This NEXUS Gains Talk will discuss the challenges of developing an integrated diagnostic approach for understanding long-term water storage needs and opportunities. Water storage is growing in importance in the face of climate change, but future investments need to be guided by more rigorous approaches to integrating natural and built surface and sub-surface storage, as well as multi-sectoral needs in development and management.
NEXUS Gains is a One CGIAR Initiative that will examine water, energy, food and ecosystem (WEFE) systems in transboundary bread-basket basins in East Africa (Blue Nile Basin), Southern Africa (Limpopo and Incomati Basins), Central Asia (Aral Sea Basin) and South Asia (Ganges and Indus Basins).
Presenters
- William Rex, Senior Advisor, IWMI
The need for integrated water storage diagnostics
Water storage improves water availability, reduces the impacts of floods, and underpins other services such as hydropower and transportation. While the need for water storage through gray infrastructure such as dams has long been recognized, there is growing recognition of the need for approaches to water storage that capitalize on all storage types. However, current capacity to plan in ways that utilize all storage types is limited. This presentation will provide an overview of the data, issues and debates around freshwater storage globally, and present the practical needs for developing an integrated water storage diagnostic approach.
- Anita Lazurko, IWMI Consultant and PhD Candidate, University of Waterloo
Early lessons for a systematic water storage diagnostic approach
Water storage is a crucial aspect of water security, as it buffers water availability over space and time. A systematic water storage diagnostic approach would help identify and leverage synergies across a water system, yet examples of such systematic approaches are scarce. This presentation will summarize existing examples of integrated water storage mapping, planning, management and modeling, concluding with key lessons to guide the development of such approaches in different contexts around the world.