Dear Deeply Readers,
Welcome to the archives of Water Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on November 1, 2018, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on water resilience. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors and contributors.
We continue to produce events and special projects while we explore where the on-site journalism goes next. If you’d like to reach us with feedback or ideas for collaboration you can do so at [email protected].
Luisa Feline Freier
Latin America has one of the world’s most advanced approaches to refugees, yet it is reluctant to apply it to Venezuelans. Expert Luisa Feline Freier argues that the Venezuelan displacement crisis is a crucial test for the Cartagena Declaration.
Samer Muscati
Petra Molnar
Canada is rapidly expanding the use of AI in its immigration service. Rights advocates Petra Molnar and Samer Muscati pick apart experiments that will be copied around the world.
Jamille Bigio
Nigeria’s working women deserve better legal protection – just as across the world laws making it harder for women to work than men are holding back economic progress. Yet companies will profit from promoting legal reforms to boost women’s participation in the economy.
Jay Lund Director, Center for Watershed Sciences at U.C. Davis
California recently promised billions of dollars in bond funds to new water storage projects. But it remains to be seen if these projects can obtain water rights and regulatory approval to actually start construction.
Jay Ziegler
The Land and Water Conservation Fund is set to expire on September 30, and Congress has made no move to revive it. That’s a mistake, as the fund is important to protect landscapes that deliver essential water supplies.
Emily Courey Pryor Executive Director of Data2X
A new index brings us one step closer to measuring progress toward gender equality under the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, but ultimate success is hampered by a persistent problem: gaps in the relevant data.
Jeffrey Mount Senior Fellow, PPIC Water Policy Center
Ellen Hanak Director, PPIC Water Policy Center
The state’s water supply system will be strained to cope with climate change. New investments – and new ways of investing – are needed to improve water management, especially to recharge groundwater.
Eric Karstens Freelance business development consultant
A new study reveals a dangerous gap between journalists’ desire to report in a fair and balanced way and the deteriorating media. Political interference in newsrooms is distorting refugee coverage.
Ted Kowalski Senior Environment Program Officer, Walton Family Foundation
New evidence tells us water shortages aren’t going away in the Colorado River Basin. They’ll likely just get worse. Survival requires new funding sources and a new commitment to conservation.
Jeff Crisp Associate Fellow, International Law Programme, Chatam House
The U.N. refugee agency lacks the funding, political clout and independence to protect refugees in the way that it is supposed to, says former UNHCR official and refugee policy expert Jeff Crisp.
Michael Kiparsky Director, Wheeler Water Institute, Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, University of California, Berkeley
Nell Green Nylen Senior Research Fellow, Wheeler Water Institute
California’s five-year drought highlighted the struggles faced by small water systems. Legal and policy solutions are in the works, but they must remain adaptable to meet the needs of small communities.
Maria Hagan
Since the Calais Jungle was demolished in 2016, asylum seekers have returned, although any shelter they erect is destroyed. This leaves them performing a shadow camp in an absurd game with the police.
Ana Uzelac Senior Research Fellow
The stories we tell are as important as the funding we commit, says Ana Uzelac of the Clingendael Institute. In Lebanon, she explains, erroneous narratives about refugees limit the ability of donor funding to improve refugees’ well-being in the country.
Patrick Koepele Executive Director, Tuolumne River Trust
Rather than fighting over flow allocation in the San Joaquin River, water users should collaborate on a groundwater banking system. That could let river restoration proceed while ensuring enough water for all concerned, says Patrick Koepele of the Tuolumne River Trust.
Leymah Gbowee Liberian Peace Activist and Founder of Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa
Liberian peace activist and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Leymah Gbowee highlights the contrast between the resolve and strength of refugee women and their portrayal as helpless victims.
Kirsten James Oversees the California Policy Program, Ceres
State legislators have until the end of the month to pass the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. There is an urgent need to provide clean drinking water to the 1 million Californians who lack access to such supplies, says Kirsten James of Ceres.
Kirsten James Oversees the California Policy Program, Ceres
From software to robots to technology originally designed to detect water on Mars, market-based policy approaches are spurring innovation, writes Ceres’ Kirsten James.
Stephen Pyne Regents Professor in the School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University
We need a new strategy to address multiple issues with wildfires, particularly in the wildland-urban interface where development and nature mix, says Arizona State professor Stephen Pyne.
Cetta Mainwaring Writer, Researcher, and Activist, University of Glasgow
Malta’s need to stand up to Italy is preventing it from leading on better E.U. migration policy. Cetta Mainwaring argues for a radical departure from past and present failures.
Kacie Candela, PassBlue
Female participation in U.N. peacekeeping remains low, especially in military and combat roles. But more women are taking up civilian roles in peace operations, writes journalist Kacie Candela for PassBlue.
