Drought, Risk Management, and Policy Decision-Making Under Uncertainty

About this book

Drought, Risk Management, and Policy: Decision-Making Under Uncertainty explores the complex relationship between scientific research and decision making with respect to drought in Australia and the US, as the two countries face similar issues.

Drawing on the work of academic researchers and policy practitioners in the area of the science-policy interface, it discusses the issues associated with decision making under uncertainty and the different perspectives, needs, and expectations of scientists, policy makers, and individuals.

It provides comprehensive case studies on decision making under uncertainty within the US and Australia and illustrates the challenges of evidence-based policy making with real-life examples and solutions.

Contents

- Science, policy, and wicked problems; Botterill and Cockfield
- Drought policy in the US and Australia; Botterill and Hayes
- Scientific research in the drought policy process: a US insider’s perspective; Whitney
- Scientific research in the drought policy process: an Australian insider’s perspective; Stone
- Risk management by Australian farmers in changing climate; Hayman and Rickard
- Scientific information and the individual decision maker: drought risk management by South Dakota ranchers; Knutson
- Social science and drought policy: incorporating social impacts in policy consideration; Stehlik
- The National Drought Mitigation Centre and the National Integrated Drought Information System: Federal-state partnerships in informing drought risk management; Pulwarty and Hayes
- Institutionalizing the science-policy interface in Australia: the rise and fall of the BRS; Kerin and Botterill
- The science and policy of climate variability and climate change: Intersections and possibilities; Cockfield and Dovers
- Scientific vs agrarian discourses in relation to defining and dealing with drought; Botterill and Cockfield

Customer Reviews

Biography

Linda Botterill is Professor in Australian Public Policy at the ANZSOG Institute for Governance, University of Canberra. Geoff Cockfield is Associate Professor in Politics and Economics and a research associate in the Australian Centre for Sustainable Catchments at the University of Southern Queensland.