Management of Hydrological Systems: Analysis and Perspective of the Contingent Valuation of Water for Mountain Basins

The contingent valuation of water is one of the key components when wanting to implement proposals for integrated water management in mountain basins. Management of Hydrological Systems (MHS), is one of the great challenges that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) currently demand. Mainly in mountain basins with fragile ecosystems that face strong pressures such as poverty, urban and population growth, low water supply and sanitation, and climate change.

Management of Hydrological Systems aims for sustainable water management, through contingent water valuation, showing the reader in a didactic way the procedure to follow in mountain basins. This book offers a complete characterization of the main problems affecting this type of basin, as well as the detailed procedure of the contingent valuation of water, which directly involves users. As such, this work is offered in relation to this urgent need for practical guidance demanded by society (SDGs), and is based on practical and real examples, rather than theoretical constructions, from places where these issues have not been widely addressed.

The text is recommended as a way forward, not only for water resource managers and decision- and policymakers but also for students and teachers who wish to implement this MHS guide.

Holger Benavides Muñoz, Jorge Arias Zari, Andreas Fries, José Sánchez-Paladines, Antonio Gallegos Reina, Racquel Hernández Ocampo, Pablo Ochoa Cueva