Chapter 3
Theory
The definition of ‘theory’ is “a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained”
(Oxford Dictionary 2018). This book presents such a theory based on five foundational ideas using independent principles, and a basic law of nature in order to guide
water management process toward sustainability. Furthermore, the thought of developing a ‘theory’ for water use systems emerged when the author was reading the book
of the late eminent scholar John Rawls (1999) entitled “A theory of Justice”. In this
famous book, he advanced a theory based on three fundamental ideas; one of which
(the Difference Principle) gave impetus to some of the important developments of
this book as will be explained. Crucially, the emergence of a universal aggregative
indicator and an objective distributive approach for water use systems are significant
outcomes of the theory, which served as the foundation.
Before continuing to the theory itself, let me highlight that this book is an introduction trying to fulfil the prediction of its appearance by many authors, such
as:
• “One can reasonably expect that future literature and theory on water allocation will emerge to be usefully coherent rather than contrarian or incomplete”
(Lankford 2013).
• “Yet, despite the gravity of the current water crisis—which is projected to become
even more severe – our theoretical and analytical models do not adequately explain
inequitable water access and distribution, or how equity might be achieved” (Lu
et al. 2014).
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license
to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
N. Haie, Transparent Water Management Theory,
Water Resources Development and Management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6284-6_3
23
Theory
The definition of ‘theory’ is “a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained”
(Oxford Dictionary 2018). This book presents such a theory based on five foundational ideas using independent principles, and a basic law of nature in order to guide
water management process toward sustainability. Furthermore, the thought of developing a ‘theory’ for water use systems emerged when the author was reading the book
of the late eminent scholar John Rawls (1999) entitled “A theory of Justice”. In this
famous book, he advanced a theory based on three fundamental ideas; one of which
(the Difference Principle) gave impetus to some of the important developments of
this book as will be explained. Crucially, the emergence of a universal aggregative
indicator and an objective distributive approach for water use systems are significant
outcomes of the theory, which served as the foundation.
Before continuing to the theory itself, let me highlight that this book is an introduction trying to fulfil the prediction of its appearance by many authors, such
as:
• “One can reasonably expect that future literature and theory on water allocation will emerge to be usefully coherent rather than contrarian or incomplete”
(Lankford 2013).
• “Yet, despite the gravity of the current water crisis—which is projected to become
even more severe – our theoretical and analytical models do not adequately explain
inequitable water access and distribution, or how equity might be achieved” (Lu
et al. 2014).
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license
to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
N. Haie, Transparent Water Management Theory,
Water Resources Development and Management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6284-6_3
23