Resource management decisions are human decisions. Human decisions are shaped through many social factors and interactions, for instance by individual interests, household and community power dynamics but also by regional and national policies. Policies, markets and education are aspects that form the enabling environment e.g. setting incentives or disincentives for water resource conservation. To continue with the example of water conservation: many technical possibilities have been identified, but what do they mean to people? Are they available, affordable, acceptable? Such questions may be answered by social sciences, enriching the debate on viable solutions for sustainable water management in the face of climate change.
This session is situated at the interface between social and natural sciences, aiming to build bridges between disciplines, sectors and stakeholders towards water secure societies.