As part of the Water Institute's WaterTalks lecture series, Dr. Anaís Delilah Roque, John Hope Franklin Assistant Professor of Environmental Justice, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, will present Beyond the Storm: Water Insecurity and Community Resilience in Puerto Rico.
This event is in person in DC 1302 with a networking lunch reception to follow in DC 1301 (The Fishbowl).
More Information
Natural hazards and disasters can cause an array of water-related problems. In the wake of these events, when there is significant state negligence, residents and community leaders often become the first responders to secure essential resources, such as water. In this presentation, I examine household responses to water insecurity and community-based water governance in Puerto Rico after Hurricane María. Here, I focus on both residents’ experiences and how community-managed aqueduct systems restored water access amid severe disruptions. Using a mixed-methods approach, including surveys, participant observations, and interviews with residents, community water managers, and water decision makers, the findings emphasize the importance of incorporating culturally relevant strategies and community governance into broader efforts for water security and resilience in disaster-prone areas. The findings of this research emphasize pathways to operationalize resilience and improve community well-being for future events.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Anaís Delilah Roque (she/her/ella) is an environmental social scientist and anthropologist who studies resource insecurity and health in the Anthropocene. Currently, her research agenda is focused on how households and communities experience, prepare for, and respond to food, energy, and water insecurity during “normal” times and in the wake of a hazard (e.g., geophysical, climatological) or disaster. Dr. Roque is also interested in the health outcomes of such experiences and the extent to which strategies to address insecurity across scales (e.g., household, community, policy) shape pathways to better or worse health and well-being. Trained as a mixed-methods scholar, Dr. Roque uses a range of methodologies in her research, including ethnographic research methods, participatory research methods, social networks, and surveys.
Inspired by scholarship that embraces diverse epistemological approaches, Dr. Roque is part of several interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams that advance research at the intersections of environmental behaviors, community resilience, and social vulnerability. She conducts research in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Gulf Coast, and the U.S./Mexico Borderlands.