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Re-Framing Environmental Social Science Research for Sustainable Water Management in a Changing Climate

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  • Rebecca Pearce

  • Suraje Dessai
  • Stewart Barr

Abstract

This paper considers aspects of environmental social science research in the UK and explores an obvious bias towards the development of instruments to manage demand as an adaptation to climate change, and consequently the predominance of interest in the customer from a demand-side perspective. In the case of water, this has resulted in an inappropriate mixing of individualist research methods designed to measure public perceptions of risk and water-based practices, with mass consumption data that cannot be specifically linked to the individual. This mixing has a tendency to reinforce a long-standing blame culture that drives interest in the development of behaviour change initiatives while the relatively unchallenged hydraulic mission to provide safe drinking water and sanitation progresses. With this in mind this paper reviews examples of water use research from California, Australia, and the UK and highlights the more effective routes to understanding water customers and developing behaviour change initiatives that utilise stages of change models and grounded techniques incorporating qualitative and quantitative data from individual sources. A secondary aim is to argue for re-framing the relations between various actors in a changing climate to allow the development of new policy approaches, learning, and openness, from industry, regulators, and customers, based on new theories from the field. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca Pearce & Suraje Dessai & Stewart Barr, 2013. "Re-Framing Environmental Social Science Research for Sustainable Water Management in a Changing Climate," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(4), pages 959-979, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:27:y:2013:i:4:p:959-979
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-012-0184-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kallis, Giorgos, 2010. "Coevolution in water resource development: The vicious cycle of water supply and demand in Athens, Greece," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 796-809, February.
    2. Peter C. Reiss & Matthew W. White, 2008. "What changes energy consumption? Prices and public pressures," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 39(3), pages 636-663, September.
    3. Jensen, Jesper Ole, 2008. "Measuring consumption in households: Interpretations and strategies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1-2), pages 353-361, December.
    4. Suraje Dessai & Mike Hulme, 2004. "Does climate adaptation policy need probabilities?," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(2), pages 107-128, June.
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    6. repec:iwt:bosers:h044409 is not listed on IDEAS
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    Cited by:

    1. Dexter V. L. Hunt & Zeerak Shahab, 2021. "Sustainable Water Use Practices: Understanding and Awareness of Masters Level Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-29, September.
    2. Kimberly Bryan & Sarah Ward & Stewart Barr & David Butler, 2019. "Coping with Drought: Perceptions, Intentions and Decision-Stages of South West England Households," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 33(3), pages 1185-1202, February.
    3. Helge Bormann & Jürgen Steinbrecher & Ingrid Althoff & Hubert Roth & Julian Baez & Carlos Frank & Mariana Gonzalez & Carlos Huenchuleo & Lisa Lugo & Ricardo Mata & Manuela M. Portela & José M. Reicher, 2016. "Recommendations for Capacity Development in Water Resources Engineering and Environmental Management in Latin America," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(10), pages 3409-3426, August.

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