Como recurso natural clave para la supervivencia de los seres humanos, el agua siempre ha tenido una gran importancia política y económica. El cambio mundial hacia el neoliberalismo genera una discusión intensa sobre cómo se deben gestionar los recursos naturales y, entre ellos, los recursos hídricos controlados por el Estado, el mercado del sistema capitalista o por grupos de usuarios/as. En esta discusión se presenta un debate sobre el conocimiento aplicado, distinguiendo entre el conocimiento científico de expertos externos y el conocimiento local de usuarios/as del recurso, como el de los indígenas mayas, quienes confrontaron su medioambiente y desarrollaron una elaborada gestión del agua. El objetivo del estudio fue documentar el conocimiento de los mayas sobre la gestión del agua. Este conocimiento incluye la percepción de la población sobre el recurso hídrico, las costumbres que prevalecen, así como las distintas fuentes de aprovechamiento, usos y elementos de gestión. El trabajo de campo se realizó entre mayo de 2006 y enero de 2007 en el caserío Vista Hermosa (Guatemala), con la ayuda de 59 colaboradores por medio de observaciones, distintos tipos de entrevistas y mapeos participativos. Los informantes culturalmente especializados dieron una primera imagen del sistema local de la gestión del agua y, comenzando con ellos/as se aplicó el principio de la bola de la nieve para conocer a los demás informantes. Los datos de entrevistas y mapas, entre otros, se codificaron y analizaron por frecuencias, diferencias o semejanzas de los códigos. Como resultado se encontró que en Vista Hermosa existe una percepción del agua que se compone de distintos conceptos y costumbres. Los nacimientos son la fuente de agua más importante para el caserío; su sistema de abastecimiento se compone de proyectos de mini riego y tomas domiciliarias, agua de ríos y nacimientos no captados, así como de un vivero y un astillero municipal. En cuanto a la imagen del agua, se encontraron varios tipos de relaciones entre los elementos del sistema de gestión y las maneras en que los habitantes de Vista Hermosa utilizan el agua, aprovechándola a través de grupos de vecinos/as organizados y no de forma individual, lo que permite la socialización del conocimiento y el uso eficiente de la infraestructura comunitaria. | As a key natural resource for human survival, water has always had great political and economic importance. The global change towards neoliberalism generates an intense discussion about how natural resources should be managed and, among them, water resources controlled by the State, by the capitalist market system or by users' groups. In this discussion, we present a debate regarding applied knowledge, distinguishing between scientific knowledge by foreign experts and the local knowledge of resource users, like Mayan indigenous peoples, who faced their environment and developed an elaborate water management system. The objective of the study was to document knowledge by the Maya people regarding water management. This knowledge includes the population's perception regarding the water resource, the customs that prevail, as well as the different sources for utilization, uses and management elements. The field work was carried out between May, 2006, and January, 2007, in the Vista Hermosa hamlet (Guatemala), with the help of 59 informants, through observations, different types of interviews and participant mapping. Culturally specialized informants gave a first image of the local water management system and, beginning with them, the snowball principle was applied to meet the other informants. Data from interviews and maps, among others, were codified and analyzed by frequencies, differences or similarities in the codes. As a result, we found that in Vista Hermosa there is a perception of water that is composed of different concepts and customs. The most important source of water for the hamlet are fountains; their supply system is composed of mini-irrigation and household-supply (tap) projects, water from rivers and fountains that are not captured, as well as a nursery and a municipal lumberyard. With regards to the image of water, we found many types of relationships between elements of the management system and the ways that inhabitants in Vista Hermosa utilize water, taking advantage of it through organized neighbors' groups and not individually, which allows socialization of knowledge and an efficient use of the community infrastructure.

Groundwater quantity and quality may be affected by climate change through intricate direct and indirect mechanisms. At the same time, population growth and rapid urbanization have made groundwater an increasingly important source of water for multiple uses around the world, including southern Africa. The present study investigates the coupled human and natural system (CHANS) linking climate, sanitation, and groundwater quality in Ramotswa, a rapidly growing peri-urban area in the semi-arid southeastern Botswana, which relies on the transboundary Ramotswa aquifer for water supply. Analysis of long-term rainfall records indicated that droughts like the one in 2013–2016 are increasing in likelihood in the area due to climate change. Key informant interviews showed that due to the drought, people increasingly used pit latrines rather than flush toilets. Nitrate, fecal coliforms, and caffeine analyses of Ramotswa groundwater revealed that human waste leaching from pit latrines is the likely source of nitrate pollution. The results in conjunction indicate critical indirect linkages between climate change, sanitation, groundwater quality, and water security in the area. Improved sanitation, groundwater protection and remediation, and local water treatment would enhance reliable access to water, de-couple the community from reliance on surface water and associated water shortage risks, and help prevent transboundary tension over the shared aquifer.

Co-management through local collective action appeals as a way of effectively responding to critical groundwater management issues, including groundwater quality degradation and pumping that lowers water tables. Co-management may also build sufficient trust for stakeholders to agree to investigate, and potentially implement, new opportunities for the use and management of groundwater resources. This paper examines the potential of collective action to underpin co-management and lead to improved groundwater management. The case study is the Angas Bremer (AB) irrigation district in South Australia, which provides a rare example of community-lead groundwater management since the late 1970s. The key questions were: (1) Was the AB an example of collective action, and did that spark successful co-management? and, (2) What were the key outcomes of collective action throughout the years? Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. By working together, and with government departments, AB irrigators successfully recovered an aquifer that was at risk of depletion and salinization. Drawing on this evidence, it is suggested that co-management through local collective action may be a useful option for those setting out to improve the social acceptability of new groundwater initiatives in farming landscapes, including managed aquifer recharge (MAR) and conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater.