Applying water risk assessment methods in mining: Current challenges and opportunities

Gilsbach, Lucas; Schütte, Philip; Franken, Gudrun

doi:10.1016/j.wri.2019.100118

Cited by 17 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…While tools like WWF Water Risk Filter and other nationally aggregated global risk assessments do not indicate spatial heterogeneity of risks of regulatory changes, potential water user conflicts, public concern and media scrutiny for Ontario, our study evidently finds heterogeneity in all investigated risk dimensions and hence higher risk (Cai et al, 2021;Opperman et al, 2022;WWF, 2021). Moreover, corroborating with the literature on water risk assessment, integrated biophysical and social risk analysis is found to provide contextually attuned water risk hotspots that reflect subwatershed conditions, areas of public concern and media attention more accurately (Gilsbach et al, 2019;Josset & Concha Larrauri, 2021;Ortigara et al, 2018;Signori & Bodino, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

“…Empirical studies reveal a plethora of tools, used by businesses, investors, and other stakeholders, including WRI Aqueduct and WWF Water Risk Filter that utilize data from global integrated hydrological models to assess water risks (Christ & Burritt, 2017; Josset & Concha Larrauri, 2021). However, the lack of high resolution data sets and quality of data used in hydrological models, use of highly aggregated data for reputational, regulatory, and other context‐based risk indicators have exposed the inadequacy of extant tools as they may underestimate the total water risk at regional scales especially for Canada (Gilsbach et al., 2019; Josset & Concha Larrauri, 2021; Sandhu et al., 2021). Moreover, current water accounting practices primarily focus on quantifying internal facility level volumetric data without considering the highly variable and interconnected, external biophysical and social, political, and institutional conditions across shared subwatersheds (Alvarado‐Revilla & de Loë, 2022; Rusca & Di Baldassarre, 2019; Signori & Bodino, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Interdisciplinary Water Risk Assessment Framework for Sustainable Water Management in Ontario, Canada

Sandhu

Weber

Wood

et al. 2023

Water Resources Research

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Water is a multifaceted and shared resource providing critical social, economic, cultural, and ecological functions for all aspects of human wellbeing, economic development, and environmental sustainability (Cosgrove & Loucks, 2015; United Nations, 2018). Therefore, sustainable water management is inherently at the core of Sustainable Development (United Nations, 2018). As reflected in Sustainable Development Goal 6, objective of sustainable water management is to ensure water security, that is, adequate quantity, quality, and ecological integrity of water resources, is perpetually maintained while meeting all present and future water demands (Di Baldassarre et al., 2019;Sandhu et al., 2020b). Nonetheless, significant uncertainty, spatial and temporal variability of water availability, exacerbated manifold due to climate change, economic and population growth, threaten interconnected food and energy security and biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems (Cosgrove & Loucks, 2015;Sandhu et al., 2021).To foster sustainable development and water security, a keen focus on resilience (stress absorbing capacity) and adaptive capacity of social-ecological systems including organizations reliant on water resources is equally necessary (Folke, 2006;Xu et al., 2018). Thus, going beyond state-centric water management approaches, developing proactive policies, strategies and actions for risk management focused on a multipronged approach by all private nonstate (e.g., businesses, investors, insurance firms, lenders) and other water-using sectors is championed (Cosgrove & Loucks, 2015;Sandhu et al., 2021). As risk influences a system's ability to respond and adapt to adverse events, risk assessment and analysis is a central component of risk and resilience management (Linkov et al., 2014).Given the multidimensionality of water security risk as a construct, water security risk (called "water risk" thereafter) is defined as the likelihood of occurrence of water issues manifested as seasonal low flows, groundwater depletion, degraded quality, regulatory uncertainty of access or use, water user conflicts or other legacy issues that can adversely impact human wellbeing, profitability, and environment (Di Baldassarre et al., 2019;

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Interdisciplinary Water Risk Assessment Framework for Sustainable Water Management in Ontario, Canada

Sandhu

Weber

Wood

et al. 2023

Water Resources Research

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“…In the environmental thematic group can be defined the second approach, where the environmental impact on mining operation performance was investigated. In this area, research works were focused on seismic risk assessment (e.g., [109,110]) and water risk assessment (water inrush problems [111][112][113], water resources in mining [114], and surface water contamination [115]).…”

Section: Thematic Analysis Of the Conducted Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk Assessment Methods in Mining Industry—A Systematic Review

