Water policy at science–policy interface – challenges and opportunities for India

Water Policy ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 288-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suparana Katyaini ◽  
Anamika Barua
Keyword(s):  
Science Policy ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Policy Action ◽  
North West ◽  
Water Policies ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Science Policy Interface

Water scarcity is a serious concern in emerging economies, as it impacts human development, livelihoods, environment and economic growth. Policies should be formulated in a way that reflects the problem of water scarcity and is oriented towards providing solutions. The science–policy interface can play a key role in translating scientific knowledge into policy action and in mitigating water scarcity of emerging economies like that of India. Hence, the paper aims to review scientific knowledge on water scarcity in India, and analyze the extent to which this knowledge is reflected in the water policies – to understand the science–policy interface. This has been done by extensive review of various scientific approaches used to assess water scarcity at the national and state level. The analysis indicates that Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat in the north-west, and Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the south experience high water scarcity. To analyze whether this scientific knowledge has been translated into policy, existing water policies were critically reviewed. The paper, by identifying key policy areas, discusses challenges and opportunities for strengthening the science–policy interface, in the context of water scarcity mitigation. The paper argues that translating scientific knowledge into policy action continues to be a major challenge in India.

scholarly journals The Geopolitics of Climate Knowledge Mobilization

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 759-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Meehan ◽  
Nicole L. Klenk ◽  
Fabián Mendez
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Science Policy ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Transdisciplinary Research ◽  
Knowledge Mobilization ◽  
Policy Action ◽  
Sociotechnical Imaginaries ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Climate Knowledge ◽  
Science Policy Interface

Climate change and sustainability science have become more international in scope and transdisciplinary in nature, in response to growing expectations that scientific knowledge directly informs collective action and transformation. In this article, we move past idealized models of the science–policy interface to examine the social processes and geopolitical dynamics of knowledge mobilization. We argue that sociotechnical imaginaries of transdisciplinary research, deployed in parallel to “universal” regimes of evidence-based decision-making from the global North, conceal how international collaborations of scientists and societal actors actually experience knowledge mobilization, its systemic barriers, and its paths to policy action. Through ethnographic study of a transdisciplinary research program in the Americas, coupled with in-depth analysis of Colombia, we reveal divergences in how participants envision and experience knowledge mobilization and identify persistent disparities that diminish the capacity of researchers to influence decision-making and fit climate knowledge within broader neoliberal development paradigms. Results of the study point to a plurality of science–policy interface(s), each shaped by national sociotechnical imaginaries, development priorities, and local social orders. We conclude that a geopolitical approach to transdisciplinary science is necessary to understand how climate and sustainability knowledge circulates unevenly in a world marked by persistent inequality and dominance.

Bridging the science-policy gap in a transition-country setting: enablers and barriers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Micha Werner ◽  
Nora van Cauwenbergh ◽  
Tibor Stigter ◽  
Leonardo Alfonso Segura ◽  
Teresita Betancur Vargas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Science Policy ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Science And Policy ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Science Policy Interface ◽  
Scientific Results

<p>Despite a significant increase in attention for uptake of scientific results, the integration of emerging science in policy development and implementation remains challenging. The persistent gap between science and policy may frustrate the parties involved. For the scientists, the intended impacts of what are typically very much applied research efforts remain unattained. Those involved in policy implementation and development may perceive a lack of scientific support. This may particularly be the case in transitional countries, where the development of science may struggle to keep up with rapid societal and policy development; with several factors either impeding or facilitating the uptake of emergent scientific knowledge.</p><p>We implemented a series of participatory and action research activities to support the development and implementation of groundwater management policies in Colombia and explore barriers and enabling conditions to a functional science-policy interface. The factors that either impede or facilitate the process are examined through three case studies in different regions of the country. Although the national policies that govern groundwater resources management in these three areas are the same; the degree to which scientific knowledge is used to support policy implementation varies. Several factors are identified that influence the effectivity of the linkage, including among others; the availability of scientific knowledge; the establishing of trust relationships and positioning of institutions and stakeholders; as well as institutional readiness in supporting the policy implementation process. This comparison provides useful insight into how addressing some of the impeding factors may enrich the science-policy process.</p>

From pure science to participatory knowledge production? Researchers’ perceptions on science–policy interface in bioenergy policy

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanna-Riikka Saarela
Keyword(s):  
Science Policy ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Science And Policy ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Science Policy Interface ◽  
Effective Science ◽  
Multiple Challenges ◽  
Societal Problems ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Research And Policy

Abstract There is a plea for dialogue and interaction between researchers and policymakers, particularly in relation to burning and complex societal problems. However, day-to-day science–policy interaction remains a challenge. By investigating researchers’ perspectives on challenges and opportunities of evolving interaction between science and policy, this article contributes to the ongoing discussions on workable and effective science–policy interface. The analysis, based on twelve in-depth interviews with experienced forest bioenergy researchers working at different organizations in Finland, shows that researchers appreciate a variety of roles and contributions from pure scientist to participatory knowledge production. Paradoxically, researchers ideologically still adhere to objective and linear knowledge production, which is, however, associated with multiple challenges such as politicization of science, disuse or misuse of scientific knowledge and communication. The article concludes that more nuanced consideration and acknowledgement of science–policy context as well as researchers’ role in it could create mutual benefits for research and policy.

scholarly journals The science-policy interface on ecosystems and people: challenges and opportunities

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 345-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Balvanera ◽  
Sander Jacobs ◽  
Harini Nagendra ◽  
Patrick O’Farrell ◽  
Peter Bridgewater ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Science Policy ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Science Policy Interface

Dryland Degradation and Expansion: Implications for Mexican Policies from the Earth System Perspective

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Gabriel Lopez Porras
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Science Policy ◽  
Land Degradation ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Sustainable Land Management ◽  
System Perspective ◽  
The Earth

Despite international efforts to stop dryland degradation and expansion, current dryland pathways are predicted to result in large-scale migration, growing poverty and famine, and increasing climate change, land degradation, conflicts and water scarcity. Earth system science has played a key role in analysing dryland problems, and has been even incorporated in global assessments such as the ones made by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. However, policies addressing dryland degradation, like the ‘Mexican programme for the promotion of sustainable land management’, do not embrace an Earth system perspective, so they do not consider the complexity and non-linearity that underlie dryland problems. By exploring how this Mexican programme could integrate the Earth system perspective, this paper discusses how ’Earth system’ policies could better address dryland degradation and expansion in the Anthropocene.

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