Developing a drought narrative resource in a multi-stakeholder decision-making tool for drought risk management
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Dundee
Department Name: Geography and Environmental Science
Abstract
This innovative interdisciplinary project aims to develop an easy-to-use, evidence-based resource which can be used in decision-making in drought risk management. To achieve this, we will bring together information from drought science and scenario-modelling (using mathematical models to forecast the impacts of drought) with stakeholder engagement and narrative storytelling. While previous drought impact studies have often focused on using mathematical modelling, this project is very different. The project will integrate arts, humanities and social science research methods, with hydrological, meteorological, agricultural and ecological science knowledge through multi-partner collaboration. Seven case study catchments (areas linked by a common water resource) in England, Wales and Scotland will be selected to reflect the hydrological, socio-economic and cultural contrasts in the UK. Study of drought impacts will take place at different scales - from small plot experiments to local catchment scale. Citizen science and stakeholder engagement with plot experiments in urban and rural areas will be used as stimuli for conversations about drought risk and its mitigation.
The project will: (i) investigate different stakeholder perceptions of when drought occurs and action is needed; (ii) examine how water level and temperature affect drought perception; (iii) explore the impact of policy decisions on drought management; (iv) consider water users' behaviours which lead to adverse drought impacts on people and ecosystems and; (v) evaluate water-use conflicts, synergies and trade-offs, drawing on previous drought experiences and community knowledge.
The project spans a range of sectors including water supply; health, business, agriculture/horticulture, built environment, extractive industries and ecosystem services, within 7 case-study catchments. Through a storytelling approach, scientists will exchange cutting edge science with different drought stakeholders, and these stakeholders will, in turn, exchange their knowledge. Stakeholders include those in: construction; gardeners and allotment holders; small and large businesses; local authorities; emergency planners; recreational water users; biodiversity managers; public health professionals - both physical and mental health; and local communities/public.
The stakeholder meetings will capture various data including:
- different stakeholder perceptions of drought and its causes
- local knowledge around drought onset and strategies for mitigation (e.g. attitudes to water saving, responses to reduced water availability)
- insights into how to live with drought and increase individual/community drought resilience
- the impact of alternating floods and droughts
The information will be shared within, and between, stakeholder groups in the case-studies and beyond using social media. This information will be analysed, and integrated with drought science to develop an innovative web-based decision-making utility. These data will feedback into the drought modelling and future scenario building with a view to exploring a variety of policy options. This will help ascertain present and future water resources availability, focusing on past, present and future drought periods across N-S and W-E climatic gradients. The project will be as far as possible be 'open science' - maintaining open, real-time access to research questions, data, results, methodologies, narratives, publications and other outputs via the project website, updated as the project progresses.
Project outputs will include: the decision-making support utility incorporating science-narrative resources; hydrological models for the 7 case-study catchments; a social media web-platform to share project resources; a database of species responses/management options to mitigate drought/post-drought recovery at different scales, and management guidelines on coping with drought/water scarcity at different scales.
The project will: (i) investigate different stakeholder perceptions of when drought occurs and action is needed; (ii) examine how water level and temperature affect drought perception; (iii) explore the impact of policy decisions on drought management; (iv) consider water users' behaviours which lead to adverse drought impacts on people and ecosystems and; (v) evaluate water-use conflicts, synergies and trade-offs, drawing on previous drought experiences and community knowledge.
The project spans a range of sectors including water supply; health, business, agriculture/horticulture, built environment, extractive industries and ecosystem services, within 7 case-study catchments. Through a storytelling approach, scientists will exchange cutting edge science with different drought stakeholders, and these stakeholders will, in turn, exchange their knowledge. Stakeholders include those in: construction; gardeners and allotment holders; small and large businesses; local authorities; emergency planners; recreational water users; biodiversity managers; public health professionals - both physical and mental health; and local communities/public.
