Dr Elena Lopez-Gunn is working at the Water Observatory of the Fundación Botín, a Spanish think-tank with project analyzing collective action to manage groundwater resources. She is also an Alcoa Research Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute, where she is engaged on applying a rights based approach to Water in Latin America. She has also worked at the University of Hertfordshire as a Lecturer in European environmental Policy, and as Research Assistant for MEDALUS, an EU funded project, on land desertification in the Mediterranean basin.

Dr Elena Lopez-Gunn finished her PhD at King's College, London in 2003, where she undertook a comparative study on groundwater policy change and learning in Spain. Between 1992 and 1993 she took a Masters in Environment and Development at the University of Cambridge. She has an undergraduate degree in European Community Studies from the University of Wales, College of Cardiff. Professionally, Elena has collaborated with a UNESCO Working Group to develop indicators on groundwater use across the world. She has also acted as consultant for the UK's Environment Agency to identify complementary measures for the implementation of the EU's Water Framework Directive. She has also acted as consultant though LSE- Enterprise (ELSE) to develop a course on ‘Environment’ as part of the UN Virtual Development Academy.

Her interests focus on governance aspects of water management, particularly the institutional analysis of different aspects related to collective action dilemmas at different scales. She has published on a range of issues, including transboundary groundwater, wetland conservation, ecological modernization, issues related to self-regulation and the key role played by water user associations in water governance.

Publicaciones

2009

• Lopez-Gunn, E, Llamas, MR, Garrido, A and Sanz, D. (In press) Groundwater management in Treatise in Water Science Ed Peter Rogers (Elsevier)

• Lopez-Gunn, E (in press) Chapter 16: Groundwater Institutions in Garrido, A and Llamas, M (eds) Water Policy in Spain to be published by Taylor and Francis.

• Lopez-Gunn, E (2009) Governing shared groundwater: the controversy over private regulation The Geographical Journal Vol. 175, No 1 March pp 39-51.

• Lopez-Gunn, E and Jarvis, T (in press) Groundwater governance and the Law of the Hidden Sea (manuscript number WPOL-D-08-00021) Water Policy Journal

2008

• Lopez-Gunn, E and Llamas, R (2008) Re-thinking water scarcity: can science and technology solve the global water crisis? Natural Resources Forum 32 September 228-238

• Gouldson, A; Lopez-Gunn, van-Alstine, J Rees, Davies, M and Krishnarayan, V. (2008) New alternative and complementary environmental policy instruments and the implementation of the Water Framework Directive European Environment 359-370.

2007

• Lopez-Gunn, E (2007) Groundwater management in Spain: self-regulation as an alternative for the future? Pp 345-350 in Ragone et al (2007) The Global Importance of Groundwater in the 21st century NGWA Press, Westerville.

2006

• Lopez-Gunn, E. (2006) Collective action and inaction in groundwater management in Rydin, Y and Falleth, E. Networks and Institutions in natural resource management Edward Elgar Pub., London.

• Gouldson et al (2006) on Alternative and complementary policy instruments: tools to aid implementation of the Water Framework Directive Final R & D report PoM (04) 01 April

• Lopez-Gunn, E (2006) Governing shared groundwater: the controversy over private regulation Paper presented at the Advanced NATO workshop held in Bulgaria 4-10 October on Transboundary Aquifers

2005

• Schlager, E. and López-Gunn, (2005) Collective systems for water management: is the Tragedy of the Commons a myth? Water Crisis: Myth or Reality? Edited by: Peter P. Rogers, Ramón Llamas and Luis Martinez Cortina Taylor & Francis Pub.

• Lopez-Gunn, E (2004) Discussant to paper by Edella Schlager (Univ. of Arizona) on Collective Systems for Water Management: Is the Tragedy of the Commons A Myth? Santander Workshop Water crisis: myth or reality? Santander June 14-16th.

• Vrba et al (2004) Report on Socio-economic aspects of Groundwater Indicators (Contribution to UNESCO Working Group on Groundwater in preparation for 2nd Water Assessment programme (UNESCO Headquarters 6-8th April, Paris).

2003

• Lopez-Gunn, E (2003) La participación de los ciudadanos y usuarios en la Directiva Marco Europea: el caso de España Jornadas sobre las aguas subterráneas en el contexto de la Directiva Marco de Aguas (organised by the International Hydrological Association- Spanish Group) Zaragoza, 20-22nd November. (Proceedings to be published as a book by the Mining and Technological Institute, Ministry of Science and Technology, Spain).

• Lopez-Gunn, E (2003) The role of collective action in water governance: a comparative study of groundwater user associations in La Mancha aquifers (Spain) commissioned for Special Issue Water Management in the Iberian Peninsula Water International Vol. 28, No.3 September pp.367-378

2002

• Lopez-Gunn, E. (2002) Policy change and learning in the Western Mancha aquifer between 1985-2000 in Steenvoorden,J., Claessen F. and Willems, J. (eds) Agricultural Effects on Ground and Surface Water: Research and policy at the edge of science and society IAHS Red Book Series 273 International Association of Hydrological Sciences Press Publications.

• Lopez-Gunn, E. 2002 La participación de los ciudadanos y usuarios en la directiva Marco Europea: el caso de España in AIH-GE Presente y futuro del agua subterránea en España y la Directiva Marco Europea, Zaragoza, October.

2001

• Lopez-Gunn, E. and Hernandez-Mora, N. (2001) La Gestion colectiva de las aguas subterrraneas: analisis comparativo in Garrido et al La Economia y la Gestion Colectiva de las aguas subterraneas en España, Mundiprensa Pub.

2000

• Lopez-Gunn, E. and Llamas, R. (1999) New and old paradigms in Spain’s water policy, Paper presented in Forum of the UNESCO International School of Science for Peace meetings on ‘Water security in the Third Millennium. Mediterranean countries as a case’ Villa Olmo, Como, (Italy) 12-15th April 1999 edited in the UNESCO Science for Peace Series.

• Wade, M. & Lopez-Gunn, E. (1999) Wetlands in Pacione, M. (ed) Applied Geography Longman, pp 288-300.

• Lopez-Gunn, E. (2000) Ecological modernization and conservation policy in the European union: a false sense of security? Environmental Programme Workshop: Coming to terms with the Mediterranean Syndrome: the implementation of European Environmental policies in the southern states, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Florence (Italy) 10-20th May.

1999

• Lopez-Gunn, E. 1999c ¿Una Ventana de oportunidad? Los Caudales ecológicos en España I Congreso Nacional sobre caudales Ecológicos Terrasa (Spain), 30th Sept. to 2nd October pp 203- 212.

1998

• Lopez-Gunn, E. (1998) Report for the National Trust on Comparative study of water rights in England and Spain: case study on Tablas de Daimiel (Spain) and Wicken Fen (England) – October

1996

• Lopez-Gunn, E (1996) ‘Spanish water supply and demand management: the case of water transfers’ in Howsam, P. and Carter, R. (Eds) Water policy: Allocation and management in practice E & FN Spon, London, pp 78-87.

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