24 June 2014
Lecture abstract:
Pakistan is facing rapid large-scale environmental changes brought about by natural forces unleashed by climate change; historical forces driven by social, political and demographic changes; and global transitions triggered by new technologies. The impact of these changes is felt most in the water sector in poor management of irrigation networks, depleting groundwater, deterioration in water quality, poor sanitation and difficulties in preservation of eco-systems. In order to meet the technical challenges of time and scale in a problem as complex as water, the speaker's research group has explored many ICT driven tools and systems analysis methods. Some highlights include the deployment of hydrometry networks in southern Punjab to study water efficiency & equity, simulation models for the 1991 water provincial accord and frameworks to quantify uncertainty for water distribution bodies like IRSA and provincial irrigation departments. Other work is related to innovative ideas in demand-based and supply-driven irrigation delivery, robotic inspection of water channels for siltation and study of optimal consumption of renewable resources by consumer networks. These projects have been carried out with technical cooperation and support by national and international organizations including IWMI, WWF, ICTP, IIASA, DAAD and Govt of Pakistan.
Bio
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313