayakers, fishermen). Using a model, participants shared their knowledge and representations of the river, to build a compromise between different management options. On the Orge River, a citizen jury was conducted to debate about green and blue corridors, involving elected representatives, river managers and citizens. We observed and analyzed debates and knowledge sharing during those procedures. We studied how ecological continuity could be implemented in suburban areas and how it could become a collective action involving all stakeholders. We compared participants' positions before and after the debates. Sharing expertise through those procedures led the participants to learn about the river, its functioning and about others. It helped elucidating values and representation of each participant, facilitating the common understanding of their position. A common representation of the system was built and uncertainties were debated. Therefore, the technical subject of ecological continuity became more explicit and more political. Those procedures didn't have a direct impact on political and management decisions. However, they facilitated the appropriation and legitimation of the concept of ecological continuity. We observed more trust between participants and the collective dynamics of discussions was improved. Therefore, to a certain extent, these procedures changed a technical concept for a socio-technical object, and turned this public policy into a collective action

Water is a scarce and unevenly distributed national resource and it is, therefore, important to reduce water consumption in paper mills. Closure of water systems for reuse, however, directly and indirectly results in an increase in the numbers and types of microorganisms resulting in poor runnability, lower production rates and increased safety hazards. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbiology of paper-mill water systems in South Africa to aid in closure of water systems whilst controlling microbial fouling. Different environmental parameters monitored at paper mills were reviewed together with microbial enumeration techniques employed by industry and characterisation and identification methods to study bacteria. Various environmental and process parameters could play an important role in the number and type of microorganisms in a paper-mill water system. The highest correlation between an environmental parameter and biological activity was found for oxidation-reduction potential and the numbers of culturable aerobic bacteria. Other environmental parameters that significantly influenced microbial numbers were temperature, dissolved oxygen, dissolved solids, chemical oxygen demand, nitrogen, phosphorous, specific water consumption, pulp furnish, biocide class and retention time. The characterisation and identification of problematic bacteria in paper mills could enable better control since the correct biocides could be applied to minimise microbiologically associated problems. Prevalent bacteria that were isolated from the water systems of 14 paper machines were typed into 35 distinct groups using ERIC-PCR and PCR-RFLP and identified with sequence analysis. Eleven of the 35 types were identified to species level, 20 types were identified to genus level and the remaining four types were identified to family level. It was found that the majority of bacteria belonged to the genera Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas that contain well-known slime-forming bacterial species. Traditional methods employed to investigate bacteria in industrial water systems often do not accurately represent the composition and diversity of bacterial communities. DGGE analysis could provide a powerful tool for monitoring bacterial diversity, since it is able to discriminate between identical sizes of PCR-amplified DNA fragments that differ in their sequence content. The use of DGGE to monitor changes in microbial populations could improve control of microbial fouling, but more analyses would be needed to validate the results of the present study. / Dissertation (MSc (Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Microbiology and Plant Pathology / unrestricted

Please read the abstract (Synopsis) in the section, 00front of this document / Dissertation (MEng (Environmental Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Chemical Engineering / MEng / unrestricted

Vattenförsörjningen på Gotland består till stor del av vattenuttag från täkter baserade på grundvatten både ur allmänna täkter och enskilda brunnar. Gotlands grundvatten är på grund av berggrunden och ofta tunna jordlager känsligt för föroreningar och förändringar i klimatet. Idag är datainsamlingen gällande grundvattenkemin begränsad och det är önskvärt att informationen och kunskapen om Gotlands grundvatten ökar. Detta gäller framför allt Gotlands 14000 enskilda vattentäkter där analysresultaten idag inte är tillgängliga för myndigheter att använda i exempelvis miljömålsuppföljningar och i vattenförvaltningsarbetet. Därför syftar detta arbete till att ta fram ett förslag på hur ett tillgängliggörande av analysresultat kan gå till och vilka användningsområden som finns för dessa, och förhoppningsvis ligga till grund för ett praktiskt genomförande på Gotland. Vattenlaboratoriet på Gotland, SGU (Sveriges Geologiska Undersökning) och Länsstyrelsen fick svara på riktade frågor gällande deras del i detta arbete. Sammanställningen gjordes utifrån deras svar och resulterade i två förslag och ett medgivandeformulär. Slutsatsen är att det i dagsläget finns möjlighet att applicera och starta en datainsamling av analysresultat som kan vara till betydande hjälp i vattenförvaltningsarbetet på Gotland. Det kommer att underlättas framöver när Vattenlaboratoriet får nytt datasystem. / The water supply on Gotland mainly consists of withdrawal from groundwater wells both for public and private use. The groundwater on Gotland is especially vulnerable for contamination and effects of climate change because of the geology and thin soil layer. The data collection regarding the quality of the groundwater is limited today and it is desirable that information and knowledge about the groundwater improves. Primarily, this concerns Gotland’s 14000 private wells where analysis results are not available for authorities to use, for example, for work with environmental goals and water management. Therefore, this work aims to produce a proposition on how to make analysis results available and which use and applications they can have, and hopefully this can be a starting point for a practical implementation on Gotland. The Water laboratory on Gotland, SGU (Geological Survey of Sweden) and the County Administrative Board answered a questionnaire about their area of work and involvement in this. The answers provided a basis for this work, resulting in two suggestions on how to make the analysis results available and in a consent form. In summary, it is possible to start to collect data on analysis results, which can be of importance and use in the water management on Gotland. This will be more easily implemented and easier when the Water laboratory get their new computer system.