PETRESCU-MAG Ruxandra Mălina, PETRESCU Dacinia Crina DRINKING WATER: LEGISLATION, POLICY, ECONOMIC ASPECTS. CASE STUDIES FROM CLUJ-NAPOCA (ROMANIA)     GEOGRAFIE, MEDIU, ECONOMIE, DREPT       978-973-595-660-8 978-606-8191-61-4   2014     FULL E-BOOK Format: pdf
SUMMARY: Water is a natural resource with environmental, social and economic value in all its forms of use or exploitation. Therefore, water conservation, reuse and saving are and should be desiderata of any society. The UN General Assembly declared the period from 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action “Water for Life”, which illustrates the unprecedented importance that is given to this sector, especially because of the water crisis humanity has been facing for decades. Nowadays, the challenge is to combine environmental protection with continuous economic growth in a way sustainable in the long term. The European Union environment policy is based on the belief that high environmental standards stimulate innovation and business opportunities. In-depth knowledge of consumer behaviour towards water may offer valuable predictions in shaping future policy and legislative directions for viable and realistic water protection, for everything that means sustainable water consumption. Based on this assumption, the book “Drinking water: legislation, policy and economic aspects. Case studies from Cluj-Napoca (Romania)” is structured in two parts. The first one presents and analyzes the legal and policy issues related to drinking water quality at EU and national level (with reference to Romania). The second one is a practical approach to the economic side of water as natural resource and commodity. It includes two case studies based on surveys and focused on consumers from Cluj-Napoca (Romania). The tap water provided by the municipal supply system is the drinking water source for the majority of Romanian consumers, including those from Cluj-Napoca. For this reason, consumers’ perceptions of water services, water quality, drinking water issues and their related behaviour are essential and can be a starting point in fostering a sustainable behavior regarding water consumption in urban areas. Therefore, understanding perception, behavior and awareness of environmental aspects is important for policymakers, scientists, the business environment and consumers, especially because in Romania, between 2007 and 2013, water/wastewater infrastructure experienced the highest growth compared to other sectors. Without claiming to be an exhaustive study, the paper aims to bring new information to the Romanian publishing context and to provide a useful tool for those interested in shaping a more sustainable framework for water.