Reseña

Summary
Fresh water is a scarce and depletable resource that has been studied by analyzing declinations of groundwater tables in various regions throughout the world. Climate change effects on water resources are pressing all types of water users to implement adaptation measures. So far, the management of groundwater has been mainly studied from the supply-side and engineering perspectives. This is necessary, but not sufficient to solve the problem of overexploitation of groundwater resource. There has been less research on the demand side of the problem, on how to induce cooperation among users to conserve water resources.
Water scarcity in a location results when extraction rates of users, exceed the available water stock and the recharge capacity of the aquifer. Therefore, adaptation to water scarcity depends on how the water users adjust their water extraction - over time - to the recharge capacity of the aquifer. This requires water users to have knowledge on water extraction volumes of all water users of the aquifer, and the recharging capacity of the aquifer. Based on this information, water users might consider the connection between water inflows, outflows and stock determinants of the water balance, as a key concept for sustainability of ground water resource management.

This research was focused upon the demand side of water scarcity in three Colombian municipalities Corozal (Sucre), Guamal (Magdalena), and Riohacha (La Guajira) with the objective to better understand the nature of cooperation among water users. This researcher analyzed drivers of cooperation, behavior and institutional mechanisms, using complementary lenses of common pool resource theory, behavioral economics and institutional economics.