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The concept of the soft path was first used for energy resource management and was developed by Amory Lovins shortly after the shock of the 1973 energy crisis in the United States.<ref>"Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken?" published in Foreign Affairs, in October 1976</ref> This concept has now been refined and applied to water, most notably by water experts Peter Gleick<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pacinst.org/topics/water_and_sustainability/soft_path/nature_07252002.pdf|title=P.H. Gleick, 2002. Nature, Volume 418, pg. 373, July 25, 2002|publisher=}}</ref> and David Brooks.<ref>Making the Most of the Water We Have: The Soft Path Approach to Water Management, Edited by David B. Brooks, Oliver M. Brandes and Stephen Gurman, Earthscan, 2009</ref> The soft path is often framed as a more integrated and effective alternative to supply-side water resource management. Supply-side water management focuses on meeting demands for water through centralized, large-scale physical infrastructure, and centralized water management systems. In the 20th century, this approach focused on constructing bigger dams and drilling deeper wells to access more water to meet projected demands of consumers. More recently, a focus on demand-side management has emerged in regions where water supply is increasingly constrained (see, for example, Peak water), and it focuses on managing demand and making current practices more efficient. The soft path integrates both supply and demand concepts but in a broader context by recognizing that water is a means to satisfy demands for goods and services and asking how much water, of what qualities, is actually required to satisfy those demands efficiently and sustainably.<ref>Page 4. The Soft Path for Water in a Nutshell. 2005. Oliver M Brandes and David B Brooks. Friends of the Earth and POLIS Project on Ecological Governance. University of Victoria, Victoria, BC.</ref> Soft path water planning also requires broader institutional approaches to water management including the application of smart economics, the potential for distributed rather than centralized water systems, and more democratic participation in water policy decisions.<ref>G. Wolff and P.H. Gleick, "The Soft Path for Water" in The World's Water 2002-2003 (Island Press, Washington D.C., pp. 1-32.[http://www.pacinst.org/publications/worlds_water/worlds_water_2002_chapter1.pdf]</ref> Others have described the soft path as "unleashing the full potential of demand-side management.",<ref>[Quote]{{cite web |url=http://www.poliswaterproject.org/softpath |title=The Soft Path for Water | Water Sustainability Project |accessdate=2009-02-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120907002645/http://www.poliswaterproject.org/softpath |archivedate=2012-09-07 }} [Oliver M Brandes water expert]http://www.cbc.ca/blueprintalberta/experts/oliver-brandes.html</ref><ref>Page 4. Thinking Beyond Pipes and Pumps. (2006) Oliver M Brandes, Tony Maas and Ellen Reynolds. POLIS Project on Ecological Governance. University of Victoria, Victoria, BC.</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://watersoftenersolutions.com/best-salt-free-water-softeners/ |title= Salt Free Water Softener }} Saturday, 13 March 2021 </ref> |
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{{articleissues|essay-like=April 2008|original research=April 2008|refimprove=April 2008|tooshort=April 2008}} |
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==The Soft Water Path== |
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==Publications== |
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In the early 2000s, a new approach to water management was proposed by [[Peter Gleick]] and other water experts as a way to address serious unresolved water problems from the 20th century, especially the failure to meet basic human needs for billions, damages to ecological systems from water use or contamination, and growing violence over shared water resources. |
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* The Soft Path for Water iPacific Instituten a Nutshell. 2005. Oliver M Brandes and David B Brooks. Friends of the Earth and POLIS Project on Ecological Governance. University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. |
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* Manitoba Water Soft Path 2006. |
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* The Energy Controversy: Soft Path Questions and Answers (1979) {{ISBN|978-0-913890-22-6}} |
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* A New Path to Water Sustainability for the Town of Oliver, BC - Soft Path Case Study by Oliver M Brandes Tony Maas Adam Mjolsness Ellen Reynolds. Uvic Printers. Feb 2008. |
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==The Soft versus Hard Paths for Water== |
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* Soft energy path |
