A new large-scale, open source hydrological and water resources model developed at IIASA will support and enable different stakeholder groups and scientific communities to engage with a hydrological model and support their investigations.
A new large-scale, open source hydrological and water resources model developed at IIASA will support and enable different stakeholder groups and scientific communities to engage with a hydrological model and support their investigations.
The growing global population and continued economic development will likely require a significant increase in water demand, especially in developing regions. At the same time, climate change is already having global, regional, and local impacts on water availability. Ensuring that the changing supply can meet the continuously growing demand without compromising the sensitive aquatic environments from which it is derived, is clearly a huge challenge that will require strategies and policies informed by science.
In order to aid in the accurate assessment of water supply and the demands of both people and the environment, IIASA researchers have developed a large-scale hydrological and water resources model ̶ the Community Water Model (CWatM). The model can simulate the movement, distribution, and management of water both globally and regionally to evaluate water availability in terms of water demand and environmental needs. It includes an accounting of how future water demand will evolve in response to socioeconomic change and how water availability will be influenced by climate change. The integrated modeling framework considers water demand from agriculture, domestic needs, energy, industry, and the environment.
Findings were published in Biological Conservation.
Read more at International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
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