Connecting water science and policy in India: lessons from a systematic water governance assessment in the city of Ahmedabad

A systematic assessment of water governance in Ahmedabad, India, reveals critical gaps in learning capacity, stakeholder engagement, and implementation, hindering effective management of water scarcity, pollution, and heat risks. The study found that while the City Blueprint Approach (CBA) offers potential for bridging science-policy divides, its effectiveness depends on addressing these limiting conditions. By analyzing Ahmedabad's Heat Action Plan as a case study, researchers demonstrated how targeted improvements in governance can enhance urban resilience. This work underscores the need for interactive approaches to foster meaningful collaboration between scientific insights and policy-making, particularly in vulnerable cities of the Global South.

Aartsen, M., Koop, S., Hegger, D., Goswami, B., Oost, J., & Van Leeuwen, K. (2018). Connecting water science and policy in India: lessons from a systematic water governance assessment in the city of Ahmedabad. Regional Environmental Change, 18(8), 2445–2457. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-018-1363-1