Research Interests: urban water management, water sensitive cities, indicators and assessment frameworks, water security and microbial risk governance.
Biography: Gemma was a research associate and the policy outreach coordinator at the Program on Water Governance from 2008-2013, working on PoWG’s 4-year water security (2008-2012) and 2-year microbial risk governance (2012-2013) projects. She is currently a PhD candidate at Monash University’s CRC for Water Sensitive Cities, and continues to work as an independent consultant through her own company Ishka.
Gemma has a broad range of experience in the water sector, working on various water policy and water utility projects in Europe, North America and Australia in both the public and private sector. Her experience includes policy research, bid preparation for PPP’s in Europe, lobbying for freshwater policy changes at the UN CSD in New York, and the application of demand and supply strategies (including metering, leak detection and Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR)). She regularly advises business, government and NGOs on fresh water-related indicators.
Journal Articles:
Dunn, G., Harris, L. and Bakker, K. (2015). Microbial risk governance: challenges and opportunities in freshwater management in Canada. Canadian Water Resources Journal. DOI:10.1080/07011784.2015.1043648.
Dunn, G., Bakker, K. and Harris, L. (2014). Drinking water quality guidelines across Canadian provinces and territories: jurisdictional variation in the context of decentralized water governance. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 11(5), 4634-4651. DOI:10.3390/ijerph110504634
Dunn, G., Henrich, N., Holmes, B. and Harris, L. (2014). Microbial water quality communication: public and practitioner insights from British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Water and Health 12(3): 584-595.
Dunn, G., Harris, L. Cook, C. and Prystajecky, N. (2014). A comparative analysis of current microbial water quality risk assessment and management practices in British Columbia and Ontario, Canada. Science of the Total Environment 468-469: 544-552.
Ngueng Feze I., Kirby E., Prystajecky N., Cook C., Knoppers B. M., Ozdenmir V., Dunn G., Isaac-Renton J., Joly Y (2014). The regulation of water quality assessment biotechnologies: Is Canada ready to surf the next wave? Journal of Environmental Law and Practice 201: 26:3.
Cook, C., Prystajecky, N., Ngueng Feze, I., Joly, Y., Dunn, G., Kirby, E., Özdemir, V. & Isaac-Renton, I. (2013). A comparative analysis of microbial drinking water quality testing in three Canadian provinces. Canadian Water Resources Journal 38(3): 185-195.
Norman, E., Dunn, G., Bakker, K. Allen, D., R. Cavalcanti de Albuquerque (2012). Water Security Assessment: Integrating Governance and Freshwater Indicators. Water Resources Management 27: 535-551. DOI: 10.1007/s11269-012-0200-4
Dunn, G. and Bakker, K. (2011). Fresh water-related indicators in Canada: An inventory and analysis. Canadian Water Resources Journal, 36(2): 135-148
Norman, E. S., K. Bakker, G. Dunn (2011). Recent developments in Canadian water policy: An emerging water security paradigm. Canadian Water Resources Journal, 36(1): 53-66.
Policy Reports:
Dunn, G., Bakker, K., Norman, E., Allen, D., Cook, C., Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, R. and Simpson, M. (2013). Water Security Indicators: The Canadian Experience (Proceedings Paper). Stockholm, Sweden: Global Water Partnership (Expert consultation on water security indicators).
Dunn, G. (ed) (2012). Water Security Guidance Document. Vancouver, BC: UBC Program on Water Governance.
Emma Norman with Karen Bakker, Christina Cook, Gemma Dunn and Diana Allen (2010). Water Security: A Primer (Policy Report). Vancouver, BC: UBC Program on Water Governance.
Dunn, G. and Bakker (2009). Canadian Approaches to Assessing Water Security: an Inventory of Indicators (Policy Report). Vancouver, BC: UBC Program on Water Governance.
Conference and Workshop Presentations:
Dunn, G., Harris, L. (presented) and Bakker, K. (2013). Factors that facilitate and constrain microbial risk governance in BC and Ontario, Canada. American Water and Wastewater Association (AWWA) Water Quality Technology Conference, Long Beach, California (November 3-7, 2013).
Dunn, G., Harris, L. (presented), Cook, C. and Prystajecky, N. (2013). A comparative analysis of current microbial water quality risk assessment and management practices in British Columbia and Ontario, Canada. CMOS/ CGU / CWRA Joint Scientific Congress, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (May 26-30, 2013).
Dunn, G. (presented), Bakker, K., Norman, E., Allen, D., Cook, C., Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, R. and Simpson, M. (2013). Water Security Indicators: The Canadian Experience. Global Water Partnership Expert Consultation on Water Security indicators, Stockholm, Sweden (November 20-21, 2012).
CWN conference poster on the Water Security Status Indicator Assessment method March 2011
CWRA June 2010 Indicators conference poster presentation
Advisory Roles:
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Water Governance Initiative (Jan 2013 – ongoing) – International
Global Water Partnership: Expert Consultation on Water Security Indicators (Nov 2012 – Jan 2013) – International
Round Table on the Environment and the Economy: Water Use Information Round Table (2010 – 2011) – Federal
Environment Canada: Water Availability Indicator (WAI) Interdepartmental Working Group (2010 – 2012) – Federal
BC Ministry of Environment: Expert Advisory Group on Indicators (2008 – 2009) – Provincial