The Middle East and North Africa region experiences severe socioeconomic and political impacts du... more The Middle East and North Africa region experiences severe socioeconomic and political impacts during droughts and faces increasing drought risk in future climate projections. The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Sendai Framework and the International Drought Management Programme provide a global standard (a norm) to manage droughts through natural hazard risk reduction approaches. We use participatory engagement to evaluate whether norm diffusion has taken place in four countries. Data were collected in interviews, focus groups, workshops, and policy documents. Analysis reveals incomplete norm diffusion; stakeholders subscribe to relevant values, but national policies and implementation do not fully reflect the norm. Process tracing reveals that the availability of drought early warning data is a key barrier to risk reduction. Further more, a drought early warning system would not be feasible or sufficient unless paired with policy measures and financial mechanisms to reduce...
Capsule Summary We found a range of user needs to inform the development of drought monitoring an... more Capsule Summary We found a range of user needs to inform the development of drought monitoring and early warning systems in four countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region through engagement with governmental, academic, civil society, private sector, and international organizations.
Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education
G ames are becoming increasingly popular as an alternative education and training tool, as busine... more G ames are becoming increasingly popular as an alternative education and training tool, as businesses, organizations, and government entities look for innovative ways to engage individuals, train staff, and address societal challenges (Galvão et al. 2000; Michael and Chen 2006). Applications of games include the military, business, higher education, medical training, urban development, policy, natural resource management, and countless others (Cohen and
In the United States, drought is the second costliest natural disaster, which leads to the need f... more In the United States, drought is the second costliest natural disaster, which leads to the need for increased drought mitigation efforts over time. However, drought planning has lagged behind other hazard mitigation efforts, which is likely due to the lack of a national drought planning policy. Although the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requires all jurisdictions have a hazard mitigation plan (HMP) to receive pre-disaster mitigation funds, drought has only recently been a requirement in HMPs. In 2012, Nebraska witnessed its worse drought in recent history, which exposed the gaps in drought planning effectiveness at all jurisdictional levels. To address potential drought planning gaps, we developed, conducted, and evaluated a Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA), a FEMA risk assessment process, which solely focused on drought. This droughtspecific THIRA consisted of a one-day workshop in which stakeholders and agency experts from the Platte River Basin in Nebraska worked collaboratively to determine the necessary resources for successfully managing a worst-case drought scenario in the region. We analyzed the findings of this workshop and compared them against the current drought planning activities in the Platte River Basin and found that the current drought planning activities would not be effective against a worstcase drought, in terms of reducing drought vulnerability and increasing preparedness and response efforts. Our use of a drought-specific THIRA and drought plan evaluation provides both a quality process to increase drought mitigation efforts and a process to strengthen the integration between stand-alone drought plans and hazard mitigation plans.
Pollen analysis was applied to a mummified homicide victim in Nebraska, U.S.A., to determine the ... more Pollen analysis was applied to a mummified homicide victim in Nebraska, U.S.A., to determine the location of death. A control sample showed the normal ambient pollen in the garage crime scene. Ambient windborne types, common in the air of the region, dominated the control. Internal samples were analyzed from the sacrum, intestine, and diaphragm. Microfossils were recovered from the rehydrated intestine lumen. The intestinal sample was dominated by Brassica (broccoli). The sacrum sample was high in dietary types but with a showing of ambient types. The pollen from the diaphragm was dominated by ambient pollen similar to the control samples. The discovery of diverse pollen spectra from within a single mummy was unexpected. They show that ingested and inhaled pollen mixed in the corpse. The data linked the decedent to a specific crime scene in her Nebraska home in the southern tier of eastern counties on the border with Kansas.
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2016
What: The goal of the Drought Impacts: Vulnerability Thresholds in Monitoring and Early-Warning R... more What: The goal of the Drought Impacts: Vulnerability Thresholds in Monitoring and Early-Warning Research (DrIVER) project is to understand the links between natural (hydrometeorological) drought and ecological response and socioeconomic impacts to aid in developing enhanced drought early warning systems (DEWS). Three stakeholder workshops convened in the U.S., U.K., and Australia enabled learning about participants' experiences of droughts and drought impacts and identified future needs for DEWS. The U.S. water supply case study engaged 27 community water suppliers and state, federal, and private advisors in the Neuse and Cape Fear River basins in North Carolina. The U.K. workshop involved 34 national and regional stakeholders across the water supply, environmental regulation, agriculture, energy, and health sectors. The Australian workshop brought together 30 mostly state-based participants from the water suppliers and water users sectors. Collective insights are reported.
