Riparian vs Prior Appropriation Water Rights - Essay Example

For each of the following concepts provide a definition, a complete explanation as to their significance, and a practical example. How are the pairedconcepts similar How are they different Introduction Environmental and ecological topics have often attained fundamental importance at the regional, national, and international levels and it is important to make a reflective exploration of some of the key concepts in relation to ecological issues today. Debates concerning water rights are of great importance in the recent years and these water rights refer to the "use" rights. These water rights are mainly intended to amplify economic competence of water use and to deal with the conflicts among the various users of the water resources. The most important water rights include the Riparian, prior appropriation, and the hybrid states (CA), and the most important dimensions of these water rights are concerning acquisition, enjoyment, loss, and transfer of water. A general idea about the various important ecological issues become apparent in a profound analysis of some of the paired concepts such as Riparian vs. prior appropriation water rights, optimal instream flow vs. optimal reserve site selection, import dependency ratio vs. recycling ratio, maximum sustainable yield vs. minimum viable population, and sustainable vs. conventional agriculture. Riparian vs. prior appropriation water rights To define the concept of Riparian water rights, it refers to the system of distributing water among various people who own the land a propos the source of water and this water right has originated from the English common law. In various countries with a common law heritage to the English common law, Riparian rights are used as the major system of allocating water among the owners of the land about its source, and these countries include Canada, Australia, and states in the eastern United States. Thus, the Riparian rights are based on English common law principles and they are mainly used in humid east of the United States. At its acquisition dimension, the Riparian rights make the water available to riparian landowners who are adjacent to water and it is normally limited to land within a watershed. As against Riparian water rights, prior appropriation water rights, or the Colorado Doctrine, refers to the system of allocating water rights from a water source based on the principles of Jeffersonian democracy and these rights distinctly differ from Riparian rights. According to prior appropriation water rights, the appropriation doctrine is developed in order to meet the scarcity of water in the particular area and these rights are used mainly in the western United States. Although the provisions in this water right vary from state to state, it generally maintains that water rights do not have any connection to land ownership and it gives provisions to sell or mortgage water in the vein of other properties of individuals. Optimal instream flow vs. optimal reserve site selection Optimal instream flow refers to the amount of water to be left in the stream and it has a significant relationship to optimal site selection. In an analysis of optimal instream flow vs. optimal reserve site selection, it becomes lucid that there is an increasing demand for instream flow protection from the ecological, aesthetic, and recreational perspectives and the legal status of instream flow protection varies from state to state. To define an instream flow, it refers to the quantity of water that emerges within a stream channel at a particular locality during a specific period and the economists would incorporate instream water rights within the water rights markets. The optimal stream flows mainly indicate how much water should be left in the stream based on the various questions such as social efficiency. Import dependency ratio vs. recycling ratio Similarly, there is a close relationship between import dependency ratio and recycling ratio and the similarity and the difference between these two concepts gain significance in an analysis of the U.S. mineral import dependence. One of the most obvious examples of the increasing import dependency ratio in the U.S. is the import dependency on oil and it is essential to ensure an effective recycling ratio in order to maintain the stability of the domestic mineral supply. "In the course of analyzing the food situation of a country, an important aspect is to know how much of the available domestic food supply has been imported and how much comes from the country's own production. The IDR answers this question. It is defined as: Imports IDR = ___________________________________ x 100 production + imports - exports The complement of this ratio to 100 would represent that part of the domestic food supply that has been produced in the country itself." (Applications and Uses for Food Balance Sheets Data) It is important to keep the import dependency ratio low and it can be decreased by an import tax on foreign materials etc. It is important to realize that recycling has a major role in decreasing the use of virgin supplies and the ways of increasing recycling gain significance. Maximum sustainable yield vs. minimum viable population The concept of maximum sustainable yield vs. minimum viable population has great relevance with regard to population ecology and economics. Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) refers to the maximum amount of yield that can be taken from the stock of a species or the maximum quantity of harvest that can occur in the long run on a sustained basis. On the contrary, minimum viable population (MVP) is a term used in biology, ecology, and conservation biology to indicate the lower limit of catch on the population of a species, which is in proportion to the limit that it can survive in the wild. In other words, the MVP refers to the smallest possible size at which the species can survive without threats to its existence. Sustainable vs. conventional agriculture Another important notion in the environmental economics is the concept of sustainable vs. conventional agriculture and it is important to recognize the difference between the two concepts. As the World Commission on Environment and Development report suggests, it is important to meet the requirements of the present without damaging the needs of the future generations, and it can be attained only by sustainable development and agriculture. The conventional agriculture makes use of an industrialized agricultural system which includes the use of mechanization, synthetic inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The basic emphasis of this type of agriculture is on maximizing productivity and profitability. "Conventional agriculture is widely acknowledged to be unsustainable, and more sustainable ways of producing food are advocated both for industrial and traditionally based agriculture. However, sustainable agricultural development is a goal, based on values." (Sillitoe, 209) Therefore, it is fundamental to understand sustainable agriculture as a subjective and value-based goal which runs along the lines of sustainable development. Conclusion In conclusion, a careful investigation of the major concepts in the environmental economics bring about the essential similarity and difference among concepts such as riparian vs. prior appropriation water rights, optimal instream flow vs. optimal reserve site selection, import dependency ratio vs. recycling ratio, maximum sustainable yield vs. minimum viable population, and sustainable vs. conventional agriculture. Each of these concepts has fundamental relevance in the environmental economics and the relationship among these concepts indicates some of the basic environmental and ecological issues of the day. Works Cited "Applications and Uses for Food Balance Sheets Data." Food Balance Sheets - A Handbook. Economic and Social Development Department. June 11, 2010. http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x9892e/X9892e04.htm Sillitoe, Paul. Local Science Vs Global Science: Approaches to Indigenous Knowledge in International Development. Berghahn Books. 2009. P 209. Read More