Experts Find Role of Science in Water Research Critical

A newly released international study of about 200 water-related projects analyzes the efficacy of 20 years of water research and finds there needs to be a better understanding of the role science plays in water management investments.

The report, which was released on the opening day of the Global Environment Facility International Waters Science Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, was produced by the Global Environment Facility with the United Nations University and the United Nations Environment Programme.
“The crucial role for science and scientific discovery in determining the nature and priority of investments has largely been taken for granted and its role and full potential have not previously been scrutinized,” according to the report.
The Global Environment Facility was originally chartered in October 1991 by the World Bank for helping ensure environmental protection worldwide and promoting sustainable development. It became an independent organization in 1994 and is reputedly the largest public funder of environmental projects worldwide.
The organizations examined a portfolio of major transboundary water projects involving investments of more than US$7 billion through two decades. The resulting report, “Science-Policy Bridges over Troubled Waters,” finds:

The consequences of poor decision-making are dire: we face a ‘water bankruptcy’ in many regions of the world with implications for food and energy security, adaptation to climate variability and change, economic growth and human security challenges.

Among those challenges are what the report calls the “Insufficient and disjointed management of human demands on water and aquatic systems” which has pushed some social and ecological systems into jeopardy or collapse. Continued urbanization is also placing pressures on river basins, which includes decreased water quality and increasing scarcity.
The report finds that investments in science that are well understood by those creating public policy are needed to stave off water bankruptcy. As an example, the “management of groundwater remains isolated from other ecosystems, and the limitations in recharge capacity of aquifers are not well understood by decision makers,” according to the report.