05 March 2015 - 06 March 2015
IIASA, Laxenburg, AUSTRIA
3rd WFaS Project Group Meeting
The discussions during the 3rd WFaS Project Group Meeting will range from water use modeling to scenarios on water use forming an essential element of the WFaS Initiative. With the aim of moving from scenarios to pathways for sustainable water security, storylines and qualitative and quantitative assumptions will be discussed.
Data produced so far and indicators generated to address specific needs and tools as well as ideas for tackling complex water use modeling and conclusions drawn from recent developments, including indicators for hydro-economic classifications, water availability assessment (ISI-MIP), and WFaS water use projections v0.3 will be presented.
WFaS Framework - click image to enlarge
Another focus will be on water availability, demand, and quality modelling including presentations on enhanced integration of land use change projections and infrastructure management and improved representation of changing water use patterns and efficiency.
In a discussion, innovative ideas for enhancing the collaborative network, types of management options for synergies and tradeoffs and possible best practices in terms of the types of methods to employ in different world regions under different conditions will be further developed.
In the light of the upcoming event (World Water Forum in Korea), 13-17 April 2015, decisions about participation, contributions, expectations and key messages will be finalized.
WFaS Fast Track Analysis and the Project Group
A key component of the larger, long term, large scale and continuous WFaS Initiative is the WFaS Fast-Track Analysis, a 1.5 year project that will use the collaborations and partnerships of WFaS to develop the first set of consistent, multi-model integrated scenarios across the food-water-energy-climate nexus, with guidance from the WFaS stakeholder process. It will compile estimates of the future availability of water resources (in space and time) and changes in demand across sectors under various scenarios of climate change (by RCP and climate model) and selected shared socio-economic development pathways (based on the SSP framework). It aims to enhance current scientific understanding of global water challenges, including major uncertainties, using qualitative descriptions, quantitative projections based on and comparisons, and expert opinion and analysis of available information. The analysis will estimate water resources variability in different scenarios and associated risks to human and ecosystem water security.
From the various groups of stakeholders involved in the global WFaS initiative, the Fast-Track Analysis focuses on the Project Group (PG), which is the science consortium, and the Scenario Focus Group (SFG), which is a stakeholder group primarily consisting of planners at the national and international river basin scale.
Major outputs from the Initiative will be released to correspond with the timing of the upcoming World Water Forums. At the seventh World Water Forum in Korea in April 2015, a report will be presented analyzing a first set of water futures scenarios, what limitations and trade-offs they may impose on future plans in the water-dependent sectors, and the risks to water, energy, and food security.
WFaS PG-Meeting - Background Material
WFaS Project Description: DO NOT CITE