Learning and understanding the perception and awareness on water resources management in the Maltese Islands

The Energy and Water Agency is going to undertake a perception survey in order to identify the main concerns of water-users and economic operators on the national water sector, and the actions/developments being proposed under the LIFE IP and the 2^nd River Basin Management Plan.

In order to have a good initial understanding of the perception and awareness on water resources management in the Maltese Islands, twelve (12) focus groups among four (4) different stakeholders (Maltese residents, representatives from the services sector, farmers, and foreign residents) are going to be organised. The gathering of the focus group responses will facilitate the design of a larger representative study to understand the Maltese people’s attitudes, perception, awareness and opinions on water resources management. The topics which will be addressed during the focus group sessions are the following:

• Water use & Demand Management
• Management of conventional and Non-conventional water resources
• Perceived benefits and barriers of Water conservation
• Provision of water services & Cost of Water
• Water Quality
• Reuse of Water

Focus groups are an important method to explore the above topics because they allow for extensive probing (such as imagery and word association), group discussion, and observation of emotional reactions. The focus group results are expected to be available during the first quarter of year 2019.