When asked what peaked her interest in environmental stewardship, Pacific Institute Research Associate Abbey Warner says her academic and professional career have largely been shaped by her upbringing in northern California. “My parents, both scientists themselves, have always prioritized spending time as a family outdoors. My brother and I grew up backpacking the Sierras, visiting state and national parks, hiking along the coast, and spending time in our local municipal open space.”
Realizing that these wilderness spaces have long been influenced by human management, Abbey attended the University of California, Berkeley as a Conservation and Resource Studies major. At UC Berkeley, she says she was able to explore these human-environment interactions within the topics of water management, ecology, ecosystem services, agriculture, international development, environmental policy, and climate resiliency through coursework and research opportunities.
When asked why she decided to center her work on water, Abbey says, “Water is a leverage point between agriculture, ecology, climate, international development, policy, and much more. Our communities, environment, and economy depend critically on water resources, and global threats like climate change and population growth will only exacerbate the impacts we feel as water stress worsens.” However, she says she also sees opportunities for companies, governments, and civil society to work together to create sustainable, resilient water systems through cooperation on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. “Working at the Pacific Institute keeps me hopeful,” she says. “The Institute has spent more than thirty years building expertise on water, and I think our approach of applying solutions based on science through collective action is a powerful way to drive social and political change to our water systems.”
At the Institute, Abbey’s work encompasses international sustainable development, corporate water stewardship through the UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate, and the water-climate connection with the Business Alliance for Water and Climate. The CEO Water Mandate is a commitment platform the Pacific Institute helps manage that mobilizes companies around the world on corporate water stewardship. The Business Alliance for Water and Climate, of which the Mandate is a founding partner, drives action on climate and water issues.
Abbey says one of the projects she is most excited about at the Pacific Institute is the CEO Water Mandate initiative “Businesses for Water Security in the Noyyal-Bhavani,” a collective action project in which the Mandate and several Endorser companies are piloting the contextual water targets guidance to reduce water risks and increase water security in the Noyyal and Bhavani subbasins in South India. Recognizing the importance of scientific communication and practical application of research findings, Abbey says she’s passionate about her role in publishing the CEO Water Mandate newsletter and organizing workshops and conference sessions to discuss the Pacific Institute’s work in context with other stakeholders.
Outside of work, Abbey says she can be found running slowly enough to photograph plants she spots along the way, perfecting her sourdough bread baking technique, “supporting local food systems at farmers markets,” or reading in the sun next to her black labrador Smokey.