Honorary Professor Neil Coles, UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science. NColes001@dundee.ac.uk
Water is a vital element of Scotland’s economy, environment and culture. It is a key resource for industries such as food and drink, leisure, and tourism, and is integral to our nation’s identity, natural beauty, and to life itself. Scotland’s water resources are, overall, in good condition compared with other parts of the UK and Europe, with much of the water environment classified as being in good ecological health.
However, this resource, on which we have become increasingly reliant, is under growing threat. As the climate changes and patterns of water demand evolve, water resources are becoming more unreliable, through both scarcity and excess. These changes pose risks to businesses, land managers, the natural environment, and drinking water supplies.
To ensure that Scotland’s use of water is more sustainable, a cultural shift is needed towards a shared understanding of the value and finite nature of water. Achieving behavioural change requires improved water literacy: a better understanding of how water resources should be managed, taking account of changing demand and availability.
Water Literacies in Scotland will deliver a new analysis of water as a system, harnessing systems-thinking insights and applying a big-picture perspective to water policy and practice. It will identify areas of abundance and scarcity, as well as the capacity for cooperation between society and policymakers to improve systemic outcomes.
These insights will be used to foster water literacy across multiple groups, encouraging behavioural change at individual and community levels. The project will promote stakeholder cooperation to address opportunities for cross-system collaboration and enhance capacity building in schools. It will also serve as a focal point for wider FORTH2O collaboration through a series of interconnected project workshops.
Understanding the value and sustainable management of Scotland’s water resources requires a cultural shift towards a shared acceptance of water’s importance, its connection to people, place, and environment, and its cyclical yet finite nature. This, in turn, requires behavioural change driven by improved water literacy. In the Forth region, we will:
- Identify barriers, gaps, and opportunities for water literacy uptake within the FORTH2O project region;
- Co-create guidance and recommendations with existing FORTH2O partners and community stakeholders to support coordinated and effective water literacy communication and messaging that drives behavioural change and improves water stewardship; and
- Develop policy, education, and communication recommendations on how resources can be scaled up to improve water literacy at a national level.