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
Projects
Staff
News
28 November 2023
How can we evaluate the quality of global water models?
03 October 2023
Enhancing knowledge and capacity on water quality in Uganda
12 September 2023
Water quality deteriorating in rivers worldwide
Events
Focus
08 November 2023
Adapting water needs for agriculture in South Africa
23 June 2023
Into the great wide open
Publications
Avidar, O. (2024). A holistic framework for evaluating and planning sustainable rural drinking water projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Rural Studies 107 e103243. 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103243. Bhalla, S., Baggio, J.A., Sahu, R.K. , Kahil, T. , Tarhouni, J., Brini, R., & Wildemeersch, M. (2024). The role of interacting social and institutional norms in stressed groundwater systems. Journal of Environmental Management 356 e120389. 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120389. Awais, M. , Vinca, A. , Byers, E. , Frank, S. , Fricko, O. , Boere, E., Burek, P. , Poblete Cazenave, M., Kishimoto, P.N. , Mastrucci, A. , Satoh, Y., Palazzo, A. , McPherson, M., Riahi, K. , & Krey, V. (2024). MESSAGEix-GLOBIOM nexus module: integrating water sector and climate impacts. Geoscientific Model Development 17 (6) 2447-2469. 10.5194/gmd-17-2447-2024. Nkwasa, A., Getachew, R.E., Lekarkar, K., Yimer, E.A., Martínez, A.B., Tang, T. , & van Griensven, A. (2024). Can Turbidity Data from Remote Sensing Explain Modelled Spatial and Temporal Sediment Loading Patterns? An Application in the Lake Tana Basin. Environmental Modeling & Assessment 10.1007/s10666-024-09972-y. (In Press) Nkwasa, A., Chawanda, C., Schlemm, A., Ekolu, J., Frieler, K., & van Griensven, A. (2024). Historical climate impact attribution of changes in river flow and sediment loads at selected gauging stations in the Nile basin. Climatic Change 177 (3) e42. 10.1007/s10584-024-03702-9.