Droughts have profoundly affected societies around the world from the earliest beginnings. A rece... more Droughts have profoundly affected societies around the world from the earliest beginnings. A recent estimate from the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) claims that more than 1 billion people have been affected by drought during the twenty-year period between 1994 and 2013. Because of the characteristics of drought, drought impacts are often difficult to identify and quantify, and this is especially true with public health-oriented drought consequences, including those resulting from low water quantities, poor water quality, mental health and stress, dust and windblown agents, and wildlife intrusion. However, when officials emphasize adopting a proactive risk management approach to address drought, opportunities increase for reducing future public health risks. This chapter provides an overview of drought and describes drought risk management. The chapter ends with several case studies illustrating how public engagement can greatly assist in preparing a region for future droughts. Preparedness for drought is important as the competition for valuable and finite water resources increases, and as climate change potentially increases drought frequency and severity.
Climate change has become an important yet politically divisive topic in recent years. Further co... more Climate change has become an important yet politically divisive topic in recent years. Further complicating the issue are assertions that climate change-related public opinion surveys used by social scientists are biased or otherwise problematic. We conducted a pilot study to explore questions concerning bias and interpretation of climate change surveys. Our study sample was composed of adult residents of Nebraska (n = 115). We augmented our survey fi ndings with cognitive interviews of a subsample of respondents (n = 20). We assessed study participants' attitudes about climate change, and perceptions of bias and interpretation of survey questions drawn from previously used survey instruments and national polls. Among our study sample, we found little support for perceived bias within the survey items employed. However, interview fi ndings indicated that particular survey language may have elicited unexpected associations among respondents. We discussed implications for further research.
Many decadal climate prediction efforts have been initiated under phase 5 of the World Climate Re... more Many decadal climate prediction efforts have been initiated under phase 5 of the World Climate Research Programme Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. There is considerable ongoing discussion about model deficiencies, initialization techniques, and data requirements, but not much attention is being given to decadal climate information (DCI) needs of stakeholders for decision support. Here, the authors report the results of exploratory activities undertaken to assess DCI needs in water resources and agriculture sectors, using the Missouri River basin as a case study. This assessment was achieved through discussions with 120 stakeholders. Stakeholders’ awareness of decadal dry and wet spells and their societal impacts in the basin are described, and stakeholders’ DCI needs and potential barriers to their use of DCI are enumerated. The authors find that impacts, including economic impacts, of decadal climate variability (DCV) on water and agricultural production in the basin are dist...
The Middle East and North Africa region experiences severe socioeconomic and political impacts du... more The Middle East and North Africa region experiences severe socioeconomic and political impacts during droughts and faces increasing drought risk in future climate projections. The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Sendai Framework and the International Drought Management Programme provide a global standard (a norm) to manage droughts through natural hazard risk reduction approaches. We use participatory engagement to evaluate whether norm diffusion has taken place in four countries. Data were collected in interviews, focus groups, workshops, and policy documents. Analysis reveals incomplete norm diffusion; stakeholders subscribe to relevant values, but national policies and implementation do not fully reflect the norm. Process tracing reveals that the availability of drought early warning data is a key barrier to risk reduction. Further more, a drought early warning system would not be feasible or sufficient unless paired with policy measures and financial mechanisms to reduce...
Capsule Summary We found a range of user needs to inform the development of drought monitoring an... more Capsule Summary We found a range of user needs to inform the development of drought monitoring and early warning systems in four countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region through engagement with governmental, academic, civil society, private sector, and international organizations.
Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education
G ames are becoming increasingly popular as an alternative education and training tool, as busine... more G ames are becoming increasingly popular as an alternative education and training tool, as businesses, organizations, and government entities look for innovative ways to engage individuals, train staff, and address societal challenges (Galvão et al. 2000; Michael and Chen 2006). Applications of games include the military, business, higher education, medical training, urban development, policy, natural resource management, and countless others (Cohen and
In the United States, drought is the second costliest natural disaster, which leads to the need f... more In the United States, drought is the second costliest natural disaster, which leads to the need for increased drought mitigation efforts over time. However, drought planning has lagged behind other hazard mitigation efforts, which is likely due to the lack of a national drought planning policy. Although the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requires all jurisdictions have a hazard mitigation plan (HMP) to receive pre-disaster mitigation funds, drought has only recently been a requirement in HMPs. In 2012, Nebraska witnessed its worse drought in recent history, which exposed the gaps in drought planning effectiveness at all jurisdictional levels. To address potential drought planning gaps, we developed, conducted, and evaluated a Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA), a FEMA risk assessment process, which solely focused on drought. This droughtspecific THIRA consisted of a one-day workshop in which stakeholders and agency experts from the Platte River Basin in Nebraska worked collaboratively to determine the necessary resources for successfully managing a worst-case drought scenario in the region. We analyzed the findings of this workshop and compared them against the current drought planning activities in the Platte River Basin and found that the current drought planning activities would not be effective against a worstcase drought, in terms of reducing drought vulnerability and increasing preparedness and response efforts. Our use of a drought-specific THIRA and drought plan evaluation provides both a quality process to increase drought mitigation efforts and a process to strengthen the integration between stand-alone drought plans and hazard mitigation plans.
