Biography:

Rashid Hassan is a Sudanese and South African national, was born in Sudan and received his first and second degrees in agricultural economics from University of Khartoum. He also holds a masters (1998) and PhD (1989) degrees in economics from Iowa State University in USA. He is currently Professor and Director of the Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy in Africa, at the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria. He was previously Program Director at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa and Regional Economist at CIMMYT International. He has served as a member of many advisory boards and committees, among others the FAO High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) on climate change and food security, the CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC), the South African Human Sciences Research Council Board of Directors, the External Academic Advisory Panel for the World Bank Development Report (WDR 2009) on climate change and development, the South Africa Forestry Company (SAFCOL) Board of Directors, the Steering Committee of the African Centre For Climate and Earth Stewardship Science, the Stockholm Resilience Centre Board of Directors, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Science and Technical Advisory Panel-STAP IV, and the Science Panel and Co-Chair of the Condition and Trends Working Group of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA). He also led the Africa-Wide GEF/World Bank Funded Project on impacts of climate change on agriculture, water and ecosystems. Professor Hassan is a member of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa and has been elected Senior Fellow of the African Association of Agric. Economists and Fellow of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS). He received the University of Pretoria Chancellor Medal for Research (2010) and is a three times recipient of its exceptional academic achiever award. Founding Chief Editor of the African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, he is associate editor and member of editorial boards of many international journals and has published over 140 refereed journal articles and book chapters and 12 books.

Abstract:

Freshwater is essential to the survival of all living resources including human populations. Water also provides indirect use benefits as intermediate input in economic production and in maintenance of critical ecological processes and functions. People also use water for recreational, aesthetic, social and religious purposes. The above economic, ecological and socio-cultural values of water are conceived and measured in different ways depending on disciplines of study and philosophical conceptions of enquirers. Measures of economic value provide useful policy information to guide decision-making and strategic planning for development and allocation of water resources towards the goals of economic efficiency, social equity and environmental sustainability.