Research Theme - Socio-hydrology
At the heart of water security is the ability of water systems to meet changing human and environmental needs. This goal involves two very specific social components that are at the core of socio-hydrology:
- Integrating humans and their activities into water science.
- Ensuring that water decision-making incorporates a range of values and perspectives about the meaning, value and use of water.
Socio-hydrology recognizes that many of the current stresses on water systems stem from social factors such as demography, the global economy, changing societal values and norms, technological innovation, laws and customs, and financial markets. It also acknowledges that the inability of many water systems to adjust to change is because of outdated governance, institutional rigidity, failure to adequately perceive threats to water security, ill-functioning markets, and undue focus on physical at the expense of social change. Social scientists bring an interest in human values, markets, social organizations and political institutions to the traditional focus of water science on climate and hydrology. Increasingly, it is recognized that some of the most critical vulnerabilities in contemporary water systems lie at the intersection between human activities and physical systems, such as when governance systems are incapable of dealing with climate-induced changes in water supply.
Socio-hydrology also incorporates research into the process by translating traditional scientific information into tools for water decision making. These processes are inherently social and value-based. They depend upon the way various water stakeholders (e.g. municipalities, farmers, mining companies, environmental groups, Aboriginal Peoples) define the problem of water security and the values they place on different aspects of it: its reliability, quality, cost, and ability to meet environmental needs. Socio-hydrology is at the forefront of efforts to establish and study participatory processes for decision making in the water sector.
To address these issues for the Saskatchewan River Basin, our socio-hydrology research team conducts interdisciplinary research involving several fields of study. Social scientists study societal responses to water stresses like flooding and drought and investigate the potential of existing and new economic and other policy instruments to help communities make sound decisions under uncertainty.
Working group members will collaborate with other research teams at the Global Institute for Water Security to ensure that social science is incorporated across the research themes (Climate Change and Water Security, Land-Water Management and Environmental Change, and Sustainable Danagement of Natural Resources).
Theme Objectives:
- Build relationships with stakeholder communities to develop a common understanding of their values and what they identify as threats to water security
- Understand divergent perspectives on the definition of water security and the major driving forces for future insecurity
- Assess the social and natural science questions deemed important by stakeholder communities and draw on local knowledge to inform the research
- Study societal response to water stress and to economic and policy instruments
- Inform policy options to address water uncertainty and impediments to effective water governance
Working group membership:
Douglas
Clark (lead), Howard Wheater, Patricia Gober, Maureen Reed, John
Pomeroy, Bram Noble, Lalita Bharadwaj, Marcia McKenzie, Bob Patrick
This project is partially funded by the U of S Office of the Vice-President Research Science in Society grant.
