Uta Wehn

Data-sharing bottlenecks in transboundary integrated water resources management: a case study of the Mekong River Commission’s procedures for data sharing in the Thai context

Integrated water resources management (IWRM) relies on co-ordination, co-operation and sharing of collected data amongst relevant organizations. This article presents the results of systematic research into non-technical barriers that influence IWRM-related data sharing in transboundary contexts, with a focus on the Mekong River Commission’s procedures for data sharing in Thailand. The current extent of data sharing is quite limited. The main bottlenecks hindering relevant Thai organizations’ sharing data across national boundaries appear to be a perception of limited gains, and concerns for national security. The article concludes that data sharing for IWRM implementation cannot be radically improved without significant changes in the mindsets of the relevant organizations, and suggests how to achieve this.

Citizen observatories of water: Social innovation via eParticipation

We live in the age of Big Data, yet many areas of environmental management are still suffering from a lack of relevant data, information and knowledge that impedes sound decision making. A highly relevant phenomenon is therefore the so-called citizen observatories whereby the observations of ordinary citizens, and not just those of professionals and scientists, are included in earth observation and environmental conservation. Advanced citizen observatories can enable a twoway communication paradigm between citizens and decision makers, potentially resulting in profound changes to existing flood risk management processes and, as such, in social innovation processes and outcomes. This paper analyses the social innovation potential of such ICT-enabled citizen observatories to increase eParticipation in local governance processes related to flood risk management. The findings from empirical research in two case study locations highlight the divergent roles that authorities conceive for citizens and the role(s) that citizens in practice assign to themselves. A challenge for citizen observatories is therefore to consider the extent to which the (in some cases) essential, continuous face-to-face contact and relationship-building between authorities and citizens can be moved to, or complemented with, functionalities in the online sphere of the observatories. Moreover, given the institutional structures identified in these cases and the obligation of authorities to be accountable for their decisions, citizen observatories do not automatically imply that citizens will have a higher level of participation in planning and decision making, nor that communication between stakeholders improves. As long as flood risks are perceived as an issue that should be dealt with by the authorities, there will be little motivation for citizens to

Towards benchmarking citizen observatories: Features and functioning of online amateur weather networks

Crowd-sourced environmental observations are increasingly being considered as having the potential to enhance the spatial and temporal resolution of current data streams from terrestrial and areal sensors. The rapid diffusion of ICTs during the past decades has facilitated the process of data collection and sharing by the general public and has resulted in the formation of various online environmental citizen observatory networks. Online amateur weather networks are a particular example of such ICT-mediated observatories that are rooted in one of the oldest and most widely practiced citizen science activities, namely amateur weather observation. The objective of this paper is to introduce a conceptual framework that enables a systematic review of the features and functioning of these expanding networks. This is done by considering distinct dimensions, namely the geographic scope and types of participants, the networks establishment mechanism, revenue stream(s), existing communication paradigm, efforts required by data sharers, support offered by platform providers, and issues such as data accessibility, availability and quality. An in-depth understanding of these dimensions helps to analyze various dynamics such as interactions between different stakeholders, motivations to run the networks, and their sustainability. This framework is then utilized to perform a critical review of six existing online amateur weather networks based on publicly available data. The main findings of this analysis suggest that: (1) there are several key stakeholders such as emergency services and local authorities that are not (yet) engaged in these networks; (2) the revenue stream(s) of online amateur weather networks is one of the least discussed but arguably most important dimensions that is crucial for the sustainability of these networks; and (3) all of the networks included in this study have one or more explicit modes of bi-directional communication, however, this is limited to feedback mechanisms that are mainly designed to educate the data sharers.

Stakeholder engagement in water governance as social learning: lessons from practice

ABSTRACT The OECD Principles on Water Governance set out various requirements for stakeholder engagement. Coupled with conceptualizations of social learning, this article asks how we define and enact stakeholder engagement and explores the actual practice of engagement of stakeholders in three fields of water governance. The results suggest that a key consideration is the purpose of the stakeholder engagement, requiring consideration of its ethics, process, roles and expected outcomes. While facilitators cannot be held accountable if stakeholder engagement ‘fails’ in terms of social learning, they are responsible for ensuring that the enabling conditions for social learning are met.

Evaluating knowledge and capacity development in the water sector: challenges and progress

ABSTRACT As knowledge and capacity development (KCD) is increasingly acknowledged as crucial for development, the need to evaluate its impact increases, too. However, evaluating KCD in practice remains a challenge. This article aims to synthesize the current wisdom on the topic of KCD evaluation in the water sector. We discuss two leading approaches to KCD (positivist and complex adaptive systems) and their associated evaluation paradigms, the major methodological challenges facing KCD evaluation, and progress made in that respect. The article provides insights for KCD practitioners and policy makers in the water sector that can help them improve their KCD evaluation practice.

Training Sustainability Change Agents: Lessons from International Water Education

Unsustainable socio-economic practices manifest prominently in water crises and water-related disasters. This turns water managers into prototypical sustainability professionals, and important change agents in a broader societal transformation towards sustainability. Water education is, de facto, sustainability education. By bridging the gap between a pedagogical and a professional view on required sustainability competencies, experiences with water education offer valuable insights in the context of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The paper reports on recent experiences with increasing the sustainability orientation of water education programmes, and explores key issues that require attention in ESD programmes in general. The experience of three international degree and capacity development programmes at the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) reveals lessons on learning environments and capacities essential to the design and implementation of training programmes in, for and about sustainable development. To guide ESD programme development in higher education, it proposes adopting a ‘learning and applying what we teach’ approach, with particular attention to: skill development for meaningful stakeholder engagement; normative and value-based aspects of sustainability education; and necessary organizational capacities and professional skills of educational providers.