Pollen analysis was applied to a mummified homicide victim in Nebraska, U.S.A., to determine the ... more Pollen analysis was applied to a mummified homicide victim in Nebraska, U.S.A., to determine the location of death. A control sample showed the normal ambient pollen in the garage crime scene. Ambient windborne types, common in the air of the region, dominated the control. Internal samples were analyzed from the sacrum, intestine, and diaphragm. Microfossils were recovered from the rehydrated intestine lumen. The intestinal sample was dominated by Brassica (broccoli). The sacrum sample was high in dietary types but with a showing of ambient types. The pollen from the diaphragm was dominated by ambient pollen similar to the control samples. The discovery of diverse pollen spectra from within a single mummy was unexpected. They show that ingested and inhaled pollen mixed in the corpse. The data linked the decedent to a specific crime scene in her Nebraska home in the southern tier of eastern counties on the border with Kansas.
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2016
What: The goal of the Drought Impacts: Vulnerability Thresholds in Monitoring and Early-Warning R... more What: The goal of the Drought Impacts: Vulnerability Thresholds in Monitoring and Early-Warning Research (DrIVER) project is to understand the links between natural (hydrometeorological) drought and ecological response and socioeconomic impacts to aid in developing enhanced drought early warning systems (DEWS). Three stakeholder workshops convened in the U.S., U.K., and Australia enabled learning about participants' experiences of droughts and drought impacts and identified future needs for DEWS. The U.S. water supply case study engaged 27 community water suppliers and state, federal, and private advisors in the Neuse and Cape Fear River basins in North Carolina. The U.K. workshop involved 34 national and regional stakeholders across the water supply, environmental regulation, agriculture, energy, and health sectors. The Australian workshop brought together 30 mostly state-based participants from the water suppliers and water users sectors. Collective insights are reported.
Droughts have profoundly affected societies around the world from the earliest beginnings. A rece... more Droughts have profoundly affected societies around the world from the earliest beginnings. A recent estimate from the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) claims that more than 1 billion people have been affected by drought during the twenty-year period between 1994 and 2013. Because of the characteristics of drought, drought impacts are often difficult to identify and quantify, and this is especially true with public health-oriented drought consequences, including those resulting from low water quantities, poor water quality, mental health and stress, dust and windblown agents, and wildlife intrusion. However, when officials emphasize adopting a proactive risk management approach to address drought, opportunities increase for reducing future public health risks. This chapter provides an overview of drought and describes drought risk management. The chapter ends with several case studies illustrating how public engagement can greatly assist in preparing a region for future droughts. Preparedness for drought is important as the competition for valuable and finite water resources increases, and as climate change potentially increases drought frequency and severity.
Climate change has become an important yet politically divisive topic in recent years. Further co... more Climate change has become an important yet politically divisive topic in recent years. Further complicating the issue are assertions that climate change-related public opinion surveys used by social scientists are biased or otherwise problematic. We conducted a pilot study to explore questions concerning bias and interpretation of climate change surveys. Our study sample was composed of adult residents of Nebraska (n = 115). We augmented our survey fi ndings with cognitive interviews of a subsample of respondents (n = 20). We assessed study participants' attitudes about climate change, and perceptions of bias and interpretation of survey questions drawn from previously used survey instruments and national polls. Among our study sample, we found little support for perceived bias within the survey items employed. However, interview fi ndings indicated that particular survey language may have elicited unexpected associations among respondents. We discussed implications for further research.
Many decadal climate prediction efforts have been initiated under phase 5 of the World Climate Re... more Many decadal climate prediction efforts have been initiated under phase 5 of the World Climate Research Programme Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. There is considerable ongoing discussion about model deficiencies, initialization techniques, and data requirements, but not much attention is being given to decadal climate information (DCI) needs of stakeholders for decision support. Here, the authors report the results of exploratory activities undertaken to assess DCI needs in water resources and agriculture sectors, using the Missouri River basin as a case study. This assessment was achieved through discussions with 120 stakeholders. Stakeholders’ awareness of decadal dry and wet spells and their societal impacts in the basin are described, and stakeholders’ DCI needs and potential barriers to their use of DCI are enumerated. The authors find that impacts, including economic impacts, of decadal climate variability (DCV) on water and agricultural production in the basin are dist...
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