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Traditional water development in the 20th century relied on a strategy of finding and developing new supplies of water by building large, centralized infrastructure. such as [[dams]], [[aqueducts]], and centralized treatment facilities. This approach – the “hard path” – brought many benefits, such as improved health, reliable low-cost water supplies, flood protection, and irrigation, it left much of the world with critical unresolved water challenges, including billions of people without basic safe water and [[sanitation]], and significant ecological devastation to natural [[aquatic ecosystems]]. Some water experts are now beginning to call for new thinking and new approaches to global and local water problems.<ref>P.H. Gleick, 2003,''Science'', Volume 302, November 28, 2003, pp. 1524-1528.</ref> |
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* Backcasting |
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* Ecological governance |
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The concept of a “soft water path” has been developed and described by [[Peter Gleick]] and colleagues at the [[Pacific Institute]] and by others, such as [[David Brooks]] of Friends of the Earth, Canada <ref> Soft Path for Water in a Nutshell, by Oliver Brandes and David Brooks, Friends of the Earth, Ottawa, 2007</ref>[http://www.polisproject.org/PDFs/nutshell_revised_lowres.pdf] as a comprehensive approach to water management, planning, and use. It draws from the earlier concept of a [[soft energy path]] developed by energy pioneer [[Amory Lovins]]. The soft water path acknowledges the need to continue to develop and use water infrastructure, but combines that with a call for improvements in the overall productivity of water use, the smart application of economics to encourage efficiency and equitable use, innovative new technologies, and the strong participation of communities and local water users in making decisions. Rather than continue to try to develop new virgin sources of new supply, the soft path matches water services to the scale of the users’ needs. It also takes environmental and social concerns into account to ensure that basic human needs and the needs of the natural world are both met. |
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Underlying the soft path for water is the insight that people don’t want to “use” water, with the exception of minimal amounts of water for drinking and other basic needs – people want to bathe, produce goods and services, grow food, and generally meet human needs. Trying to achieve satisfy these needs more efficiently, with less water, can reduce pressure on limited freshwater resources. |
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==How the Soft Path Differs== |
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The soft path can be distinguished from the traditional, hard path to water in six main ways: [http://www.pacinst.org/publications/worlds_water/worlds_water_2002_chapter1.pdf]. The soft path |
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1) Ensures water for human needs. The soft path directs governments, companies, and individuals to meet the water needs of people and businesses, instead of just supplying water. People want clean clothes or to be able to produce goods and services – they do not care how much water is used and may not care if water is used at all. |
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2) Ensures water for ecological needs. The soft path recognizes that the health of our natural world and the activities that depend on it (like swimming, water purification, [[ecological habitat]], and tourism) are important to water users and people in general. Often times, by not returning enough water to the natural world, the hard path harms humans and other ecological users downstream. |
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3) Matches the quality of water with its use. The soft path advances water systems that supply different [[water quality]] of water for different uses. For instance, storm runoff, gray water, and [[reclaimed wastewater]], although not of the highest quality, are well-suited for landscape irrigation or for certain industrial purposes. |
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4) Matches the scale of the infrastructure to the scale of the need. The soft path for water recognizes that investing in decentralized infrastructure can be just as cost-effective as investing in large, centralized facilities. There is nothing inherently better about providing irrigation water from a massive reservoir instead of using decentralized rainwater capture and storage. |
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5) Includes public participation in decisions over water. The soft path requires water agency or company personnel to interact closely with water users and to engage community groups in water management. The hard path, governed by an engineering mentality, is accustomed to meeting generic needs. |
