Demonstrating Research-Based Solutions to Global Fresh Water Scarcity and Climate-Related Water Risks
Featured Photo
The second farmer participatory workshop was held by Columbia Water Center and UGVCL (Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited) in Kukarwada, Gujarat, India on 14 October 2011, with more than 450 in attendance.
Featured Video
Groundwater depletion in Gujarat, India. CWC Project staff report.
Recent News
The Indian business newspaper Mint recently published an editorial "Time for action to revolutionize water agenda" by Columbia Water Center director Upmanu Lall with Usha Rao-Monari and Sanjay Bhatnagar. The piece outlines the dimensions of India’s water crisis along with proposed solutions.
The Columbia Water Center has released two new reports addressing the groundwater crisis in India. The first, Climate Variability and Water Stress in India: How Much Storage is Needed and Where? introduces a new water stress index that directly informs water storage requirements to meet project water supply-demand imbalances across the nation. Shifting Crops, Saving Water informs policy by introducing a new crop diversification analysis tool that can show which crops to plant in different parts of India to maximize net national income and preserve food security while saving substantial amounts of water and energy.
The Atlantic has just posted an in-depth interview with CWC director Upmanu Lall. In piece, Manu discusses the importance of climate forecasting, how small-scale water purifcation will change the world and why Leonardo Da Vinci should be in the hydrology hall of fame.
The American Geophysical Union’s fall conference is coming up! The meeting will be held in San Francisco from December 5th to the 9th — as usual, Columbia Water Center scientists and associates will be giving a number of presentations covering a dizzying array of topics. For a list of presentations and abstracts, please see our AGU post on the Water Matters blog.
A number of Earth Institute experts were on hand for a recent conference in the cotinuting problem of arsenic contamination of groundwater in South Asia. The conference was held in Hanoi, Vientam, from November 14-17.
CWC director Upmanu Lall is quoted in the Nov 1 New York Times article 'Stone-Washed Blue Jeans (Minus the Washed)', about the growing awareness of corporate water risks. NYT link PDF
Upmanu Lall and Earth Institute director Jeff Sachs are featured in the MSNBC PhotoBlog 'Managing a growing world population with a shrinking water supply', posted on October 28.
A report on the Live Science web site on the Earth Institute Conference 'The World at 7 Billion', titled 5 Ways the World Will Change Radically This Century, includes remarks by Upmanu Lall on the future of water resource management as population grows. Live Science link PDF
The CWC projects in India are featured in the Oct 3rd Time Magazine article, 'Droughtbusters: The world is thirsty. Five ways we can keep from going dry', and Upmanu Lall is quoted. TIME web site PDF
On Saturday, September 24, Upmanu Lall participated in the discussion The True Value of Water, part of the Value of Water, Sustaining a Green Planet exhibition at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York. The exhibition uses water-related artworks placed throughout the Cathedral to highlight the importance of water to the church and the world.
On Monday, September 26, Upmanu Lall took part in the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology planning meeting on Agricultural Preparedness in Washington, DC. In addition to participating in discussions, he gave a presentation titled, ‘Will there be enough water for agriculture?’
September 28 – 30, Upmanu Lall attended the Information Technology and Research Academy foundational meeting in Delhi. ITRA is being established by the Government of India to act as an umbrella organization for all the research institutions in the country. The meeting in September addressed the development of professionals and partnerships to address water challenges in India. Lall spoke on ‘Water Intervention in India – CWC Experience.’
The International Water Forum at the United Nations was held concurrently with the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly, on September 16, at the UN Headquarters in New York. CWC Director Upmanu Lall participated in the panel discussion on Global Water Issues. Video of Lall's presentation. Read more about the conference on the Water Matters blog
On June 27, Columbia Water Center held an international conference called Water Scarcity: A Shared Problem with a World of Solutions. The conference included participants from CWC's PepsiCo Foundation global partnership projects. Staff from field projects in Brazil, India and Mali presented an overview of the local water and livelihood issues they are addressing through innovative, scalable solutions. Explore the Conference web page, with links to all the presentation slideshows.
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Upcoming Events:
Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, a noted professor of hydrology from University of Minnesota will be on campus at Columbia next week. On Tuesday, December 21 professor Foufoula-Georgiou will present some of her recent work on precipitation downscaling and data fusion, among other topics. Room 924 Mudd, 1:45 - 2:45 pm.
Read a letter about our projects from Director Upmanu Lall