Policy Is Policy and Science Is Science: Shall the Twain Ever Meet? - Governing the Nexus: Water, Soil and Waste Resources Considering Global Change - page 215

implementation perspective, this could imply improving quality of human
resources within the public sector, innovation in training methods that include
skills in participatory techniques and trans-disciplinary research, better assign-
ment of functions within administrative departments at different levels of gov-
ernment and partnerships with private/community-based service providers with
access to appropriate technology and financial resources.

3. Feedback loops: The chapter by Weckenbrock and Alabaster demonstrates how
well- meaning water quality standards at international and national levels may
have limited impact in promoting safe use of domestic wastewater. An alter-
native approach that Chap. 8 proposes is to base policy prescriptions on a
characterization of agro-ecological systems. Such a perspective views envi-
ronmental resources as offering multiple bene ts. With minimal retro tting of

technical design, multiple bene ts can be unlocked that have implications for

agricultural productivity and safe sanitation. Such an approach also emphasizes
that there are no universal blueprints; instead, evidence-based options could be
made available for decision-makers to choose from with advice on the necessary
calibration that may be required to address local conditions (see also Chap. 2 ) .
Safe use of wastewater is a good example to demonstrate the importance of
feedback loops between: regulatory action/policy, human behaviour and policy
outcomes in terms of both environmental sustainability and public health.

3 Data Visualization and Management of Environmental
Risks: Example of Drought

Drought is a consequence of a natural decrease in the amount of rainfall received
over a prolonged period usually a season or more in length. It originates from a
de ciency of precipitation over an extended period, usually a season or more

resulting in a water shortage for some activity, group or environmental sector.
Droughts are one of the most common disasters, which can undermine livelihoods
and well-being. They can cause decline in crop yields resulting in reduction in
income for farmers, which will increase market prices of products. Changing cli-
mate and weather systems pose serious risks to agriculture, livestock and rural
water supplies through increased variability in frequency, intensity and duration of
droughts and high temperatures.
The adverse impacts of droughts on regional economies and local livelihoods in
developing countries can be mitigated through improving the evidence base at the
disposal of public agencies that facilitate drought forecasting, monitoring and rapid
response. Building capacity for drought risk forecasting, monitoring and rapid
response was identi

ed as a priority at UNU-FLORES regional consultation on
Water Point Mapping held during 25 26 February 2014 in Dar es Salaam, Tan-

zania. In this connection, it was recognized that data availability was an important
constraint: data poor regions usually lack reliable, disaggregated and continuous

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