News

  • TRUST puts hyperspectral drone into operation and engages actively with Peruvian community

    21/01/2019

    Drinking water scarcity in prosperous urban areas is an increasing challenge for cities around the world. This situation, exacerbated by growing climatic extremes, is prevalent in the Rio Lurin catchment area in Lima (Peru), which is the world’s second largest desert city. The TRUST research project is exploiting the possibilities for developing an innovative solution to secure the drinking water supply and expedient disposal of water in the catchment area of the Rio Lurin, one of Lima’s three major drinking water sources. Using remote sensing and hydrological modelling in combination with strategic decision-making tools, the team of researchers and practitioners of natural sciences, engineering and social sciences has made significant progress in the project’s first year.

    Complete article

  • Make your voice count: Nominations for the Global Water Awards 2019 - Deadline 31 January 2019

    03/01/2019

    Do you know a company, project, plant, technology, deal or initiative that deserves the “Global Water Awards”? The nomination for the Awards 2019 is now open and you can vote here until 31 January. Nominations can be made under 13 different categories, such as Smart Water Company of the Year, Municipal Desalination Plant of the Year or Water Leaders Award. The winners will be announced at the Global Water Summit on April 9th 2019 in London. Further information on the process can be found here.

  • Call for papers for the 10th International Conference on Sustainable Water Resources Management, 7-9 May 2019 in Alicante, (Spain)

    03/01/2019

    The 10th International Conference on Sustainable Water Resources Management, organised by the Wessex Institute (UK) and the University of Alicante (Spain) opened its call for papers. The conference will present recent technological and scientific developments, associated with the management of surface and sub-surface water resources. Papers presented will be published by WIT Press in a Volume of WIT Transactions or at an Issue of the International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning.

  • Second workshop on the cross-cutting topic “SDGs – Hitting the targets”

    28/12/2018

    During its workshop on 11 December in Osnabrück, the group continued to investigate the two topics identified at the first meeting: conflicting targets and synergies between different SDGs; and indicators, data and models. The participants also discussed how best to transfer knowledge from the GRoW projects to the political process.

    The workshop began with two keynote presentations. One focused on identifying methodological approaches for assessing conflicting targets and synergies within the SDGs. The other assessed interlinkages between alternative policy options from the project TRUST. The workshop then moved on to the working group session.  

    The working group for indicators, data and models focused on the importance of SDG implementation and decision-making on the ground, and on improvements in representing existing governance systems. It also looked at addressing cross-sectoral problems as a way of achieving the SDGs more efficiently. The group rapidly agreed to prepare a policy brief on how to complement and possibly improve the current SDG monitoring process. Besides the key messages, empirical examples from the GRoW projects will be a major component of the paper.     
    Following a fruitful discussion, the working group on conflicting targets and synergies between different SDGs decided to develop a new assessment method for evaluating projects and different policy plans and their effects on SDG interactions, with a special focus on SDG 6. The method aims to improve the way the advantages and disadvantages of interventions are presented, and to develop concrete proposals for decision-making.

    The next workshop on the cross-cutting topic is planned for spring 2019.

    The presentations and workshop minutes are available here.

  • GRoW at COP24

    21/12/2018

    The UNFCCC 24th Conference of the Parties and 14th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol was held in Katowice, Poland, from 2nd to 4th December. Besides discussions of emissions trading, climate security, climate change financing and local climate protection, there was also an emphasis on water-related topics as being integral to achieving most other SDGs and the ambitious climate change targets.

    GRoW was presented at the Conference of the Parties (COP) as part of input from Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA). Romy Durst introduced the broad portfolio of activities occuring within the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and focused on the FONA3 framework prgramme. She highlighted GRoW’s special focus on connecting global information about water resources and water demand with regional and local solutions.

    In addition, the GRoW project SaWaM (Seasonal Water Management for Semiarid Areas) was present at a side-event on “climate-proofing strategies”, during which Dr Lorenz and Professor Kunstmann from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology provided an overview of ongoing research and first research results within their project.

    Several otherl events highlighted the important role of water in achieving climate change targets. UN-Water, for instance, organized an event entitled “The role of water in achieving climate neutrality“ that it addressed the integration of SDG6 (water) and SDG13 (climate change). The side event highlighted the important role of water, the potential for synergies and trade-offs, and the political progress achieved so far.

