Abstract
This chapter makes a contribution to the discussion on public engagement with research. Hence, the focus is less on the research topic as such but more on the communication and dissemination of drought and water scarcity related research. This chapter presents public engagement with research activities: two water-related walks. First, a waterways walk through Birmingham, UK, that stopped at various places and discussed drought and water scarcity issues with participants. Second, a drought walk through St James’s Park in London used to disseminate a primer document and highlight issues of public water supply and its function in public spaces. This chapter presents these activities to frame a necessary discussion about the need for better communication of drought and water scarcity in the UK against the background that the issue is often neglected in public debates about water. At the same time water resources managers at the UK’s water companies report difficulties in communicating the issue despite having supporting data from monitoring and modelling. Hence, a public drought and water scarcity discussion is overdue and, as the examples show, can come in various shapes.
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Grecksch, K. (2021). Public Engagement with Drought and Water Scarcity Research. In: Drought and Water Scarcity in the UK . Global Challenges in Water Governance . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65578-5_5
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