NH
Natural Hazards

David W Walker

I am a postdoc in the Water Resources Management Group at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. I was formerly a JSPS Fellow at Kyushu University (Japan) and a postdoc at Newcastle University (UK), where I obtained my PhD. I am an interdisciplinary researcher with a background in sociohydrology, hydrogeology, and civil engineering. I focus on improving understanding of vulnerable water resources and the use of participatory research to build resilience to water scarcity and other water-related hazards. I currently research drought in northeast Brazil while my previous research was in sub-Saharan Africa and the Himalayas concerning shallow groundwater resources, water-related natural hazards and citizen science.

Diagnosing drought in northeast Brazil

and May 3, 2021
A dam, an almost empty water reservoir and a small abandoned boat
Figure 1. An almost completely dry reservoir at Quixeramobim in the state of Ceará, northeast Brazil, during the 2012-2018 drought. Photo credit: Juliana Lima Oliveira (FUNCEME), with permission.

Worldwide, drought has put lives and livelihoods under serious threat. People are increasingly suffering from drought, but we often also aggravate drought ourselves. Fortunately, solutions to drought problems are mainly in our own hands as well. Drought is not just a water problem. It is a societal problem.   Droughts: a local problem with global relevance In recent years, droughts seem to be ...[Read More]