Veolia Water Technologies by GineersNow Engineering Magazine GineersNow Engineering Magazine September 2016 | Page 65

In one scenario they call “Just Growth,” they held
climate conditions constant and evaluated the effects of
economic and population growth on the water supply.
In another scenario called “Just Climate,” they held
growth constant and measured the climate-change
effects alone. The third scenario, which is “Climate and
Growth,” the scientists used the rising economic activity,
growing populations, and climate change as studies of
impact.
The distinct kind of modelling enabled the scientists
to evaluate some of the particular factors that affect
the different countries in Asia to varying extents. For
example, in China, the industrial growth has the greatest
impact as people get wealthier. Meanwhile in India,
population growth brings upon the greatest effect. The
factors vary by region.
What the scientists also emphasized in their modelling
is its complexity: it’s not merely adding the effects of
economic growth and climate change, but also on the
networked water supply into and out of the area. Part
of the model is a network of water basins, which means
involvement of upstream and downstream – both of
which affect each other. One cited situation is when
the amount of rainfall near upstream basins is lowered
because of climate change while the population is
growing, the basins farther away from the initial water
shortage would be affected more acutely.
The team of scientists includes Adam Schlosser, a senior
research scientist and deputy director at MIT’s Joint
Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change;
Charles Fant, lead author of the paper and a researcher
at the Join Program; Xiang Gao and Kenneth Strzepek,
who are also researchers at the Joint Program; and John
Reilly, a co-director of the Joint Program who is a senior
lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Photo by South Asia Water Initiative
Taking the Study Conclusions Further Photo by adb
While the scientists from MIT have used a complicated
tool to predict the roots of an impending water crisis
in Asia, it got commendation it deserves from various
bodies.
The United Nations’ World Institute for Development
Economics Research, through its agricultural economist
Channing Arndt, said that the paper is “looking at a really
important issue for the world” and thought that the
basic finding of the study “makes sense.” Arndt added
that the scope and evaluation approach of the paper,
which is integrating climate change with economic and
population growth, is “worthwhile.”
MIT’s scientists is taking its study further by working on
related projects, like one on the effects of mitigation
on water shortages. They are extending on adaptation
practices such as more efficient irrigation technologies
which will help in alleviating the water problem in
nations who are categorized to have high water stress.
Their preliminary findings indicate strong cases for
effective actions and measures to reduce risk. It doesn’t
stop there though, as the team aims to still look for ways
in fine-tuning their modelling, ultimately to estimate
significant water shortages in the future.
Photo by ipsnews
SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
65