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Titel |
HESS Opinions "Urgent water challenges are not sufficiently researched" |
VerfasserIn |
P. Zaag, J. Gupta, L. P. Darvis |
Medientyp |
Artikel
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Sprache |
Englisch
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ISSN |
1027-5606
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Digitales Dokument |
URL |
Erschienen |
In: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ; 13, no. 6 ; Nr. 13, no. 6 (2009-06-23), S.905-912 |
Datensatznummer |
250011905
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Publikation (Nr.) |
copernicus.org/hess-13-905-2009.pdf |
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Zusammenfassung |
In this opinion paper we submit that water experts conduct comparatively
little research on the more urgent challenges facing the global community.
Five specific biases are identified. First, research in the field of water
and sanitation is heavily biased against sanitation. Second, research on
food security is biased in favour of conventional irrigation and fails to
address the problems and opportunities of rainfed agriculture. Third,
insufficient water research is dedicated to developmental compared to
environmental issues. Fourth, too little research is conducted on adaptation
to climate change by developing countries. And finally, research on water
governance has a fascination for conflict but too little eye for cooperation
and meeting basic needs. This paper illustrates these biases with
bibliometric indicators extracted from the ISI Web of Science. There is a
stark mismatch between the global demand for knowledge and the supply of it.
This mismatch is identified here as a problem that we water scientists must
confront and resolve. We still lack a full understanding why this divergence
between demand and supply occurs and persists; an understanding that is
required to guide us towards aligning our research priorities to societal
demands. The paper, however, makes some inferences. On the one hand, we
should promote the global South to create its own research biases and allow
it to develop alternative solutions. Simultaneously we would benefit from
critical examination of our own research practice. Although this paper
addresses a critical challenge it does not aim to be exhaustive or
definitive. We merely identify the persistence of intransigent water
problems as a valid research object in itself. |
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