A future without water?
Water is important for all living things, and we humans are no exception.
Access to water has always been a pressing issue for far too many people around the world, but as our populations and demand increases, the question of how and where all of us will get water from is becoming critical for everyone.
Formed nearly 15 year ago, the Indo-French Cell for Water Sciences brought together French and Indian scientists in order to research how our water is behaving and, more importantly, what might happen in the future. What is happening to all our water, from start to end? Will we have enough? Can we develop a sustainable usage system?
This unique and hugely successful scientific team is looking at every aspect of the water system; from how much falls and where it ends up, to how much the forest is using, farming practices, pollution levels and the impact of the different ecosystem on the water. They trek and collect samples from pristine forest, talk to farmers and analyse water quality and usage, and utilise advanced satellite data in order to develop models for what is happening. The formation of this truly multidisciplinary team has led to some amazing work and advances in our knowledge of water, something shockingly understudied. This information is not only directly helping local people in the area, but has implications for all of us.
I spent the last 6 months following, interviewing and sometimes helping (carry stuff for) the team in order to understand their activities. I was truly amazed at the depth and breadth of their research, commitment and success. Here is my mini-documentary, I hope you enjoy it! Research like this needs to continue, before research and adaptation turns into crisis management!
The Indo French Cell for Water Sciences (IFCWS, in french CEFIRSE: Cellule Franco Indienne de Recherche en Sciences de l'Eau ), was created in 2001 between the Indian Institute of Science (IISc, Bangalore) and the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD, France). It became a Laboratoire Mixte International in 2010. Since 2014 it has been renewed for 4 years and it involves now the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO, Goa), the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM, Pune) and 6 French Research Units as principal partners.