An Integrated Assessment Methodology to Capture the Physical and Socio-Economic Dimensions of Vulnerability to Saline Intrusion Climate.....

My research interests lie within the Groundwater and Water Resource Management and Climate, WASH, Flooding and Resilience divisions of the Water WISER CDT programme.

Our world is constantly reminding us of how complacency now is locking us into a future of guaranteed resource scarcity, instability and conflict. The consequences are disproportional, often landing on those who are not only more exposed to climate related shocks, but on those who are already in a constant state of emergency with few resources and lack sustained support. Water, our most precious resource, is under increasing demand, further exacerbated by population growth, conflict related redistribution and land encroachment, resulting in a disruption and decline of natural systems on which the human civilisation depends.

As surface water resources deplete across semi-arid regions, groundwater resources are continuously used as a buffer for domestic and agricultural water supply, including livestock. Emergency water supply responders tend to act to priorities demanded by international donors for tangible water system installations, and as a result, we are commonly left with mismanaged groundwater resources. Environmental damage and infrastructures that are totally out of the community's capacity to operate and maintain give rise to a high degree of infrastructure failure, wasted funding and increased water stress.
Despite a wealth of research and investigation to build our knowledge and understanding of livelihoods, behaviours and movement patterns across semi-arid regions, very few numerical models and technical tools are being used to map groundwater resources, quantify stressed aquifer systems and monitor groundwater abstraction. Groundwater modelling, geophysical exploration and remote sensing are a few methods that can be employed to increase the resilience and reliability of water systems. If mechanisms were in place to effectively protect, manage and sensibly use groundwater to meet demands for domestic water supply, food and livestock, ultimately, we could have a sustainable resource at present and into the future.

My MSc research focussed on the WASH behaviours of pastoral communities in the rangelands of Afar, Ethiopia, where I witnessed how environmental, structural and seasonal differences contribute to increased water stress, sanitation and hygiene issues. This prompted my interest towards better supplying decision-makers, practitioners and researchers with tools and the understanding needed to extend WASH services to these communities. My practical field work with GOAL in Uganda and Groundwater Relief across Africa and Asia has driven my need to address such issues.

Whilst there is a broad and complex range of response measures to apply to climate related issues, more than ever we are learning that prevention is much less costly than finding a cure. The use of groundwater in drought emergency response is inevitably increasing and should proactive, rather than reactive, mechanisms be in place, the reality of groundwater exploitation, water system failure and environmental damage would be far less detrimental.

My research ideas stem from witnessing the lack of practical and technical solutions being used in the humanitarian and development sectors to plan, design and monitor groundwater exploration in unknown lands and often marginalised communities. These areas challenge conventional WASH programming, and we need exposure to technical tools that encourage smarter use of natural resources to help us re-imagine our response to reach those most marginalised and difficult to serve groups.

Water-WISER will train a cohort of 50 British research engineers and scientists and equip them to work in challenging environments both in the low-income settings of rapidly growing poor cities and in the changing urban environment of the UK, Europe and other regions with a historic endowment of aging infrastructure. The vision is for a generation of engineers with the skills to deliver the trans-disciplinary innovations needed to ensure that future water, waste and sanitation infrastructure is resilient to the stresses posed by rapid urbanisation, global climate change and increasingly extreme natural and man-made disasters. Our alumni will address the urgent need to re-imagine urban spaces as net contributors to ecological and environmental well-being rather than being net users of vital resources such as energy, nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon. These new leaders will be an essential resource if the UK is to deliver on its commitment to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 6 which calls for universal access to safely managed water and sanitation services, within planetary and local ecological boundaries. This next generation of research engineers will enable UK-based engineering consultancies, manufacturers, and utility companies to grow their share of the expanding global market for water and waste services, for example; in the water services industry from 3% to 10% (an increase of £33 billion per annum) by 2030, and attract significant inward investment.
The research which Water-WISER cohorts enable will form the basis of new innovations in the design and delivery of resilient infrastructure and services. Innovations developed by Water-WISER graduates will inform how growing cities are designed and built in the global south and will be used to inform the re-engineering and replacement of the aging infrastructure on which the UK's water and waste services are currently reliant. Our alumni will form the new generation of leaders who will play a central role in securing a larger share of the international water and waste management consultancy market to UK consultancies. The network of expertise and skills created by Water-WISER will enhance potential for collaborations between major UK players (for example strengthening links between UK consultancy, the Department for International Development, and leading UK water agencies such as WaterAid and Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor) and between UK companies and partners in the global south including international investors such as the World Bank, European Investment Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation. Graduates of Water-WISER will enter industry, academia and development agencies having spent a substantial period (minimum of six months) embedded in an industry or development partner organisation delivering their field-based research. Water-WISER students will thus gain a unique combination of trans-disciplinary training, field experience and cohort networking; they are destined for leadership roles in UK and international engineering and development consultancies, academia, international development banks, international agencies such as the United Nations and international non-governmental organisations.