Alternatives to Active and/or Integrated Water Resource Management?

Much has been made in New Mexico about the changes to water resource management since the statutes authorizing the OSE to pursue "active water resource management" were passed a few years ago. Depending on the basin, it's either been slightly controversial, or highly confrontational (according to people living in some of those basins).
This is a brief post to ask out loud, rhetorically, what are the alternatives to "active" management? How could the "active" bit of management be better "integrated" into the local scheme of water resource management plans? Here comes my advertising for a new on-line and better yet, FREE journal, Water Alternatives, and the current issue explores the various routes towards managing water in some integrated ways, with ideas from cases and areas around the world. It's worth a look, honest. The last issue was on hydraulic bureaucracies, something I touched on in one of my latest posts, and also worth a look. Again, the comparative approach, however frustrating to look at apples/oranges/bananas, is one of the few ways to gain insights and to learn from the real experiences of others. And I'm encouraged that so many societies, and so many colleagues here and abroad, are fighting against the expensive journal subscriptions by starting great on-line outlets like Water Alternatives. Another broader, and free, outlet not just focused on water is the Journal of Political Ecology. Check it out if you're bored with Twittering. - epp

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