Ecology has the tools and methods needed to measure and predict the impacts of drought on ecosystem services related to water and in turn to help analyze the magnitude and social distribution of those impacts. Social science can provide us with the tools to understand how human institutions affect and respond to drought. The combined knowledge and approaches of ecology and social sciences are required to solve the increasingly pressing problem of drought. Yet, the two disciplines have pursued the research on drought largely independently. Understanding the implications of drought for water and other related ecosystem services is key to effective forecasting and education about the role of drought in socio-ecological systems. Understanding how social processes contribute to or ameliorate the effects of drought is crucial for maintaining ecosystem services. Promoting an integrated approach to drought as a socio-ecological process is urgently needed. The intellectual merit of this project lies in its examination of the social determinants of water use and integration of hydrologic, economic, and policy components. The first ESA Millennium Conference, Water-Ecosystem Services, Drought, and Environmental Justice, will be held at the University of Georgia, November 9-12, 2009.
Effective public decision making requires application of the knowledge generated by both ecological and social disciplines. Water-Ecosystem Services, Drought, and Environmental Justice will bring together ecological and social scientists and students to explore the development of scientifically and socially sound solutions to water allocation, including both household and agricultural demands, in times of drought. The conference will contribute to educating undergraduate and graduate students in the integrated topic of drought as a socio-ecological issue. It will do so first by including promising students from diverse backgrounds in the Conference. Second, insights from the Conference will be made widely available in curricular materials suitable for high school and college use. The combined scientific and policy implications will be put forth in a white paper suitable to support outreach to policy makers and managers, as well as in at least one academic publication. The broader impact of the Conference ultimately consists in the objective of reducing conflicts among water users, enhancing environmental justice, and more effectively managing public responses to water scarcity.