The stakeholder meetings will capture various data including:
- different stakeholder perceptions of drought and its causes
- local knowledge around drought onset and strategies for mitigation (e.g. attitudes to water saving, responses to reduced water availability)
- insights into how to live with drought and increase individual/community drought resilience
- the impact of alternating floods and droughts
The information will be shared within, and between, stakeholder groups in the case-studies and beyond using social media. This information will be analysed, and integrated with drought science to develop an innovative web-based decision-making utility. These data will feedback into the drought modelling and future scenario building with a view to exploring a variety of policy options. This will help ascertain present and future water resources availability, focusing on past, present and future drought periods across N-S and W-E climatic gradients. The project will be as far as possible be 'open science' - maintaining open, real-time access to research questions, data, results, methodologies, narratives, publications and other outputs via the project website, updated as the project progresses.
Project outputs will include: the decision-making support utility incorporating science-narrative resources; hydrological models for the 7 case-study catchments; a social media web-platform to share project resources; a database of species responses/management options to mitigate drought/post-drought recovery at different scales, and management guidelines on coping with drought/water scarcity at different scales.
Planned Impact
This research will have high impact in theoretical, policy and practical terms in local/national/international contexts. In policy terms, drought is now one of the major risks facing the UK. The project aims to mitigate drought impacts, and through a new innovative multi-stakeholder decision-making utility, to make different stakeholders more resilient to drought risk and drought events.
The project's impact strategy is driven and strengthened by the engaged nature of the research process. Key target groups/beneficiaries within, and beyond, those immediately engaged within the project have been identified. These include: stakeholders working at local and regional levels in different domains (health and wellbeing, urban design/built environment, agriculture/horticulture, utilities, government, business, tourism and ecosystem services) to manage the impacts of drought and water scarcity in the 7 case-study catchments; educational organisations (formal/informal); wider inter-professional groups in the UK with interests/concerns in drought risk management/mitigation of impacts, including communities and the general public.
Developing organisational stakeholders and communities that are resilient to living with drought risk and water scarcity, and resilient to future drought is of the highest priority. A multi-stakeholder shared recognition of drought risk, and a developing attitude of coping/living with flood events, are vital components of drought risk planning/resilience. This research will make a significant contribution to drought policy discourses and practices in the way it brings different stakeholder drought narratives into thinking about and developing drought resilience.
The interdisciplinary and narrative based research methods are designed to enhance and dovetail with the impact strategy giving opportunities for new and innovative approaches to achieving impact. This integrates: how mesocosms and social media tools can engage new/different audiences, and how the inclusion of lay voices and narrative data might incentivise the policy process. Policy makers have to balance all these competing interests - so, rather than handing policymakers the science, the project supplies 'the whole data package'. For further detail on beneficiaries, benefits and methods, see the Pathways to impact document. These include:
- Project partners and stakeholders working at local and regional levels in different domains (water supply, health and wellbeing, urban design/built environment, agriculture/forestry, government, business, tourism and ecosystem services) and the policy/governance communities (Environment Agency, SEPA, National Resources Wales and local/regional/national levels)
- General public and communities (e.g. Local Resilience Forums with responsibilities for community lead adaptation planning)
- Scientists and artists working as part of different professional organisations (e.g. environmental regulators/wildlife conservation)
- Individuals and collectives of creative practitioners and cultural activists whose work focuses on related environmental and sustainability issues
- Educational organisations (schools, further/higher education but also less formal learning).
The case-study based research design will identify 7 catchments with a wide range of physical/socio-economic-cultural characteristics that will form a platform for wider stakeholder engagement across the UK. The project will have an integrated dissemination/impact strategy that targets different stakeholders for awareness, information and action for behaviour change. Impact will be delivered by on-going dialogue/exchange; a culture of co-production of knowledge, and working with key organisational gatekeepers/ communities in catchments and beyond. Impact strategies will include website/social media; open access research outputs for end users; participatory activities (seminars, workshops, conference) and a science-storytelling e-workbook for schools.
