water@leeds Cheney Fellow 2024

We are delighted to welcome Dr. Gabriel López Porras as our Cheney Fellow 2024.

Gabriel is a member of the Faculty of Zootechnics and Ecology, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Mexico. He is an alumnus of the University's School of Earth and Environment where he undertook his PhD research, graduating in 2019.    He has written this blog about his plans for the fellowship:

I am Dr. Gabriel López Porras, a Mexican environmental lawyer and social scientist. It is an honour to join water@leeds as a Cheney Fellow, a prestigious programme that provides me with an invaluable platform for addressing global water challenges while advancing interdisciplinary collaboration. Here, I will share a glimpse of the research I will be conducting in Leeds.

We must remember that water is not just a resource; it is the lifeblood of our planet, underpinning ecosystems and the well-being of all human and non-human species. However, the growing global water crisis highlights that our current governance models are failing, as they often prioritise economic demands over maintaining the balance of freshwater systems and the stability of the Earth's water cycle. Water insecurity remains a primary driver of societal collapse, making urgent policy and legal changes essential to protecting the water cycle and enabling harmonious living with Nature (which I capitalise to reflect its recognition as a living entity and, in many cases, a subject of rights).

This fellowship, emerging from discussions with international experts and calls from different science-policy platforms and UN programmes for transformative changes, aims to investigate the paradoxes and contradictions in water sustainability goals, policies, and efforts. Its objective is to identify alternatives for living in harmony with Nature through water. Aligning with water@leeds' ongoing research on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), my work will focus on IWRM as the governance model promoted under Sustainable Development Goal 6.

Specifically, I will explore how to overcome the limitations of SDG 6.5.1 (IWRM) and propose key principles or elements that enable governance to foster harmonious coexistence between the human and natural world. I am excited to pursue this research with the help of my host, Prof. Julia Martin-Ortega, and the collaboration of my water@leeds colleagues. I particularly value water@leeds' focus on integrating natural and social sciences, which aligns perfectly with my approach to rethinking water governance.

We must remember that water is not just a resource; it is the lifeblood of our planet...

During my time at Leeds, I hope to engage with as many members of water@leeds as possible. Collaboration and dialogue are at the heart of this project, and I look forward to learning from the diverse perspectives this network offers. The world stands at a crossroads in managing its water resources. Despite different collective efforts to address global water crises, the increasing destabilisation of the Earth's water cycle, annual deaths, health issues, and conflicts linked to water force us to make a choice: continue prioritising short-term human demands at the expense of long-term ecological stability or embrace a paradigm shift that protects the water cycle and recognises the interdependence of all life forms.

I am deeply grateful to the Cheney Fellowship and water@leeds for providing the opportunity to explore how we can make this paradigm shift a reality.