WSPM Alum wins second place in 2018 BDS competition

Shuchi Vora (WSPM 2017-18) won second prize in the 2018 British Dam Society dissertation competition. The goal of the competition is to highlight and recognize current dams research by undergraduate and taught post-graduate students studying in the UK. Shuchi’s MSc dissertation investigated the Mara River Basin in Kenya—specifically examining a risk-based framework for water management.

Shuchi shares some of her thoughts on her work:

“My dissertation attempted to ascertain the relative impacts of climate change, natural variability of the hydrological regime, and anthropogenic interventions on the management of allocated environmental flows in the River Mara. I used decision scaling in a WEAP model for the Mara river catchment within Kenya. While my research was based on secondary data, I visited the Maasai Mara Reserve in Kenya to understand the complex interplay of natural and anthropogenic pressures as well as policy interventions on the ecohydrology of the river. I conducted my research with the help of WWF-Kenya, WWF-UK and IHE-Delft.

“From making these networks and continuing to remain in touch with them, to learning the critical importance of hydrological and climate uncertainties in decision-making, my research expanded my horizons in more ways than one. I now work for The Nature Conservancy in India, where there exist similar data scarcities, uncertainties and trade-offs in decision-making: and I fully appreciate these nuances after my Oxford experience.”