Comment on 'Using Economic Instruments for Water Demand Management: Introduction' by Bernard Cantin, Dan Shrubsole and Meriem Aiet-Ouyahia, Canadian Water Resources Journal, 30(1): 1-10

摘要

In their introductory article to the Special Issue of Canadian Water Resources Journal on Economic Instruments for Water Demand Management, Cantin et al. (2005) correctly state that "water use efficiency and conservation are different concepts" (page 4). Though they appropriately identify efficiency as "the productivity of water used for specific purposes", they go on to define conservation as "retaining water in ecosystems and to maintaining essential ecological services." This definition of conservation conforms to common usage, but that usage reflects the outmoded development versus preservation debate. It is not, therefore, very useful for analytical purposes intended to identify better (i.e., more effective and more politically acceptable) options for water demand management.