Water Security knowledge exchange programme
Water security: a UK and global issue
Increasing water demand due to population growth, food production and the effects of a changing climate is now recognised as one of the greatest challenges facing mankind.
These developments, in the UK and around the world, have been based on unsustainable exploitation of water resources, and water security is now a major concern of governments, industry and citizens.
To meet this challenge, the water security sector needs to:
- better understand how to manage water resources and quality to meet the needs of different water users;
- improve prediction of and preparation for floods and droughts;
- develop partnerships between government, industry and the public to effectively apply best practice in water management;
- integrate more reliable climate science into management of the water cycle and its related ecosystems.
The UK is highly regarded for its expertise in hydrology, and the Water Security Knowledge Exchange Programme will support this through innovative and effective knowledge exchange activities between the UK research base, industry, civil society and government.
What will the programme do?
Hosted by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology the programme will establish a community of researchers and science users to:
- Work with industry, policy-makers and civil society organisations to identify priority areas for accelerating the uptake of knowledge exchange outputs.
- Offer a first point of contact for information about water security related research.
- Facilitate a range of knowledge exchange events, bringing together key researchers and users.
- Help users communicate their needs to shape the development of new NERC research programmes.
How to get involved
The latest information about programme events and activities can be found on the NERC WSKEP website.
To facilitate the interaction between UK water researchers and water users the programme has created the UKWaterResearch Directory to provide a comprehensive listing of active water researchers.