2013 Emerging Scholars Award

2013 Emerging Scholars Award

The annual GWF Emerging Scholars Award is an opportunity for early-career scholars and practitioners working in water-related fields to publish a short article presenting their research, projects, or opinions to a global audience. Congratulations to first prize awardee Gregory Pierce from the University of California, Los Angeles; second prize awardee Frédéric Julien, University of Ottawa; and, third prize awardee Peter Brewitt, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Thank you to all applicants for participating in this year’s Award. The ten finalists can be viewed below. Further details regarding the Award can be found below the links to the finalists’ articles.

First Prize

Redressing the emerging governance crisis in peri-urban water access: Evidence from South Asia

Gregory Pierce

University of California, Los Angeles, United States

This article examines the barriers to accessing clean water created by peri-urban areas’ uncertain status in local governance structures.

Second Prize

Explaining the persistent appeal of ‘water wars’ scenarios

Frédéric Julien

University of Ottawa, Canada

This article shows that “water wars” are unlikely because states can adapt to water scarcity and states’ actions are not principally determined by water.

Third Prize

Mega-Coalitions: Dam removal politics on the Elwha River, Washington, USA

Peter Brewitt

University of California, Santa Cruz, United States

This article discusses the process of building local political support from different stakeholders for removal of a dam in the Northwest US.

Finalists

Listening to a ‘silent revolution’: Eight factors that can turn up the volume on transboundary aquifer cooperation and governance

Kirstin I. Conti

University of Amsterdam & International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre, Delft, Netherlands

This article looks at the historical factors that have enabled cooperation on the sustainable use of transboundary groundwater aquifers.

Cooperative management of water resources: An economic perspective

Dr. J. Wesley Burnett

West Virginia University, United States

This article discusses discusses the characteristics of common pool resource problems in the context of economics and cooperation between water resource users.

The water storage problem

Neal Hughes

Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences & Australian National University

This article discusses the increasing use of water storage rights in water markets to efficiently allocate water under conditions of scarcity.

Indirect management of cross-boundary water sustainability using Virtual Water

Dr. Benjamin L. Ruddell

Arizona State University, United States

This article discusses how the virtual water concept can lead to indirect cooperation and thereby can help to achieve water sustainability.

(Im)Proving global impact: How the integration of remotely reporting sensors in water projects may demonstrate and enhance positive change

Evan Alexander Thomas

Portland State University, Portland, United States

This article discusses how technology can be used to improve the efficiency of handpump water projects.

Understanding water cooperation and conflict

Paula Hanasz

Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

This article considers the complex concepts of ‘water conflict’ and ‘water cooperation’ in the context of transboundary water governance.

From state-centrism to cooperative sovereignty: Water security and the future of international law

Bjørn-Oliver Magsig

Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany

This article discusses the development of international water law to accommodate a new understanding of water security focused on cooperation.

The 2013 Emerging Scholars Award

The GWF is pleased to partner with the UN International Year of Water Cooperation 2013 in presenting this year’s theme: ‘Water Cooperation’. This broad theme encompasses many aspects of water governance, including transboundary governance, development, economic approaches to resolving water disputes, solving water security issues, among many others.

Participants were required to:

Submit an 800-1,000 word article relevant to the theme ‘Water Cooperation’.

Be a PhD recipient or PhD candidate under 36 years of age on the date of submission.

First prize is US$500; second prize is US$300; and third prize is US$200.

The Emerging Scholars Award is judged by a panel of leading water researchers from the Australian National University including: Professor Quentin Grafton, Dr Jamie Pittock, and Dr Daniel Connell.

All announcements regarding the outcomes of the Award will be made through this page. Due to the high volume of entries we apologise that we are unable to personally inform each entrant of the outcome of their submission.

The Global Water Forum Emerging Scholars Award is sponsored by the UNESCO Chair in Water Economics and Transboundary Water Governance at the Australian National University. Partners in this initiative include: the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation, the Australian National University, and the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation 2013.

Submissions

Eligible submissions to the Award will belong to one of the following three categories:

Research pieces – a summary or overview of water-related academic research undertaken by the author. This may be research that has already been published elsewhere or unpublished research. Although summaries are permitted, all entries have to be original pieces of work.

Project pieces – an overview of a field-based water project or projects that the author is or has been involved in, describing the challenges, successes, lessons, etc.

Opinion pieces – insightful, evidence based comment on current or future water issues. This could involve issues that are already prominent in public discourse, or issues that the author believes should be prominent.

Judging criteria

Submissions were be judged on the following criteria:

Originality of thought or approach to a subject/issue/problem.

Written expression.

Clarity and soundness of argument.

Put simply, we were looking for well-written, interesting articles that present innovative research, significant insights, or compelling arguments. Moreover, the articles had to be accessible to readers who do not work in the specific field and, more importantly, the general public.

Past students, collaborators, and/or colleagues of Professor Grafton, Dr Pittock, and Dr Connell, as well as employees of United Nations Organisations were not eligible for the financial prizes associated with the Award.

Terms and conditions

The Global Water Forum, UNESCO, and the Australian National University take no responsibility for the contents of Emerging Scholar Award entries which are published on the Global Water Forum. Whilst the Global Water Forum endeavours to ensure that all published articles are original content, the authors are responsible for the contents of articles and any copyright violations or legal consequences arising from the contents. Please see the Global Water Forum’s general terms and conditions here.