Dr. Lina Kreidie Tobis Fellow at the Ethics and Morality Center, University of California
Jesse Marks Fulbright Fellow and Scoville Peace Fellow based in Amman, Jordan
The regime wants the legitimacy that would come from internationally backed returns. Researchers Jesse Marks and Lina Kreidie warn the U.N. to heed lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Jennifer Riggan Associate Professor of International Studies, Arcadia University
Amanda Poole Associate Professor of Anthropology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
The sudden outbreak of peace in the Horn of Africa means an open border and new vulnerability. Researchers Jennifer Riggan and Amanda Poole capture the concerns of Eritrean refugees.
Mark J. Spalding President, The Ocean Foundation
Plastic production is expected to quadruple by 2050. Mark J. Spalding, president of The Ocean Foundation, explains how fully understanding the scope of the pollution problem convinced him that current efforts are not sufficient.
Jennifer Riggan Associate Professor of International Studies, Arcadia University
Amanda Poole Associate Professor of Anthropology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
The sudden outbreak of peace in the Horn of Africa means an open border and new vulnerability. Researchers Jennifer Riggan and Amanda Poole capture the concerns of Eritrean refugees.
Dr. Lina Kreidie Tobis Fellow at the Ethics and Morality Center, University of California
Jesse Marks Fulbright Fellow and Scoville Peace Fellow based in Amman, Jordan
The regime wants the legitimacy that would come from internationally backed returns. Researchers Jesse Marks and Lina Kreidie warn the U.N. to heed lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Cassidy Johnston New Mexico Cattle Rancher and Sustainability Officer, U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance
Most ranches depend on rain to ensure cattle have enough to eat, but arid conditions amplified by drought across much of the West means that ranchers are employing best practices to use water as efficiently as possible, writes New Mexico rancher Cassidy Johnston.
Cristiano D'Orsi Research Fellow and Lecturer, SARCIL
The detente with Ethiopia has seen Eritrea slash indefinite military conscription. Researcher Cristiano D’Orsi argues that without a breakthrough on human rights, Eritreans will still flee.
Ann Bucklin
Despite the critical role marine zooplankton play in ocean ecosystems, scientists know little about the tiny species. Ann Bucklin, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Connecticut, describes how her laboratory is changing that.
Cristiano D'Orsi Research Fellow and Lecturer, SARCIL
The detente with Ethiopia has seen Eritrea slash indefinite military conscription. Researcher Cristiano D’Orsi argues that without a breakthrough on human rights, Eritreans will still flee.
Tom Philp Executive Strategist, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Research has found that wind is on the decline in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which subsequently impacts the turbidity of the water. That in turn has an impact on critically endangered delta smelt, writes Metropolitan Water District’s Tom Philp.
Tim Dixon Co-founder, More in Common
A new survey of Italian attitudes to migration and refugees finds more ideological diversity than commonly assumed. Economist and researcher Tim Dixon unpacks findings that show more nuances than the populism dominating headlines.
Rabia Nusrat Regional Projects Manager for Afghanistan-Pakistan, International Alert
Medium-sized enterprises have the potential to contribute to peace and security in Afghanistan, but they need support from Kabul and the international community if they hope to address some of the drivers of conflict, writes Rabia Nusrat of International Alert.
Kathleen Stone M.S. Graduate Student in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California
New regulations that have come with state marijuana laws could spur more effective environmental management of California’s streams, writes Kathleen Stone of U.C. Davis.
Ritwik Shukla Research Associate, Accountability Initiative
This crosspost from the Accountability Initiative, a research group based at the Centre of Policy Research, uses data to unpack efforts to address malnutrition – part of a broader series on social welfare gains and failures.
Shuja Nawaz Distinguished Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center
As polls open in Pakistan, there are concerns that the election will create room for unrest between rival political forces in the divided country, writes Pakistan expert Shuja Nawaz.
Steve Evans Wild and Scenic Rivers Program Director, CalWild
After years of work, the state’s Mokelumne River has been awarded Wild and Scenic status. It’s a significant win for conservationists and local residents, as well as an important example of consensus building.
Hein de Haas Professor of Sociology, University of Amsterdam
Katharina Natter Doctoral Researcher, University of Amsterdam
Governments’ political orientation does not determine whether they pursue more or less restrictive migration policies. New research from Katharina Natter and Hein de Haas debunks accepted wisdom on the politics of migration.
Nicoleta Nichifor Master of Arts in Arab Studies, Candidate at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service
Kemal Kirisci TUSIAD Senior Fellow in the Foreign-Policy Program, Brookings Institution
Education is the key to integration, and Turkey and Europe are currently failing, write Kemal Kirisci and Nicoleta Nichifor. They suggest five ways for refugees to be better integrated into national education systems.
Mike Wade Executive Director, California Farm Water Coalition
The board has failed to listen to the concerns of cities, farms, school districts and other experts when it comes to its Bay-Delta Water Quality plan that would reduce flows in critical California rivers, says Mike Wade of the California Farm Water Coalition.
Lev Plaves Senior Portfolio Manager, Middle East at Kiva.org
Refugees can boost local economies, but they often lack access to finance as banks deem them risky borrowers. Lev Plaves of crowdfunding platform Kiva explains how their research on the creditworthiness of refugees challenges those economic assumptions.
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