Recent revisions of phosphate rock reserves and resources: A critique

Phosphate rock (PR) is a finite mineral indispensable for fertilizer production, while P (phosphorus) is a major pollutant if applied or discharged in excess, causing widespread eutrophication (Carpenter and Bennet, 2011). High-grade PR is obtained from deposits which took millions of years to form and which are gradually being depleted....

The governance of large dams: A new research area

Our current familiarity with large infrastructures, the place they hold in the landscape and the roles they play in modern living combine to make us lose sight of their long-term, system-wide effects. In this paper, the action of the large infrastructures of dams in structuring both the biophysical and the societal environment in which they...

“Urgent water challenges are not sufficiently researched”

In this opinion paper we submit that water experts conduct comparatively little research on the more urgent challenges facing the global community. Five specific biases are identified. First, research in the field of water and sanitation is heavily biased against sanitation. Second, research on food security is biased in favour of conventional...

Scale issues in the governance of water storage projects

In the face of global change, which is characterized by growing water demands and increasingly variable water supplies, the equitable sharing of water and the drought proofing of rural livelihoods will require an increasing physical capacity to store water. This is especially true for the semiarid and dry subhumid regions of sub-Saharan Africa...