Public perceptions and attitudes toward water use in Israel: A multi-level analysis.

Abstract

This work explores how people think about water in Israel. Water in Israel and the Middle East is a scarce resource. Most of Israel's water resources are also transboundary and thus multiple actors from varying cultures and nationalities govern its use. But variance among actors within Israel also exists and can also help to inform policy. Current policies on water do not seem to take scarcity into account. Policies are rather a result of an ideological imperative for settling the land and for developing agriculture rather than on criteria for scarce water allocation. Policies and institutions developed at the national level favor agricultural self-sufficiency and settlement versus sustainable management of naturally limited resources. But water is used locally where currently management structures for its use are weak. Water infrastructure and socioeconomic conditions affect local attitudes and perceptions toward water. Accurately gauging the benefits and costs of water use at a local level is complex. Nevertheless, addressing this complexity is crucial as the social context is key to achieving a sustainable, productive and equitable management system. Unfortunately, limited disaggregated policies on land and water management have been implemented because of overriding concerns at the national level and the powerful agricultural lobby. To date, there is little local input and maneuverability on water resource management. It is thus useful to explain patterns of resource use at these disaggregated levels. This is because at these levels the variability in water use can be addressed and the socioeconomic and sociodemographic drivers behind water use decisions can be best understood. Analyzing an individual's attitudes and perceptions toward water generates testable hypotheses on human behavior toward resource use. These attitudes and perceptions were shown to differ according to sex, livelihood and place of residence. Recommendations for policy on managing scarce resources require the recognition of variation in attitudes and perceptions that exist at multiple levels, for what may be deemed favorable at one level may not be at another. Finally, directly engaging the community on their thoughts about water can help shed light onto what influences people's perceptions and attitudes toward water use.