Citizen Observatory of Drought / Observatorio Ciudadano de la Sequía

The Citizen Observatory of Drought facilitates access to information on water and drought management and planning, and is built as a meeting place for different disciplines and knowledge, which aims to facilitate social and institutional strengthening through the co-production of knowledge. Thanks to the community articulated around the Observatory, it will be possible to calculate indicators of vulnerability to drought risk --which have proven to be key to its complete understanding-- and to evaluate different alternatives for water and drought management. This will not only generate new knowledge but also informed opinions that will improve the quality of public debate on the subject. The Observatory is designed as a collaborative space where we facilitate not only consultation and participation processes, but also mutual learning, for which local knowledge plays an important role.

Aim

The general objective of the Citizen Observatory of Drought is to deepen the knowledge of drought and, in particular, of the risk component most directly related to the social and institutional sphere: vulnerability. On the other hand, the project aims to develop a methodology that facilitates citizen participation in order to calculate indicators of social perception and public opinion. These indicators are essential to explore our capacity to adapt to the risk of drought, especially in the context of climate change, as well as the creation of a space for deliberation on management measures.

How to participate

Citizen scientists will participate with the Observatory by sharing information of interest on the state of water and drought in their territories through web forms and social networks. Participation through the questionnaire is essential for the construction of indicators that assess the adaptive capacity of the territories. Also, deliberating on management measures in different workshops, designing collaborative Story Maps and cartographies to disseminate local experiences and knowledge. The Observatory will also test a new interaction with users through a conversational ChatBot.
 

You can read our reports (in Spanish) and our Geovisor.

Paneque, P., Lafuente, R., Vargas, J., & Pérez, R. (2021). Sequía, agua y cambio climático. Percepción social, opinión pública y valoración de medidas de gestión. Observatorio Ciudadano de la Sequía. https://dx.doi.org/10.46661/rio.11700

Vargas, J., & Paneque, P. (2021). Metodología para el cálculo del Índice de Vulnerabilidad a la Sequía (IVS). Observatorio Ciudadano de la Sequía. https://dx.doi.org/10.46661/rio.11699

Martín, Y., & Paneque, P. (2021). Análisis de contenido de Twitter: sequía en España (2017-2020). Observatorio Ciudadano de la Sequía. https://dx.doi.org/10.46661/rio.11698

Needed equipment

Computer or smartphone.

About funding

Funding bodies: FECYT

UPO

Active from 01/07/2020 until 01/07/2030

Keywords

Science Topics

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Difficulty Level

Participation tasks

Coordinator

Other Organisations involved

Location