About me
Dr. Nelson Jatel is a social scientist, watershed governance researcher, and Water Stewardship Director with the Okanagan Basin Water Board. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, where he teaches upper-level courses in Limnology and Watershed Management in the Freshwater Science Program. Nelson’s work focuses on the intersection of water science, governance, public policy, social networks, and collaboration across complex watershed systems. His technical background is in social network analysis, with a particular interest in how relationships among governments, First Nations, agencies, researchers, utilities, and community organizations shape the effectiveness of water management. His doctoral research examined long-term changes in watershed governance networks in the Okanagan and explored how network metrics can be used to better understand institutional performance, coordination, and resilience. His applied work includes hydrometric monitoring, environmental flow needs, drought response, collaborative water-quality monitoring, and the development of decision-support tools for regional water management. Nelson also publishes Freshwater Focus, a monthly LinkedIn newsletter on limnology and freshwater management: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/freshwater-focus-7338674750707179520/ At CWRA, Nelson is especially interested in how technical water professionals can better integrate governance, trust, local knowledge, and institutional design into practical water-management solutions. His current work asks a central question: how do we build water governance systems that are scientifically credible, socially legitimate, and capable of adapting to climate uncertainty? Note: Join us @ the upcoming Environmental Flow Conference (October 7-9) in the Okanagan: www.ef2026.ca.
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