Harmonizing water management and social needs: a necessary condition for sustainable development. The case of Israel's coastal aquifer

Abstract

This study focuses on the problem of most efficiently fulfilling the water requirements of society for sustainable water resources management. The goal is to coordinate effectively the social needs of the resident population with operational water resources management planning.The proposed approach consists of a pyramidal hierarchy of water resource management needs, similar to that suggested by psychologist Abraham Maslow for human social needs. The two pyramidal hierarchies can be simultaneously employed to delineate guidelines to synchronize planning for sustainable water resources development with the concerns and expectations of the resident population. In both hierarchies, higher level needs remain irrelevant and difficult to attain until lower level needs of the resident population have been fulfilled. Management planning measures employed with regard to Israel's coastal aquifer have been used to illustrate this approach. Observation of Israel's experience indicates markedly reduced effectiveness where such measures have failed to be properly synchronised with societal needs. Conversely, where hydrological management measures were successfully synchronized with societal concerns, increased efficiency towards attaining sustainable groundwater management was evident.