Saskia E. Werners' main research interest is adaptation to global change in water management.
To capitalize on our growing capacity to project vulnerabilities, risks and uncertainty, she researches how information services can be embedded in decision-making to provide actors with actionable knowledge at the right moment for adaptive land and water management. Her research covers both short-term adaptive decision making and longer-term adaptation pathway development. By working together and integrating actor perspectives, Dr. Werners aims to increase the actionability of research and empower actors to respond adaptively to change, for example, through experiments with digital technology, such as crowd-sourcing and sharing of weather forecasts. Dr. Werners’ vision is to create climate-resilient development pathways together with actors. This requires conceptual development, as well as capacity-building and offering decision-support. Building on the VARMAP Section’s existing strengths in vulnerability assessment, risk management and adaptive planning, the Section can provide decision support on when to do what towards sustainability and resilient societies. Education and capacity building are necessary elements of this vision for connecting science, policy and UN(U) issues. Next to her commitment to UNU-EHS, Dr. Werners is proud to remain affiliated with Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands.