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Transformational sustainability science demands that stakeholders and researchers consider the needs and values of future generations in pursuit of solutions to sustainability problems. This dissertation research focuses on the real-world problem of unsustainable water governance in the Phoenix region of Central Arizona. A sustainability transition is the local water system

Transformational sustainability science demands that stakeholders and researchers consider the needs and values of future generations in pursuit of solutions to sustainability problems. This dissertation research focuses on the real-world problem of unsustainable water governance in the Phoenix region of Central Arizona. A sustainability transition is the local water system is necessary to overcome sustainability challenges and scenarios can be used to explore plausible and desirable futures to inform a transition, but this requires some methodological refinements. This dissertation refines scenario methodology to generate water governance scenarios for metropolitan Phoenix that: (i) feature enhanced stakeholder participation; (ii) incorporate normative values and preferences; (iii) focus on governance actors and their activities; and (iv) meet an expanded set of quality criteria. The first study in the dissertation analyzes and evaluates participatory climate change scenarios to provide recommendations for the construction and use of scenarios that advance climate adaptation and mitigation efforts. The second study proposes and tests a set of plausibility indications to substantiate or evaluate claims that scenarios and future projections could become reality, helping to establish the legitimacy of radically different or transformative scenarios among an extended peer community. The case study of water governance begins with the third study, which includes a current state analysis and sustainability appraisal of the Phoenix-area water system. This is followed by a fourth study which surveys Phoenix-area water decision-makers to better understand water-related preferences for use in scenario construction. The fifth and final study applies a multi-method approach to construct future scenarios of water governance in metropolitan Phoenix in 2030 using stakeholder preferences, among other normative frames, and testing systemic impacts with WaterSim 5.0, a dynamic simulation model of water in the region. The scenarios are boundary objects around which stakeholders can weigh tradeoffs, set priorities and reflect on impacts of water-related activities, broadening policy dialogues around water governance in central Arizona. Together the five studies advance transformational sustainability research by refining methods to engage stakeholders in crafting futures that define how individuals and institutions should operate in transformed and sustainable systems.
ContributorsKeeler, Lauren Withycombe (Author) / Wiek, Arnim (Thesis advisor) / White, Dave D (Committee member) / Lang, Daniel J (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
With less than seven years left to reach the ambitious targets of the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is imperative to understand how the SDGs are operationalized in practice to support effective governance. One integrative approach, the water, energy, and food (WEF) nexus, has been proposed to

With less than seven years left to reach the ambitious targets of the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is imperative to understand how the SDGs are operationalized in practice to support effective governance. One integrative approach, the water, energy, and food (WEF) nexus, has been proposed to facilitate SDGs planning and implementation by incorporating synergies, co-benefits, and trade-offs. In this dissertation, I conduct three interrelated WEF nexus studies using a sustainability lens to develop new approaches and identify actionable measures to support the SDGs. The first paper is a systematic literature review (2015 – 2022) to investigate the extent to which WEF nexus research has generated actionable knowledge to achieve the SDGs. The findings show that the WEF nexus literature explicitly considering the SDGs mainly focuses on governance and environmental protection, with fewer studies focusing on target populations and affordability. In the second paper, I reframed the water quality concerns using a nexus and systems thinking approach in a FEW nexus hotspot, the Rio Negro Basin (RNB) in Uruguay. While Uruguay is committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, sustainability challenges endure in managing synergies and trade-offs, resulting in strategy setbacks for the sustainable development of food, land, water, and oceans. Reframing the water quality problem facilitated the identification of potential alternative intervention points to support local problem-solving capacity. In the third paper, I conducted semi-structured interviews and examined the meeting transcripts of the RNB Commission to understand local perspectives about how the activities and initiatives taking place in the basin enhance or diminish the overall sustainability. Sustainability criteria for river basin planning and management were operationalized through qualitative appraisal questions. The case of the RNB illustrates the challenges of coordinating the national development agenda to local livelihood. This dissertation advances the WEF nexus and sustainability science literature by shedding light on the implications of the research trend to support the SDGs, as well as reframing and appraising a persistent water quality problem to support sustainable development.
ContributorsOjeda Matos, Glorynel (Author) / White, Dave D (Thesis advisor) / Brundiers, Katja (Committee member) / Garcia, Margaret (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
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Description
The food-energy-water (FEW) nexus refers to the interactions, trade-offs, and relationships between the three resources and their related governance sectors. Given the significant interdependencies, decisions made in one sector can affect the other two; thus, integrated governance can reduce unintended consequences and lead towards increased resource security and sustainability. Despite

The food-energy-water (FEW) nexus refers to the interactions, trade-offs, and relationships between the three resources and their related governance sectors. Given the significant interdependencies, decisions made in one sector can affect the other two; thus, integrated governance can reduce unintended consequences and lead towards increased resource security and sustainability. Despite the known benefits, many governance decisions continue to be made in “silos,” where stakeholders do not coordinate across sectoral boundaries. Scholars have begun to identify barriers to the implementation of integrated FEW nexus governance, yet there is still minimal understanding of the reasons why these barriers exist and no theoretical framework for evaluating or assessing FEW nexus governance. Integrating the theory of collaborative governance with the concept of the FEW nexus provides an opportunity to better understand the barriers to and structures of FEW nexus governance and to propose solutions for increased collaborative FEW nexus governance in practice. To investigate this governance system, I examined the collaborative governance of the FEW nexus in the context of extreme urban water challenges in two urban case cities: Phoenix, Arizona, USA and Cape Town, South Africa. First, I performed a media analysis of the 2018 Cape Town water crisis to understand the impact of the water crisis on the FEW nexus resource system and the collaborative governance employed to respond to that crisis. Second, I conducted a systematic case study of FEW nexus governance in Phoenix, Arizona to understand barriers to collaborative governance implementation in the system and to identify opportunities to overcome these barriers. Finally, I presented a framework of indicators to assess the collaborative governance of the local FEW nexus. This dissertation will advance the sustainability literature by moving the concept of FEW nexus governance from theory and conceptualization towards operationalization and measurement.
ContributorsJones, Jaime Leah (Author) / White, Dave D (Thesis advisor) / Melnick, Rob (Committee member) / Aggarwal, Rimjhim (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
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Description
Globally, rivers are being heavily dammed and over-utilized to the point where water shortages are starting to occur. This problem is magnified in arid and semi-arid regions where climate change, growing populations, intensive agriculture and urbanization have created tremendous pressures on existing river systems. Regulatory incentives have been enacted in

Globally, rivers are being heavily dammed and over-utilized to the point where water shortages are starting to occur. This problem is magnified in arid and semi-arid regions where climate change, growing populations, intensive agriculture and urbanization have created tremendous pressures on existing river systems. Regulatory incentives have been enacted in recent decades that have spurred river restoration programs in the United States. But what kind of governance does river restoration require that is different from allocative institutional set-ups? Are these recovery programs succeeding in restoring ecological health and resilience of the rivers? Do the programs contribute to social-ecological resilience of the river systems more broadly? This study aims to tackle these key questions for two Colorado River sub-basin recovery programs (one in the Upper Basin and one in the Lower Basin) through utilization of different frameworks and methodologies for each. Organizational resilience to institutional and biophysical disturbances varies, with the Upper Basin program being more resilient than the Lower Basin program. Ecological resilience as measured by beta diversity (for the Upper Basin) was a factor of the level of hydrological and technological interventions rather than an occurrence of the natural flow regime. This points to the fact that in a highly-dampened and managed system like the Colorado River, the dampened flow regime alone is not a significant factor in maintaining community diversity and ecological health. A broad-scale social-ecological analysis supports the finding that the natural feedback between social and ecological elements is broken and recovery efforts are more an attempt at resuscitating the river system to maintain a semblance of historic levels of fish populations and aquatic processes. Adaptive management pathways for the future need to address and build pathways to transformability into recovery planning to achieve resilience for the river system.
ContributorsSrinivasan, Jaishri (Author) / Schoon, Michael L (Thesis advisor) / Sabo, John L (Thesis advisor) / White, Dave D (Committee member) / Janssen, Marcus A (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021