The project's impact strategy is driven and strengthened by the engaged nature of the research process. Key target groups/beneficiaries within, and beyond, those immediately engaged within the project have been identified. These include: stakeholders working at local and regional levels in different domains (health and wellbeing, urban design/built environment, agriculture/horticulture, utilities, government, business, tourism and ecosystem services) to manage the impacts of drought and water scarcity in the 7 case-study catchments; educational organisations (formal/informal); wider inter-professional groups in the UK with interests/concerns in drought risk management/mitigation of impacts, including communities and the general public.
Developing organisational stakeholders and communities that are resilient to living with drought risk and water scarcity, and resilient to future drought is of the highest priority. A multi-stakeholder shared recognition of drought risk, and a developing attitude of coping/living with flood events, are vital components of drought risk planning/resilience. This research will make a significant contribution to drought policy discourses and practices in the way it brings different stakeholder drought narratives into thinking about and developing drought resilience.
The interdisciplinary and narrative based research methods are designed to enhance and dovetail with the impact strategy giving opportunities for new and innovative approaches to achieving impact. This integrates: how mesocosms and social media tools can engage new/different audiences, and how the inclusion of lay voices and narrative data might incentivise the policy process. Policy makers have to balance all these competing interests - so, rather than handing policymakers the science, the project supplies 'the whole data package'. For further detail on beneficiaries, benefits and methods, see the Pathways to impact document. These include:
- Project partners and stakeholders working at local and regional levels in different domains (water supply, health and wellbeing, urban design/built environment, agriculture/forestry, government, business, tourism and ecosystem services) and the policy/governance communities (Environment Agency, SEPA, National Resources Wales and local/regional/national levels)
- General public and communities (e.g. Local Resilience Forums with responsibilities for community lead adaptation planning)
- Scientists and artists working as part of different professional organisations (e.g. environmental regulators/wildlife conservation)
- Individuals and collectives of creative practitioners and cultural activists whose work focuses on related environmental and sustainability issues
- Educational organisations (schools, further/higher education but also less formal learning).
The case-study based research design will identify 7 catchments with a wide range of physical/socio-economic-cultural characteristics that will form a platform for wider stakeholder engagement across the UK. The project will have an integrated dissemination/impact strategy that targets different stakeholders for awareness, information and action for behaviour change. Impact will be delivered by on-going dialogue/exchange; a culture of co-production of knowledge, and working with key organisational gatekeepers/ communities in catchments and beyond. Impact strategies will include website/social media; open access research outputs for end users; participatory activities (seminars, workshops, conference) and a science-storytelling e-workbook for schools.
Organisations
Publications
McEwen L
(2021)
Science-Narrative Explorations of "Drought Thresholds" in the Maritime Eden Catchment, Scotland: Implications for Local Drought Risk Management
in Frontiers in Environmental Science
| Description | Team members have demonstrated that the River Eden is more vulnerable to drought than had been expected on the basis of local knowledge. Sensitivity to climate change scenarios has been explored through the project and results shared with local stakeholders. A follow-on project would be to investigate how drought scenarios could be managed through the operation of water abstraction licences. We have established scope for considerable catchment water storage with a view to increasing the robustness of ecosystem services, but have identified doubts about the effectiveness of such measures. The primary focus of the work is to feed into the nationally-funded project and develop a decision making/support utility: this is now in a finished form and on-line at https://dryutility.info/ . The team as a whole have learned a lot about the value of narrative approaches at the interface with science. Some publications are already published while one based exclusively in the Eden catchment has been accepted for publication in Frontiers in Environmental Research and is due to be online soon. |
| Exploitation Route | The project is delivering insights which will be valuable for individuals, organisations and society generally in addressing how we use water, how we respond to climate change and issues of water scarcity. The team are developing a decision making utility which draws on scientific results and uses narrative outputs from our 7 DRY catchments and across the domains of interest, to help engage potential research users. We held a final outreach event in the Eden catchment in January 2019 to present findings and promote uptake of outcomes. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Environment,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| URL | http://dryproject.co.uk/ |
