RCN-SEES A Global Water Diplomacy Network: Synthesis of Science, Policy, and Politics for a Sustainable Water Future

Tufts University, Medford MA

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded under NSF's Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) activities, which aim to address the challenges of creating a sustainable world. Conflicts over water continue to increase around the globe at local, national, regional and international scales arising from complex interactions of natural, societal, and political forces. While efforts to theorize about water systems have been many, the tools and techniques available to pursue and implement these theories in practice have often led to science that is 'smart but not wise'. It is important to integrate scientific learning with the complex contextual reality of real world water problems to find solutions where societal and political aspects are incorporated. Such solutions to water problems bridge the divide between theory and practice. This Research Coordination Network will create a "Water Diplomacy" approach to address complex water problems where natural, societal, and political elements cross multiple boundaries and interact in unbounded, uncertain and nonlinear ways. This approach, rooted in emerging ideas of complexity theory and negotiation, seeks to synthesize scientific objectivity with contextual reality and create actionable water knowledge. The Water Diplomacy approach posits that water resources could be more effectively managed by understanding the interaction among individual components within the natural, societal and political systems using recent developments in network theory. This RCN will examine the adequacy of the Water Diplomacy Framework with three propositions that challenge the conventional wisdom about water management: (a) water is not a fixed resource; (b) water networks are open and continuously changing; and (c) uncertainty, variability, nonlinearity, and feedback are not exogenous. Building on these three propositions, this RCN will explore and demonstrate the utility and effectiveness of cooperative rather than competitive approaches to decision-making to address and resolve water conflicts. The community building activities will focus on two interrelated goals: (i) engage scholars and professionals from different domains of expertise to examine three propositions in a range of field-based settings; and (ii) develop technology-enhanced opportunities in data management and social networking to produce, refine, and share results and best practices with the global community. A key distinguishing feature of the Water Diplomacy Research Coordination Network is the creation of a dynamic forum where scholars and practitioners interact to define problems and develop solution strategies. More than thirty RCN partners, many of whom have not worked together before, have committed to approach water management questions in a new way. This RCN will create an environment conducive to creativity and cross-disciplinary synergy through dynamic interactions between RCN partners and an online community of water theorists, practitioners, and decision makers. Such an environment will facilitate innovation and excellence in research, applications, and dissemination of data and findings generated from this RCN. Community building activities will help make scientific findings actionable through focused participation and shared learning. This RCN will prepare a new cadre of water professionals who are not only scholars with strong disciplinary grounding but also problem-solvers with interdisciplinary expertise and negotiation skills. The gender, ethnic, and career-stage diversity of the RCN will ensure enhanced diversity of the next generation of water diplomacy professionals. The range of national and international participants involved will ensure that people with different backgrounds and viewpoints are engaged in creating and sharing actionable knowledge. Such sharing of knowledge is critical to managing boundary crossing water problems in a globalized world.