Participation in the Implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Spain
Date: Thursday, February 19, 2015
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Location: WRRC Sol Resnick Conference Room (350 N. Campbell Ave.)
Speaker: Alba Ballester Ciuró, Researcher at University of Seville and University Autónoma of Barcelona
The requirements of public participation of the European water framework directive have resulted in the development of different participatory processes in water planning in Spain. This seminar presents a critical assessment of these processes, paying special attention to their intangible results and the potential of public participation for social capacity building. Building on it, a preliminary framework for the analysis of social capacities of Tucson environmental organizations will be proposed.
Alba Ballester Ciuró is an expert in water governance, risk governance and water conflict management with many years of consulting experience in sustainable water management in Spain. Her research focuses on public participation in water planning, social capacity building in relation to flood management, public policies for natural hazards prevention, and the analysis of new forms of collective action. She is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Social Innovation and Transformation at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a visiting researcher at UA with the SWAN (Sustainable Water ActioN) project that is building research links between EU and the US.
Ballester has been teaching Social Anthropology at the University of Zaragoza, Spain. She holds a BS in Education, a BA in Social and Cultural Anthropology, a MS in Sustainable river management and integrated water management, a MA in Social and Cultural Anthropology and a MA in Cultural Tourism.