Shifting paradigms in water management

Abstract

This chapter analyses the application of space technology in informing water management and explores the use of technology with respect to meeting agriculture and domestic water demands. It distinguish between the space technology, which is applicable in the initial planning stages and informs water management, and the technology installed or utilised in the agriculture and domestic water sectors. It underscores the complementarities of the various types of technology and the levels at which they are applicable to improve water management for the day to day uses of water. It is written from the perspective of a water user and relates the end use of water to contemporary uses of space technology in water management. The chapter is based on water management research conducted in the rural, peri-urban and urban areas of Zambia, Southern Africa. The chapter traces some of the paradigm shifts in water management from the colonial era to the expert driven era. The expertise focus thrives in the information age, which places increasing emphasis on the adaptation of management techniques to technology options and their potential contribution. The limited information and technology applied in the colonial era and the national building eras impacted the capacity of water management and the development of the resource. In the era of a liberalised economy and the implied flow of information and transfer of technology, water management is expected to be more proactive and responsive to user demands and more readily informed by the experts. © 2009 Springer Netherlands.