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Data Gathering Strategies for Water Security: a Proposed Framework Approach
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  • Giacomo Butte,
  • Yady Tatiana Solano-Correa,
  • Diana Ruiz-Ordóñez,
  • Maria Valasia Peppa,
  • Rachel Maysels,
  • Nasser Tuqan,
  • Xanthe K. Polaine,
  • Carolina Montoya-Pachongo,
  • Claire Walsh,
  • Thomas Curtis
Giacomo Butte
Newcastle University
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Yady Tatiana Solano-Correa
University of Cauca

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Diana Ruiz-Ordóñez
University of Cauca
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Maria Valasia Peppa
Newcastle University
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Rachel Maysels
University of Cauca
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Nasser Tuqan
Newcastle University
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Xanthe K. Polaine
Newcastle University
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Carolina Montoya-Pachongo
University of Leeds
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Claire Walsh
Newcastle University
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Thomas Curtis
Newcastle University
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Abstract

At the international level, the term “water security” (WS) has gained increasing attention in recent decades. At the operational level, WS is assessed using tools that define the concept using a variety of dimensions and sub-dimensions, with qualitative and quantitative indicators and parameters. The breadth of tools and concepts is an obstacle to the operationalization of the concept of water security (WS). Clearly we need a range of diverse data to evaluate water security (WS). However, there are several barriers to designing an optimal Data Gathering Strategy (DGS). Such a strategy must strike a balance between a wide range of competing and overlapping data requirements and characteristics including: resources, information, and impact. The conceptual aim of the framework can be summarised as shifting the focus of the DGS from a “data to information approach” to a “data to action approach”. The specific aims of this paper are to: identify the key issues that should be addressed in designing a Data Gathering Strategy for Water Security (DGSxWS); communicate the key issues with a clear conceptual framework; and suggest approaches and activities that could help water practitioners in dealing with the issues identified.