Tubis

Werbińska-Wojciechowska

Wroblewski

2020

Applied Sciences

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Recently, there has been a growing interest in the mining industry in issues related to risk assessment and management, which is confirmed by a significant number of publications and reports devoted to these problems. However, theoretical and application studies have indicated that risk in mining should be analyzed not only in the human factor aspect, but also in strategic (environmental impact) and operational ones. However, there is a lack of research on systematic literature reviews and surveys of studies that would focus on these identified risk aspects simultaneously. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to develop a literature review in the area of analysis, assessment and risk management in the mining sector, published in the last decade and based on the concept of a human engineering system. Following this, a systematic search was performed with the use of Primo multi-search tool following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The main inclusion criteria were: (a) not older than 10 years, (b) article written in English, (c) publication type (scientific article, book, book chapter), (d) published in chosen electronic collections (Springer, Taylor and Francis, Elsevier, Science Direct, JSTOR). This resulted in the selection of the 94 most relevant papers in the area. First, the general bibliometric analysis was conducted. Later, the selected papers in this review were categorized into four groups and the critical review was developed. One of the main advantages of this study is that the results are obtained from different scientific sources/databases thanks to using a multi-search tool. Moreover, the authors identified the main research gaps in the area of the implementation of risk management in the mining industry.

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“…While the exposure to water risks via operational disruptions, reputational implications, and stranded assets due to water issues is acknowledged by the corporate and financial sector (CFS), the urgency of action towards assessing, prioritizing, and managing water risks is largely lagging (Christ and Burritt 2018, Josset and Concha Larrauri 2021, CDP 2022. 'Carbon tunnel-vision' has emerged as a prevalent concept, where the myopic focus on carbon emissions overlooks other important interconnected environmental and social development goals, including water security, biodiversity, and social equity that require localized context-based approaches (Gilsbach et al 2019, Konietzko 2022, Sandhu et al 2021. Given these gaps, our study contributes to sustainable water management research and practice by empirically examining the conceptualization, evaluation, and management of different water risks in the CFS (Dobbie and Brown 2014, Siegrist and Árvai 2020, Sandhu et al 2021, Money 2014a.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Examining water risk perception and evaluation in the corporate and financial sector: a mixed methods study in Ontario, Canada

Sandhu,

Weber,

Wood

et al. 2023

Environ. Res. Commun.

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As primary users of a socially, economically, and environmentally significant yet increasingly stressed resource like water, the corporate and financial sectors have an important role in sustainable water management. However, extant literature reveals a gap in the empirical assessment of water risk perception and its influence on water risk evaluation and decision-making in the corporate and financial sectors. Our explanatory sequential mixed methods study examined the relationship between water risk perception and risk evaluation (risk ratings) addresses these gaps. We employed a cross-sectional survey (N=25) followed by semi-structured interviews (N=22), with a purposive expert sample of analysts, practitioners, and decision-makers in the corporate and financial sector in Ontario, Canada. Our study finds multi-dimensional risk perception factors, including knowledge, professional experience, perceived controllability, values, trust, location, and gender, that influence water risk ratings and vary with the type of risk. Moreover, the in-depth follow-up interviews reveal multiple drivers of different risk ratings, such as proximity bias, sector differences, trust in various institutions, as well as the influence of tacit knowledge, exposure, the role of regulations, media, and financial materiality. Our study empirically concludes that the water risk perception of analysts, practitioners, and decision-makers in the corporate and financial sectors is highly nuanced and impacts the evaluation of different water risks, and should be systematically integrated into risk assessment and decision-making frameworks. Our study advances knowledge in the fields of risk analysis and sustainable water management and contributes by empirically examining and explaining the complex and underexplored relationship between water risk perception factors and evaluation using novel interdisciplinary Risk Theory and mixed methods approaches. Finally, the study’s findings can help integrate sector and location-specific preferences and priorities with analytical data to design contextually-attuned decision support tools for sustainable water management strategies, policies, and practices.

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Applying water risk assessment methods in mining: Current challenges and opportunities

Cited by 17 publications

References 26 publications

An Interdisciplinary Water Risk Assessment Framework for Sustainable Water Management in Ontario, Canada

An Interdisciplinary Water Risk Assessment Framework for Sustainable Water Management in Ontario, Canada

Risk Assessment Methods in Mining Industry—A Systematic Review

Examining water risk perception and evaluation in the corporate and financial sector: a mixed methods study in Ontario, Canada

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