Regulating Water Security in Unconventional Oil and Gas

Regina M. Buono  is a nonresident scholar at the Center for Energy Studies (CES) at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and a doctoral student in public policy at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. She previously served as the Baker Botts Fellow in Energy and Environmental Regulatory Affairs at CES. Prior to that, she was an associate with McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore, LLP, in Austin, Texas, focusing her practice in the areas of water, administrative, and endangered species law. Buono has also worked in various roles with the Texas Legislature and as a consultant to oil and gas companies, designing a habitat credit exchange to achieve compliance with the U.S. Endangered Species Act. She holds bachelor’s degrees in international relations, political science, and Spanish from the University of Arkansas, a J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law, and an M.Sc. in water science and governance from King’s College London.

  Elena López Gunn  is Founder and Manager of ICATALIST, an associate researcher in the water group at the University of Leeds, UK, and an associate professor at IE Business School. She has more than 15 years’ experience in projects and publications on a wide range of subjects, mainly related to innovation, water governance, agriculture, adaptation to climate change, hydrological planning, partnership models, public policies, sociological analysis on environmental issues and knowledge management. López Gunn has led the elaboration, management, and coordination of various applied research projects in the Horizon 2020 and LIFE programs of the European Commission. She holds degrees in economics and social studies from the University of Wales, a Masters in environment and development from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in geography from the University of London.

Jennifer McKay,  Professor of Business Law,  University  of South Australia, has researched, taught, and consulted on water resource management and law issues throughout Australia and in India and the United States. She is a part-time Commissioner of the SA Environment, Resources and Development Court. In 2008, she worked on the United Nations Expo in Zaragoza 2008 and held a Senior Fulbright fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley. She has 160 publications looking at laws and the implementation of ESD in water management, mining, and other natural resources issues. She holds a B.A. (with honors) from the University of Melbourne, LLB from the University of Adelaide, Ph.D. from the University of Melbourne, and a diploma in Human Rights Law from American University in Washington DC.

Chad Staddon  is Professor of Resource Economics and Policy in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of the West of England, Bristol in the UK.  Originally from Vancouver,Canada he has lived and worked in more than a dozen countries around the world on issues related to resource economics and management, particularly in the forestry and water sectors.  In the 20 years since achieving his PhD he has published more than 75 articles and book chapters, given more than 100 conference presentations and guest lectures, reviewed funding applications for most of the major funding organisations and regularly advises governments around the world on water policy issues.  His current research interests include the water-energy nexus, the behavioural economics and domestic water consumption and decentralised water systems for underserved communities in the Global South.  He is the Director for the International Water Security Network, a global network of centre of excellent in different dimensions of water security research and capacity building.