Activities for 2016

In 2016 the Water (WAT) Program will extend its work to use a multi-model, global assessment of current and future water availability and demand to explore refined water scenarios.

Adapted from: © Miroslava Hlavačová | Dreamstime

Adapted from: © Miroslava Hlavačová | Dreamstime

Following the fast-track analysis completed in 2015, 2016 will be dedicated to preparing phase two of the Water Futures and Solutions initiative (WFaS) with a focus on the development of an integrated nexus approach in cooperation with other IIASA projects.

WAT aims to identify options that work together synergistically in different regions to improve water, energy, and food security; sustain human wellbeing; and ensure sustainable development. This will be done in three steps, by (1) testing options by scenario modeling that incorporates supply- and demand-side measures into policy recommendations at the basin level; (2) quantifying the benefits and trade-offs under the alternative scenarios based on the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways and Representative Concentration Pathways; (3) testing the robustness of policy options to see if they produce improved results under all, or most, scenarios.

The scenarios of water availability and demand to 2050, produced during the WFaS fast-track analysis, will be used to assess global challenges and hotspots of water insecurity. For the first time, the new water availability and demand projections from multi-model hydrologic ensembles will incorporate changes in land use and irrigated areas. This scenario assessment process will help to identify methods for the integrated water modeling needed to assess trade-offs and synergies across policy options. This will help tackle global challenges such as allocation of water resources, development of storage and associated trade-offs, the impacts of water stress and climate change on energy security, and trade in goods that require water for their production.


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Last edited: 10 March 2016

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