Cem P. Cetinkaya

Bio: Cem P. Cetinkaya is an academic researcher from Dokuz Eylül University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Water resources & Sustainability. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 10 publications receiving 121 citations.

Sustainability Issues in Water Management

Abstract: In the 1992 Rio World Summit on Environment and Development/UNCED), water resources are indicated to remain at the core of sustainable development and, thus, they are to be managed and developed on a sustainable basis. Sustainability is a philosophical concept and thus difficult to measure. Yet, we need to describe it on rather precise terms to assess whether our water management practices are sustainable and to ensure sustainability in decision making for management. To this end, a number of sustainability criteria have been defined, based on quantifiable measures, without overlooking immeasurable aspects of sustainable development. This paper considers economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability as the basic criteria to be pursued in evaluating how effective our water management plans are in achieving sustainability. On the other hand, actual case studies are needed to test the usefulness of selected criteria by using computer-based interactive optimization and simulation models with associated databases embedded into a decision support system (DSS). The study herein intends to present such a case study based on economic, social and environmental criteria to assess sustainability in management of the Gediz River Basin in Turkey. Various management scenarios developed for the basin are evaluated within a DSS while ensuring multi-stakeholder involvement in defining the three sustainability criteria. The case study is a result of the analyses carried out in SMART (Sustainable Management of Scarce Resources in the Coastal Zone) and OPTIMA (Optimization for Sustainable Water Resources Management) projects funded respectively by the 5th and 6th Framework Programmes of the European Union.

Optimization methods applied for sustainable management of water-scarce basins

Abstract: This paper aims to present the information-based technologies used for water management in a test basin within the scope of the EU-sponsored SMART and OPTIMA projects. The study uses a dynamic simulation model with its associated databases and a water resources planning and optimization system, established through a web-based client–server implementation to support distributed use and easy access for multi-criteria optimization and decision support. The results clearly illustrate how a consistent and well-integrated set of advanced but practical Decision Support System (DSS) tools can be used for efficient “optimal” water management strategies and policies of use, designed for a participatory public decision-making process.

Multi-Criteria Analysis of Water Allocation Scenarios in a Water Scarce Basin

Abstract: In 2015, a “Post-2015 Development Agenda” is defined for future global developments in water management. The proposed goal is referred to as SDG’s or Sustainable Development Goals, which will balance the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development with a strong linkage between environment and socio-economic goals. One of the major concepts of SDG’s is water security, which is the basic element of the Global Goal on Water, now defined as: “Securing Sustainable Water for All”. The proposal for a Global Goal for Water is associated with targets and indicators to help countries reach the goal by 2030. Among the five main targets specified, two major ones emphasize “water allocation” as an important support of water security, particularly in conditions of water security. This paper focuses on this latter issue in the case of water scarce Gediz Basin along the Aegean coast of Turkey, where irrigation is the major water consuming activity. In addition to allocation of water among other water use sectors and irrigation, it is important in the basin how irrigation water is allocated to various crops, as previous droughts struck crop yields the most. Thus, 16 alternative allocation scenarios are developed to assess the crop yield produced by each scenario. These alternatives are represented by social, economic and environmental indicators as criteria for selection the most favorable alternative. The selection is realized by Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) methodology, using the Reference Point Approach (RPA). In terms of methodology, presented paper shows that RPA is a powerful tool to guide engineers and decision makers to rationally select among several possible alternatives in water allocation.

Assessment of Water Quality Sampling Sites by a Dynamic Programming Approach

Abstract: Water quality monitoring network design is an iterative procedure, where an existing network should be reassessed from time to time on the basis of changing environmental demands and objectives in water quality management. In recent years, the economic and financial constraints faced by monitoring agencies have led to the initiation of network reduction procedures in the space domain (i.e., the reduction of the number of stations within a network). In this regard, the dynamic programming approach (DPA) can be effectively used to determine which monitoring sites are to be preserved when the network is consolidated for a fixed number of stations. However, previous studies on the use of the DPA methodology in network redesign have not yet resolved two basic questions: (1) what is the required (optimum) number of stations to be retained in the network to best represent the basin? and (2) how many subbasins should be selected when segregating the basin into smaller units as foreseen by DPA? Accordingly, the pr...

A holistic framework to assess the sustainability of irrigated agricultural systems

Abstract: Irrigated agriculture is a key activity for the long-term survival of human-environmental systems and the assessment of agricultural sustainability has been gaining increasing relevance. In spite o...

Sustainability by design: a subversive strategy for transforming our consumer culture

Abstract: transforming our consumer culture, by John R. Ehrenfeld, Yale University Press, New Haven, 2008, 272 pp., £18-00 (hardback), ISBN 978-0-30013-749-1 This book takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the roots of a vision that holds potential to change existing habits, beliefs and activities and create new ones for sustainability. Ehrenfeld reminds us that sustainability is an ‘essentially contested concept’, much like freedom or liberty, where we understand their meaning but lack wisdom and capabilities to make them real. Much of this book sets out our common understanding of sustainability, and as Ehrenfeld defines it as ‘the possibility of flourishing’. He interweaves ideas from a range of disciplines to produce a narrative, which highlights what we do (badly), why we do such things and what we need to change. Also and importantly, he highlights how a design for sustainability approach can be fostered through reawakening our awareness of how we should care for ourselves, for others and for the world in which we inhabit. Broadly speaking, Ehrenfeld makes the useful distinction between the meta-concept of sustainability, on the one hand, and current action, on the other hand, that is predominantly focused on micro-managing efficiency gains in existing products, services and infrastructures. He terms this type of activity as ‘reducing unsustainability’ and emphasises that reducing unsustainability will not create sustainability as sustainability and unsustainability are not two sides of the same coin. Sustainability is not the result of making the present slightly better; it, he argues, belongs to a new world served by a different language, cultural habits and stories – and until we find ourselves in that new world we must be able to hold on to these multiple realities and use design to develop new language, tools, institutions and strategies that aid our transitional journey. Ehrenfeld’s is a thought-provoking approach that calls for the need to think differently. His ambition is not for a revolution but rather for a series of small changes that can make a big difference over time; and it is in the seeding of such change that design is accorded a key role, in achieving a transition of minds rather than technological innovation. Ehrenfeld suggests that through over-reliance on technology to solve problems, modern society has lost sight of some basic principles, namely: our sense of place within and as part of nature; our understanding of what it is to be a human being; and our ethical ability to act responsibly. He suggests that although it is beyond the reach of an individual or group to quickly alter the fundamental patterns of unsustainability, it is within our grasp to challenge our understanding of reality and adopt different perceptions of the world and different ways of behaving in it. A key phenomenological theme of the book is that humans have the unique capacity of Being-in-the-world; of leading meaningful lives. Our ability to do this though, according to Ehrenfeld, will be dependent on our ability to substitute traditional market satisfiers intrinsic to our culture of consumption for a more subversive design strategy that creates meaningful products and services ‘that can transparently restore the human capability for caring and coping in all dimensions of living’. Ehrenfeld points out that this could happen in many ways: from inscribing instructions through product semantics that inhibit normal routine behaviours; to engagement strategies which involve users more deeply in understanding product identity and function; to participatory design activity where users are intimately involved in reframing problem and design outcomes. He believes that sustainable cultures evolve through new paradigmatic elements; and the capacity of design to understand, and build on, these elements (new beliefs and norms) and to reimagine a world that is authentically sustainable.