A Quantitative Approach to the Watershed Governance Prism: The Duero River Basin, Mexico

Abstract

Advances have been made in water resource investigation due to the implementation of mathematical models, the development of theoretical frameworks, and the evaluation of sustainability indices. Together, they improve and make integrated water resource management more efficient. In this paper, in the study area of the Duero River Basin, located in Michoacan, Mexico, we schematize a series of numerical indices of the Watershed Governance Prism to determine the quantitative status of water governance in a watershed. The results, presented as axes, perspectives, and prisms in the Axis Index, Water Governance Index, and Watershed Governance Prism Index, provide the conclusion that it is possible to establish and evaluate the Watershed Governance Prism Index using our numerical implementation of the Watershed Governance Prism theoretical framework. Thus, it is possible to define a quantitative status and evoke how water governance is being designed and implemented in a watershed.