Taher Kahil
Research Group Leader and Senior Research Scholar
Water Security Research Group
Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program
Biography
Taher Kahil joined IIASA as a Research Scholar with the Water (WAT) Program in September 2015. Dr. Kahil obtained his PhD in economics at the University of Zaragoza (Spain) in 2015. His completed PhD dissertation includes the development and use of a hydro-economic model of Spanish basins and the application of cooperative game theory to water resources management. He has been the recipient of a number of scholarships and awards including the FPI-INIA PhD scholarship of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, and the award for the best PhD dissertation in economics at the University of Zaragoza.His research interests are in the areas of integrated biophysical economics modeling for basin scale water policy analysis, the economics of water allocation and water quality, and evaluation of adaptation policy interventions to global changes in water and agriculture. At IIASA, Dr. Kahil leads the development of the large-scale hydro-economic modeling framework (ECHO). He is currently involved in a number of international research projects on water-food-energy nexus management, upscaling of sustainable intensification practices, and disaster risk reduction. He has published over 40 publications including peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and policy briefs. He is a topic editor at the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (MDPI). Dr. Kahil was appointed Research Group Leader of the newly formed Water Security research group at IIASA, as of January 2021.
Last update: 09 OCT 2020
Publications
Li, J., Fu, J., Kahil, T. , Fridman, D. , Cai, K., Xu, S., Zhao, G., Zhang, M., Duan, X., Qin, Y., & Liu, Y. (2025). Temporal lag in nitrogen use efficiency and its implications for sustainable cropland management. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 222 e108451. 10.1016/j.resconrec.2025.108451.
Fridman, D. , Smilovic, M. , Burek, P. , Tramberend, S. , & Kahil, T. (2025). Wastewater matters: incorporating wastewater treatment and reuse into a process-based hydrological model (CWatM v1.08). Geoscientific Model Development 18 (12) 3735-3754. 10.5194/gmd-18-3735-2025.
Albiac Murillo, J.M.S., Esteban, E., Calvo, E., Martinez, Y., Baccour, S., & Kahil, T. (2025). The Impact of Climate Change on the Water Sector in Spain. Water Economics and Policy 10.1142/S2382624X25400132.
Crespo, D., Kahil, T. , Albiac Murillo, J.M.S., Gaupp, F., & Esteban, E. (2025). Assessment of Drought Impacts in the Ebro Basin Using Hydro-Economic Modeling and Copula-Based Water Availability Simulations. Water Economics and Policy 10.1142/S2382624X25400041.
Joseph, J., Tramberend, S. , Kabi, F., Fischer, G., & Kahil, T. (2025). Sustainable intensification of fodder crop production can mitigate feed shortage and seasonality in East Africa. Environmental Development 54 e101158. 10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101158.