| Description | At a local level, in the Eden study catchment, we have presented the results of our hydro-climatic modelling and crop experiments to members of the public through three outreach events, including one with a focus on farming. We have also engaged our Local Advisory Group in a series of 6-monthly meetings. In all cases the aim has been to access local multi-sectoral knowledge, experience and reactions. We have engaged farmers in interpreting past climatic variations and in helping interpret the significance of future projections for business planning purposes. We have also engaged the angling community to help develop a shared understanding of how climatic changes and land management interact in relation to hydrology and fisheries interests. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Title | The DRY Utility |
| Description | The DRY Utility is a database of stories and story maps collected through interviews and collated in a spatial and thematic structure to help shine new light on the meaning and experience of water shortage, and how people can respond to it in a range of situations and timescales. It is targeted at all water users - from utility supply companies and farmers, through small businesses to individuals. It aims to challenge perceptions and provide insights and inspiration for responses to the challenges of environmental sustainability and water shortage. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | High praise from the head of UKRI and a panel of stakeholder representatives: https://aboutdrought.info/examplar-research/ |
| URL | https://dryutility.info/ |
| Description | Birnie & Gaddon photography workshop, 17/9/2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Environmental photography workshop with local photographer Tracey Dixon. Purpose to engage a new audience and seek views about climate change and local vulnerability. Interviews conducted to contribute to DRY Project digital story archive. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/myevent?eid=37730764733 |
| Description | Craigdead mesocosm site visit 27/9/2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We visited the one of the two mesocosm experiments established in the Eden study catchment, to see and discuss the rain-out shelter which had been constructed and used for the monitoring of rainfall, soil moisture and vegetation. Results were still being processed, but initial findings were that marked differences in soil mositure had been observed as a result of placing the shelters, while the vegetation was showing itself to be relatively robust in its response. Team members met a local farmer, a representative of the local estate (particularly focused on stewardship and sustainability), a SEPA water resources officer and a representative of the Scottish Wildlife Trust. As well as discussing the monitoring experiment itself, the visit stimulated a good discussion about the current water shortage situation and allowed for some interviews to take place, adding to the stock of raw material for the research to draw on. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Eden DRY-LAG meeting 4 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was a periodic workshop to share news of the ongoing project research and seek views from local stakeholders. The stakeholders represent residents, public sector bodies, charities and businesses in the Eden catchment. As previously, we began with the latest results of our hydrological modelling, leading to a discussion about the range of modelling techniques used - their strengths and limitations. We undertook a scenario-ing exercise with participants to gauge their views on drought scenarios and shared the results of narrative work to obtain further insights and reactions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Eden DRY-LAG meeting 5 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a periodic workshop to share news of the ongoing project research and seek views from local stakeholders. The stakeholders represent public sector bodies, charities and businesses in the Eden catchment. As previously, we began with the latest results of our hydrological modelling, leading to a discussion about the range of modelling techniques used - their strengths and limitations. This part of the research is near complete now and was received with significant interest. We also presented for the first time results of crop experiments, leading to discussion of implications for future crop growing choices. We welcomed for the first time members of the Eden Angling Association and engaged in significant discussion on the links between farming, climatic variation and the state of the river and its fish. Poor fish numbers are a significant concern for the anglers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Eden River Walk with Cupar Heritage 16/9/2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | River walk along the river Eden in Cupar, organized with Cupar Heritage. Dual purpose: to provide an opportunity to learn about and discuss relationship between local watercourses and the local community against a backdrop of climate change, and gauge opinions about vulnerability and catchment management. Overwhelming feeling that drought is not a concern given the rainfall presently observed, the lack of evidence of summer drought to date, the water supply from Glen Devon - a wetter area to the west of the Eden, and also the role of the aquifer in maintaining river flow. More concern about vulnerability to flood risk. Digital stories captured as contributions to DRY Project story archive. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/myevent?eid=37444415254 |
