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The objective of the WAT Group is to provide the scientific foundation needed for addressing the quest for water security across scales and to help bridge science-policy-practice gaps related to water management by leading global efforts on integrated assessment of water resources and exploring transformation pathways towards a water secure future.
Water plays a central role in all human activities and needs to be managed efficiently and sustainably. The WAT Group pushes the boundary of transdisciplinary water science enabled by the institute’s recognized expertise in systems science approaches, to provide the scientific knowledge needed to address the quest for water security. The group aims to lead global efforts on integrated assessment of water supply and demand and identify solutions options that improve water scarcity, ameliorate water quality, and enhance resilience to extreme events, while at the same time engaging with key stakeholders at different levels to translate science into policy.
The group’s research has informed the development of various widely used models, which will continually be refined and extended to enable application and analysis at policy-relevant spatial scales. The group contributes to several IIASA research themes including biodiversity and ecosystem services, production and consumption, technology and innovation, and governance and institutions, by providing the water resources research expertise required for the development of a systemic approach to resolving sustainability issues.
Models, tools, datasets
Community Water Model (CWatM)
Global Hydro-economic Model (ECHO)
Global Agro-Ecological Zones (GAEZ)
Water Quality Modeling (WQM)
Projects
Sustainable water quality management supporting Uganda’s development ambitions (SWAQ-Uganda)
Advancing WFaS East Africa: Scaling out resilient water and agricultural systems (scaleWAYS)
SOS Water- Establishing a Safe Operating Space (SOS) for the global water resources system (SOS Water)
The World Bank ECA Regional Water Security Initiative: Development of an Assessment and Preparation of Diagnostic Reports
Staff
Maryna Strokal
Guest Research Scholar (WAT)
Amin Elshorbagy
Guest Research Scholar (WAT)
Jose Albiac
Guest Research Scholar (WAT)
Barbara Willaarts
Research Scholar (WAT)
News
12 September 2023
Water quality deteriorating in rivers worldwide
Climate change and increases in drought and rainstorms pose serious challenges to water management, not only in terms of the quantity of water, but also its quality. However, according to the most recent IPCC report, our current understanding of this issue is inadequate. To fill this gap, an international group of scientists has brought together a large body of research on water quality in rivers worldwide.
22 August 2023
Challenges ahead: navigating climate change and water management
Freshwater is vital for humans, ecosystems, and economies. However, climate and socio-economic changes are expected to substantially alter water availability. A pioneering study emphasizes considering future water withdrawals in low flow projections, highlighting the urgency of coordinated efforts to reduce excessive extraction in European rivers.
16 August 2023
IIASA recognizes researchers as Distinguished Emeritus Research Scholars
In a momentous celebration of their outstanding contributions to systems analysis and lifelong dedication to IIASA, five eminent researchers have been honored with the esteemed title of IIASA Distinguished Emeritus Research Scholar.
Events
05 June 2023 Prague, Czech Republic
IIASSA at 2023 Cross-Sectoral ISIMIP-PROCLIAS Workshop
30 January 2023
How will the European Green Deal impact EU Water Policy?
Focus
23 June 2023
Into the great wide open
Options Magazine, Summer 2023: By opening up access to science, IIASA is sparking new insights into our planet’s health.
22 June 2023
Using multi-sector transformation to replenish the Indus River Basin
Options Magazine, Summer 2023: Using an integrated water-energy-land system model on multi-sector transformations, IIASA researchers seek to enhance environmental flows in the Indus River Basin.
21 October 2022
Financial instruments for disaster risk and their effects on economic growth
Julian Joseph writes about a recent study in which researchers used a novel concept in the economic modeling of disaster risk reduction to explore how damages from disasters can be compensated for and what effect they have on economic growth.
Publications
Campo, P., Willaarts, B. , Magnuszewski, P., Giger, T., Ksiazczak, A.M., Brychczynski, H., & Kułakowska, M. (2023). Collaborative Design of Pathways to Sustainability. Guidebook for designing and running in-person workshops. Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.8345513. Lutz, W. & Pachauri, S. (2023). Systems Analysis for Sustainable Wellbeing. 50 years of IIASA research, 40 years after the Brundtland Commission, contributing to the post-2030 Global Agenda. IIASA Report. Laxenburg, Austria: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) 10.5281/zenodo.8214208. Armas Vargas, F., Nava, L.F. , Gómez Reyes, E., Olea-Olea, S., Rojas Serna, C., Sandoval Solís, S., & Meza-Rodríguez, D. (2023). Water and Environmental Resources: A Multi-Criteria Assessment of Management Approaches. Water 15 (16) e2991. 10.3390/w15162991. Greve, P., Burek, P. , Guillaumot, L. , van Meijgaard, E., Aalbers, E., Smilovic, M. , Sperna-Weiland, F., Kahil, T. , & Wada, Y. (2023). Low flow sensitivity to water withdrawals in Central and Southwestern Europe under 2 K global warming. Environmental Research Letters 18 (9) e094020. 10.1088/1748-9326/acec60. Theron, S.N., Midgley, S., Hochrainer-Stigler, S., Archer, E., Tramberend, S. , & Walker, S. (2023). Agricultural resilience and adaptive capacity during severe drought in the Western Cape, South Africa. Regional Environmental Change 23 (3) e98. 10.1007/s10113-023-02091-6.