Abstract
Water resources are under growing pressures globally, and better basin planning is crucial to alleviate current and future water scarcity issues. Communicating the complex interconnections and needs of natural and human systems is a significant research challenge. With advances in cyberinfrastructure allowing for new innovative approaches to basin planning, this same technology can also facilitate better stakeholder engagement. The potential benefits of using digital basin planning platforms for stakeholder engagement are immense; yet, there is limited guidance on how to best use these platforms for more effective stakeholder engagement in water-related issues and projects. We detail our digital platform, Basin Futures, and highlight the potential uses for stakeholder engagement through an integrative framework across different assessment levels. Basin Futures is a web application that is an entry-level modelling tool that aims to support rapid and exploratory basin planning globally. As a cloud-based tool, it brings together high-performance computing and large-scale global datasets to make data analysis accessible and efficient. We explore the potential use of the tool through three case studies exploring agricultural development, transboundary water-sharing agreements and allocating water for environmental flows.
Highlights
Water resources are under growing pressures globally, with nearly 80% of the world’s population are exposed to a high level of threats stemming from water insecurity [1,2,3]
Basin Futures was developed in response to our experiences working in Australia and internationally on potential water resource developments and complex water management issues
We detail our digital observatory platform, Basin Futures, and highlight the potential uses for stakeholder engagement through an integrative framework
Summary
Water resources are under growing pressures globally, with nearly 80% of the world’s population are exposed to a high level of threats stemming from water insecurity [1,2,3]. Digital tools provide accountable and transparent information to reassure the public of the evidence base underpinning water management plans and proposals [18] This accountability and ability to reach more participants in a non-discriminatory manner aligns with the principles of good water governance of Integrated. Basin Futures was developed in response to our experiences working in Australia and internationally on potential water resource developments and complex water management issues During this time, we noticed users spent a lot of time in data discovery, transformation and understanding complex modelling software. We noticed users spent a lot of time in data discovery, transformation and understanding complex modelling software This resulted in limited uptake and the use of tools which limited the level of engagement and participation of stakeholders in water-related issues. We explore the potential use of the tool through three case studies exploring agricultural development, transboundary water-sharing agreements and allocating water for environmental flows
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