Innovation in resource access for sustainable development: addressing the sustainability challenge of the energy-water nexus
Date
2017
Authors
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
An ‘innovation in resource access’ paradigm is proposed for an equitable
distribution of natural resources (water and energy) for the agriculture sector of the
developing countries to achieve the goal of sustainable development in rural areas of
newly developed countries. On the contrary, the prevailing ‘innovation and access to
technology’ paradigm has often found to be skewed towards the elites of societies in the
developing world due to its emphasis on mechanization and capital intensity. The
paradigm of innovation in resource access seeks to encourage scholarly attention to
institutional reforms in governance, innovative re-designs in policies, and evidence-based
management practices for innovation in access to water and renewable-energy in the
agriculture sector. Innovation in resource access (especially in the energy-water) and
services they can provide, and to the knowledge development, decision making, planning
and governance processes needed to decide best uses of resources and services they
provide. Using a bottom-up approach, the dissertation offers arguments for why this
approach has promise for the pursuits of sustainable development. Following the
framework of Kuhn’s analysis, this research treats the existing paradigm of innovation
and access to technology as ‘normal science’ and evaluates its anomalies. This evaluation
leads to the study of determinants of innovation in resource access to sustainable water
and energy for the agriculture sector of the Punjab. Furthermore, the Punjab, Pakistan
case study has been presented for in-depth contextual and socio-economic understanding
of innovation in resource access.
Description
Keywords
Applied sciences, Social sciences, Earth sciences, Access, Agriculture, Energy-water nexus, Innovation, Natural resource, Policy