IGCS

The 4th edition of the IGCS-motan Workshop concluded yesterday after 6 impulse lectures, 1 workshop on entrepreneurship, 1 intercultural training and group works. We would like to thank our participants for making our event engaging and interactive. It is always a pleasure to witness talented scholars come together to bring new innovative ideas to life.

We would like to thank Dr. Narendra Reddy from CIIRC, Dr. Andreas Faith from Furtwangen University, and Jacqueline Plaster from everwave for leading their respective session on the second day.

This, however, is not the end of our event as our participants will be back on 13th of December to present their entrepreneurial outcome to our team.

IGCS would like to take this moment to celebrate a research publication earlier this year in collaboration between Kiel University and Indian Institute of Technology, Madras on the focus area of Sustainable Water Management. The journal article titled "Enhancing hydrologic modelling through the representation of traditional rainwater harvesting systems: A case study of water tanks in South India" was first published on 04. February 2024, was co-authored by IGCS Area Coordinator Prof. Dr. Nicola Fohrer from Department of Hydrology and Water Resources Management, Kiel University, along with IGCS alumni Dr. Nariman Mahmoodi in collaboration PD Dr. Paul Wagner, Chaogui Lei, and Dr. Balaji Narasimhan.

This study, published in Hydrological Processes, investigates the integration of traditional South Indian rainwater harvesting systems—specifically water tanks—into modern hydrological modeling. Focusing on the basin in , the research leverages remote sensing data to accurately capture seasonal water storage variations, essential for improving the Soil and Water Assessment Tool ( +). These water tanks, which significantly impact streamflow, were underrepresented in past models, limiting the accuracy of water balance assessments in the region.

By calibrating the SWAT+ model with remote sensing-derived data from 2016-2020, the study demonstrates an enhanced ability to simulate streamflow in monsoon and dry periods, improving model predictions and resource management decisions. The research underscores the potential for integrating traditional water systems into contemporary models, contributing to sustainable water management practices in data-scarce regions and aiding in climate resilience planning. Demonstrating the potential of traditional water management practices to inform modern hydrological models helps improve water management strategies amidst increasing climate vulnerability. Improving resilience is a significant focus for IGCS and the outcomes of our research activities.

You can read more about this research here:
https://lnkd.in/daqQS_D5