Productive efficiency and allocative efficiency: Why better water management may not solve the problem

It is commonplace for scientists and professionals who are not part of nati onal and communal water discourses to have very clear views on what is econ omically and environmentally sound. They are certain of the fundamental pri nciples which they claim should guide the development of policy. They belie ve that it will be possible to communicate the idea that 'more can be achie ved with less' and that 'better water management' is something over which t here can be a consensus. It will be demonstrated in the following analysis that only some ideal water allocation and management options are politicall y feasible. More importantly, it will be shown that the measures from which the most water use efficiency gains can be achieved are the ones fur which 'political prices' would have to be paid. These optimum options are, there fore, rarely addressed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.