| Description | Eden catchment final Scottish Stakeholder and Local Advisory Group meeting, Balmalcolm, 31/1/2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was the final presentation in the Eden catchment, to present research findings to Scottish and local stakeholders. The results of the hydrological modelling (representing climate change scenarios) was the main item of interest and sparked considerable interest, in terms of how we present hydrological change, its impacts, and the assumptions used. Further to the meeting, some changes to the presentation style of some of the outputs were made, and these will be fed in to a publication. There was considerable interest in the modelling from local farmers, Scottish Water and SEPA. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Farming community outreach event, Freuchie, 20/1/2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Outreach for local farming community, with Dr Ivan Grove as lead speaker presenting results of crop experiments. Much discussion about past climatic changes. Main conclusion was that for the next 50 years, farmers in NE Fife would do well to continue in existing mix of agricultural activities as at present: mostly cereals and vegetable growing. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/myevent?eid=37730764733 |
| Description | Public engagement - Fife Show 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We took a stall in the Education Tent at Fife Show to engage visitors in our project, seek views on our findings to date and recruit future participants. There was a gratifying level of engagement beyond initial contacts - people generally exhibited an open-mindedness to the central concepts of the research. Some farmers were able to inform us about changes in practice which they were adopting for other reasons but which impacted also on water demand and conservation. 14 participants agreed to make themselves available for further interview at a later date. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Public engagement stand at Fife Show 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We took a stand in the Education Tent at Fife Show to engage visitors in our project, seek views on our findings to date and recruit future participants. There was a gratifying level of engagement beyond initial contacts - people generally exhibited an open-mindedness to the central concepts of the research. Some farmers were able to inform us about changes in practice which they were adopting for other reasons but which impacted also on water demand and conservation. Approximately 20 participants agreed to make themselves available for further interview at a later date. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Stakeholder Workshop (Eden Local Advisory Group meeting 3) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a periodic workshop to share news of the ongoing project research and seek views from local stakeholders. The stakeholders represent public sector bodies, charities and businesses in the Eden catchment. As previously, we began with the latest results of our hydrological modelling, leading to a discussion about the range of modelling techniques used - their strengths and limitations. We presented the results of some investigation into using water attenuation techniques to benefit drought as well as flood management - a number of problems were identified, and considered as the possible focus for future research. A presentation on drought resistant crops was well received. Group members were asked to consider ideas for the type of utility which could best assist water users moving forward. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Stakeholder meeting (Eden Local Advisory Group 1) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Representatives of local groups (nature conservation regulator and charity, a farm business manager, a NHS professional representative and a local history group representative) met with members of our research team to discuss drought risk and potential water scarcity issues in the catchment of the River Eden in Fife. Discussion focused on the locally perceived lack of vulnerability to drought because of groundwater sources, and initial modelling results and historical data analyses were examined. Drought vulnerability was discussed in relation to flooding issues and wider public perception. Climate change scenarios were discussed. Issues for the researchers to take away were identified and will be returned to in future meetings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Stakeholder meeting (Eden Local Advisory Group 2) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a periodic workshop to share news of the ongoing project research and seek views from local stakeholders. The stakeholders represent public sector bodies, charities and businesses in the Eden catchment. We presented the latest results of our hydrological modelling, leading to a discussion focusing on the data inputs - water transfers between catchments for supply, borehole abstractions and irrigation demands in particular. An engaging discussion focused on how to engage people locally with the idea of drought risk in a climate change context -- a major issue is that flood is much more of a risk here than drought. We also discussed changes in irrigation demand and timing as a function of shits in the market for crops. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017 |