    After reaching a lat-minute deal on a 156-page rulebook, COP24 now provides a roadmap for further implementation of the Paris Agreement. However, since collaboration at the national levels is under threat as a result of current political developments in a number of leading countries (including the USA, Germany and France), commitment at sub-national levels (local governments, cities, states, businesses and NGOs) continues to gain importance for achieving carbon emission goals. Various cities and organisations have already committed  to the Paris Agreement. The same can be expected with water-related issues, as this COP highlighted the close links between these two topics.

  • SaWaM will be presented at COP24

    28/11/2018

    Between the 3rd and 14th of December the 24th Climate Change Conference (COP24) will be held in Katowice, Poland.  Delegates from 197 countries will come together to discuss and jointly work on progres in the battle against climate change. GRoW will be represented by Dr Lorenz and Prof Kunstmann from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology who will present their GRoW-project “SaWaM” in the side event “Climate proofing strategies”. The session serves as a platform for demonstrating different strategies and possibilities of climate proofing in the water, energy and food nexus at different time and spatial scales; a number of experts will furthermore give an overview of ongoing research and current initiatives in the field of improving precipitation as well as seasonal prediction forecasts. The session will take place in the EU Pavillon, Room Brussels on the 3rd of December from 12:30-14:00.

    Please find further information on the program here.

  • Second workshop on the cross-cutting topic “Incentive mechanisms in the context of governance”

    13/11/2018

    On 22 October, the working group on the cross-cutting topic “Incentive mechanisms in the context of governance” met in Frankfurt to continue its work on key issues identified at its first meeting earlier this year.

    At that meeting, which took place in March 2018, the group identified three sub-themes for its future work: a mechanism for turning research into practice, agricultural irrigation, and measuring governance. The second workshop aimed to examine these topics in more depth in order to share knowledge, achieve a common understanding of associated concepts, and pinpoint opportunities for harnessing synergies across the projects.

    The workshop began with three keynote presentations. One examined how to bridge the water governance gap between the macro and the micro level, another examined the institutional framework of irrigation systems, and the third looked at indicators and measurements for assessing water governance structures.

    After these presentations, the project representatives shared insights into their work on legal frameworks in the context of irrigated agriculture. There was broad consensus on the relevance of analysing legal mechanisms and frameworks in order to assess the potential value of the projects’ technical outputs.

    The participants continued their exchange within two parallel working groups. One examined irrigated agriculture, and the other was about measuring governance and turning governance research into practice. Focusing on social innovation, digitalization and legal frameworks, the irrigated agriculture group was primarily interested in analysing legal frameworks, particularly with regard to deficits of implementation and respective solutions, and considered a joint publication on this issue. The second working group discussed the links to governance that exist in the GRoW projects. It identified potential principles of good governance (separation of powers, enforcement, and appropriate monitoring methods) and talked about the outcome of the session: a collection of aspects of good governance from the projects and a potential position paper with condensed information on water governance.

    The next workshop on the cross-cutting topic will be organized in spring 2019.

    The presentations and workshop minutes are available here.

  • Second workshop on the “water footprint” cross-cutting topic

    08/10/2018

    The GRoW community’s work on cross-cutting topics is entering its second round. With a lively and successful workshop on 27 September, the “water footprint” cross-cutting topic continued its work on key issues identified during its first meeting in March this year.

    This second workshop was about further investigating the issues and identifying possible synergies within the GRoW projects.

    After hearing three input presentations, the group discussed the possibilities and limitations of water footprints by focusing on three questions:

    • How can water footprints be linked to economic and social impacts (e.g. consumer health, consumer/societal costs)? 
    • How can trade affect water stress – and vice versa - in certain regions, and what are the links to mitigation strategies?
    • How can water footprints address water quality and water pollution?

    There was broad consensus amongst participants on the importance of assessing water footprints beyond their volumetric environmental outcomes. It also became clear that the approaches to using water footprints differ widely across the different projects, and that there is no “one size fits all” solution. To collect and disseminate their findings, the participants decided to develop a position paper. The paper aims to critically discuss the quantitative approach to water footprints, highlight which factors should be included and how this can be done, and analyse the potentials and limitations of water footprints based on scientific discussions from the perspective of GRoW.

    The next workshop on the cross-cutting topic will be organized in spring 2019.

    The presentations and workshop minutes are available here.

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