Climate Services – Problem-solving across the water-climate nexus
Water and climate are inextricably linked with water security being influenced by climate resilience and climate resilience depending on water security. However, the use of climate information in informing water security measures and planning can sometimes lack nuance, as can generalised tropes about the influence of a changing climate on the water sector and water users. In this OWN event, we invite climate scientists, water experts, and practitioners to reflect on how they have bridged the gap between climate and water information through communication or the development of novel tools to better understand challenges to water security in a changing climate. The discussion will also challenge participants to think about ways to use climate information in localised and context-appropriate ways and how to overcome challenges to normalising this practice.
Audience participation: The audiences are encouraged to participate and is an important part of this event.
Event Type: Hybrid Meeting
Date: 10 November 2022 (Thursday)
Time: 15:30 – 17:00 GMT
Venue: Michael Dummett Lecture Theatre, Christ Church College and online
Register for the event here.
Zoom Information:
Meeting ID: 968 0704 8584
Passcode: 373401
Speaker Profile
Dr Caroline Wainright
Caroline is based at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College, London, and her research is on topics around exploring climate change-related risk for populations whose livelihoods are strongly dependent on seasonal rainfall, predominantly focused on Africa. She completed her PhD at the University of Reading, during which she developed a methodology for quantifying the seasonal cycle and analysed future projections of changing precipitation seasonality over Africa. Since then, she has worked on a range of projects, including research on rainfall seasonality (including recent trends and model representation) over East Africa, sub-seasonal to seasonal forecasting over East and West Africa, and changing climatic suitability for cocoa growth across Africa and South America (in collaboration with Mars-Wrigley confectionery). Previously, she completed her BSc in Mathematics with Geography at the University of Exeter and an MSc in Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate at Reading.
Andrew Armstrong
Andrew Armstrong’s current research examines the drivers for revenue generation from user payments for rural piped water services. This work has financial and economic policy implications on a multi-country scale and is foundational to developing viable and equitable tariff policies, attracting sustainable finance and safeguarding lasting water services. Previously, Andrew spent eight years working for an international engineering humanitarian and development NGO, Water Mission, where he led a global advisory team responsible for sustainable service delivery, behaviour change communication, and monitoring, evaluation and learning. He has led the development and delivery of technical training programs for rural water professionals at the Global Water Center. He is also a core collaborator at Uptime Global, which facilitates results-based funding contracts for reliable rural water services. He holds a MSc in Environmental Engineering and a graduate certificate in global health from the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University, and is a professionally licensed environmental engineer in the United States
Dr. Florence Tanui
Dr. Florence Tanui is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Earth and Climate Science in the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Nairobi, Kenya. She holds a Ph.D. (Geology), funded by the (REACH Programme), under the Climate-Hydrogeology research theme. She completed her MSc. Applied Environmental Geology from Cardiff University (United Kingdom) in 2016, following a prestigious award from the Tullow Group of Scholarship Schemes in 2015. She holds MSc. Applied Environmental Geology from Cardiff University obtained in 2016 and BSc. Geology (first-class honors) from the University of Nairobi (2012). She has vast experience in groundwater quality with respect to geogenic and anthropogenic factors as well as hydrogeological modeling. Besides the diverse experience in the geological background, as an Early Career Researcher, Florence has been actively involved in the African Ministers Council for Water (AMCOW) activities and participating in international water conferences, showcasing the groundwater research by the REACH Programme. Furthermore, she was recently appointed as the Vice Chair of the Outreach Committee of the Newly established UNESCO Groundwater Youth Network (GWYN) because of her expertise in coordinating and developing informed approaches to advocacy for sustainable groundwater development. Her research interests include sustainable urban groundwater development, climate resilience, groundwater and poverty, and environmental monitoring. Other fields include research into policy, groundwater governance, and drone mapping applications in geoscience.
Dr. Will Ingram
Will is a Postdoctoral Researcher with the REACH Programme, with a focus on rural water point functionality and monitoring technologies. He works on the Smart Handpumps project in rural Kenya. His PhD focused on pre-payment ‘water ATMs’ in Tanzania and The Gambia, and incorporated hydraulic engineering, social science, environmental science, economics, and climate change components. Will has an MChem in Chemistry, with a Master’s year in Mumbai researching wastewater heavy metal pollution. He worked for the Global Wastewater Initiative (UNEP) and an NGO supporting developing country delegations to the UNFCCC climate change summits before his PhD.
Sean Furey
Sean Furey is a Water & Sanitation Specialist at Skat Consulting Ltd with over 15 years of experience working in rural water supply, integrated water management, water resources regulation, as well as youth development, environmental campaigning and advocacy. Since joining Skat in 2011, most of his work has been through Skat Foundation, the non-profit arm of the organisation, in the Secretariat of the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) and co-lead of the Sustainable Groundwater Development theme. Other recent work includes supporting the Ministry of Water & Environment in Uganda to development national ‘Water Source Protection Guidelines’; coaching staff in the Government of Liberia to produce their first WASH Sector Performance Report; and leading the Knowledge Broker team for an African groundwater research programme called UPGro – Unlocking the Potential of Groundwater for the Poor. He also has worked on WASH projects in Guatemala, Tanzania and Tajikistan.
Moderator
Dr. Ellen Dyer
Prof. Rob Hope
Professor Rob Hope is Director of the Water Security Initiative at the School of Geography and the Environment and Director of the Water Programme at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. His research interests focus on water policy, poverty and economics, largely in Africa and Asia. He is Director of the REACH programme, a member of ESRC’s International Development Expert Group for the Global Challenges Research Programme, and a member of an expert consultative group on global monitoring and WASH affordability convened by UNICEF and the WHO. In 2018, he was part of a research team with Engineering Science which won the inaugural University of Oxford’s Vice Chancellor’s Innovation Award for the ‘smart handpumps’ project. He was the Academic Director for the MSc Water Science, Policy and Management (2020-21), formerly Course Director (2006-13), and supervises a group of outstanding DPhil/PhD students. He is a Trustee of Water Services Maintenance Trust Fund in Kenya and the Uptime Water Facility.
This event is hosted by the Oxford Water Network
