Study of Water Economic Value to Improve the Role of Society in Watershed Management

Abstract

The water economic value nowadays is relatively still low considering the limited understanding of water economic value due to the lack of interest from the people to the water resource system, particularly in a watershed. The increase of space demand in catchment areas which has the hydrological function to support water availability, has caused an impact on water availability. To improve the role of society in watershed protection and management, this research studied the water economic value from a society point of view. The relation among the variables to the water economic value could bring the ideas on how to improve the society understanding of water economic value. A better understanding of the water economic value of the society could enhance their role in watershed protection and management to support the watersheds carrying capacity as the supplier of water availability of current and future. The method used in this research was explanatory research which explains the causality among the relation of the variables through the hypothesis testing. This approach was chosen by considering the aims of the research, including the efforts to define the relation and influence to society estimation of water economic value. Therefore, variables used in this research consisted of water economic value, society's social-economic condition, society's understanding of the hydrological cycle in the watershed, and the availability of water distribution system. Furthermore, based on the result analysis, the estimation indicators of each variable relation were defined. The relation among the variables and its indicators were tested by SEM (Structural Equation Model). The result showed that the social-economic condition of the society influences their understanding of hydrological cycle in the catchment area, the availability of water distribution system does not indicate the influence of society understanding on the hydrological cycle in the catchment area, the social-economic condition of the society does not influence their estimation on water economic value, the availability of water distribution system indicate the influence to society estimation of water economic value and the land-use changes which are the manifestation of understanding on the hydrological process in catchment area influence to water economic value estimation.