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6) Uses smart economics. The soft path recognizes the public and economic aspects of water and uses the power of water economics to encourage the equitable distribution and efficient use of water. |
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{{Portal|Sustainable development|Sustainable development.svg}} |
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* [[Hydrology]] |
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* [[Water cycle]] |
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* [[Water resources]] |
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* [[Sanitation]] |
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* [[Sustainable development]] |
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* [[Pacific Institute]] |
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==External links== |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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[[Category:Water supply]] |
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[[Category:Water and the environment]] |
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{{uncategorized|date=April 2008}} |
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Latest revision as of 23:48, 30 March 2024
The concept of the soft path was first used for energy resource management and was developed by Amory Lovins shortly after the shock of the 1973 energy crisis in the United States.[1] This concept has now been refined and applied to water, most notably by water experts Peter Gleick[2] and David Brooks.[3] The soft path is often framed as a more integrated and effective alternative to supply-side water resource management. Supply-side water management focuses on meeting demands for water through centralized, large-scale physical infrastructure, and centralized water management systems. In the 20th century, this approach focused on constructing bigger dams and drilling deeper wells to access more water to meet projected demands of consumers. More recently, a focus on demand-side management has emerged in regions where water supply is increasingly constrained (see, for example, Peak water), and it focuses on managing demand and making current practices more efficient. The soft path integrates both supply and demand concepts but in a broader context by recognizing that water is a means to satisfy demands for goods and services and asking how much water, of what qualities, is actually required to satisfy those demands efficiently and sustainably.[4] Soft path water planning also requires broader institutional approaches to water management including the application of smart economics, the potential for distributed rather than centralized water systems, and more democratic participation in water policy decisions.[5] Others have described the soft path as "unleashing the full potential of demand-side management.",[6][7][8]
Publications
[edit]- The Soft Path for Water iPacific Instituten a Nutshell. 2005. Oliver M Brandes and David B Brooks. Friends of the Earth and POLIS Project on Ecological Governance. University of Victoria, Victoria, BC.
- G. Wolff and P.H. Gleick, "The Soft Path for Water" in The World's Water 2002-2003 (Island Press, Washington D.C., pp. 1-32.
- P.H. Gleick, 2003. Science, Volume 302, November 28, 2003, pp. 1524-1528.
- P.H. Gleick, 2002. Nature, Volume 418, pg. 373, July 25, 2002.
- Manitoba Water Soft Path 2006.
- The Energy Controversy: Soft Path Questions and Answers (1979) ISBN 978-0-913890-22-6
- A New Path to Water Sustainability for the Town of Oliver, BC - Soft Path Case Study by Oliver M Brandes Tony Maas Adam Mjolsness Ellen Reynolds. Uvic Printers. Feb 2008.
See also
[edit]- Soft energy path
- Backcasting
- Ecological governance
References
[edit]- ^ "Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken?" published in Foreign Affairs, in October 1976
- ^ "P.H. Gleick, 2002. Nature, Volume 418, pg. 373, July 25, 2002" (PDF).
- ^ Making the Most of the Water We Have: The Soft Path Approach to Water Management, Edited by David B. Brooks, Oliver M. Brandes and Stephen Gurman, Earthscan, 2009
- ^ Page 4. The Soft Path for Water in a Nutshell. 2005. Oliver M Brandes and David B Brooks. Friends of the Earth and POLIS Project on Ecological Governance. University of Victoria, Victoria, BC.
- ^ G. Wolff and P.H. Gleick, "The Soft Path for Water" in The World's Water 2002-2003 (Island Press, Washington D.C., pp. 1-32.[1]
- ^ [Quote]"The Soft Path for Water | Water Sustainability Project". Archived from the original on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2009-02-20. [Oliver M Brandes water expert]http://www.cbc.ca/blueprintalberta/experts/oliver-brandes.html
- ^ Page 4. Thinking Beyond Pipes and Pumps. (2006) Oliver M Brandes, Tony Maas and Ellen Reynolds. POLIS Project on Ecological Governance. University of Victoria, Victoria, BC.
- ^ "Salt Free Water Softener". Saturday, 13 March 2021