Water Resource Management Frameworks in Water-Related Adaptation to Climate Change

Abstract

This chapter addresses the use of partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to determine the requirements for an effective development of water resource management frameworks. The authors developed a quantitative approach using Smart-PLS version 3 to reveal the views of different experts based on their experiences in water-related adaptation to climate change in the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) in Uganda. A sample size of 152 was computed from a population size of 245 across the districts of Buikwe, Jinja, Mukono, Kampala, and Wakiso. The chapter aimed to determine the relationship among the availability of legal, regulatory, and administrative frameworks, public water investment, price and demand management, information requirements, coordination structures, and analytical frameworks and how they influence the development of water resource management frameworks. The findings revealed that the availability of legal, regulatory, and administrative frameworks, public water investment, price and demand management, information requirements, and coordination structures had significant and positive effects on the development of water resource management frameworks. Public water investment had the highest path coefficient (β = 0.387 and p = 0.000), thus indicating that it has the greatest influence on the development of water resource management frameworks. The R2 value of the model was 0.714, which means that the five exogenous latent constructs collectively explained 71.4% of the variance in the development. The chapter suggests putting special emphasis on public water investment to achieve an effective development of water resource management frameworks. These findings can support the practitioners and decision makers engaged in water-related adaptation to climate change within the LVB and beyond.