The increasing impact of climate change on water resources and the environment, especially with regard to water scarcity and droughts, as well as the permanently increasing water demand of all economic sectors and the population, pose enormous and diverse challenges for water resources management in many regions of the world. In order to adapt to climate change, secure water supply and sustainable use of water resources, adequate response measures and strategies are required. In particular, the increase in extreme dry periods is leading to bottlenecks and conflicts in the use of water resources. RWC, therefore, offers consulting services and studies in the following fields:
- Water resources inventory
- Assessment of the water management conflict potential and bottleneck risk for agriculture, inland navigation, industry, water supply, and hydropower generation
- Development and evaluation of water management measures and strategies
- Studies on economic efficiency (e.g. cost effectiveness, cost-benefit analyses)
- Environmental impact assessment of water management measures
- Impact of climate change on water resources
- Development of climate change adaptation measures for different uses (agriculture, inland navigation, industry, water supply, and hydropower)
- Water management under water scarcity
- Agricultural hydraulic engineering, irrigation agriculture and agricultural production
- Hydro(geo)logical investigations and groundwater modeling
- Regional water resources planning and IWRM implementation
- Climate change adaptation strategies
- Seawater desalination and water transfer
- Decision support, software development and training
- Flood risk assessment and flood protection
- Inland navigation and ports,
- Evaluation and comparison of project alternatives
- Implementation of the German hydrogen strategy
- Integration of innovative technologies (water, energy) and their marketing
- Support for German companies and industry in Brazil
- Research
Water Resources Inventory
- Renewable water resources, water availability and water quality assessment
- Water demand and water budget assessment
- Utilization rate of renewable water resources and assessment of bottlenecks.
- Recommendations on IWRM-measures and further studies
Water resources conflict potential and risk of bottlenecks
- Definition of socio-economic development and climate scenarios
- Projection of water demand and water budgets over the planning horizon
- Identification of future supply bottlenecks and restrictions in the use of water resources (water supply, inland navigation, industry, hydropower, agriculture, tourism)
- Assessment of the bottleneck risk and potential for water management conflicts
- Recommendations for avoiding or minimising water related bottlenecks and conflicts
Regional Water Resources System Planning and IWRM-Implementation
- Implementation of a participatory decision-making process
- Identification of priority development and water resources management objectives
- Identification of appropriate structural and non-structural measures
- Definition of indicators for the evaluation of decision alternatives
- Development of integrated strategies for water resources system development for different uses (irrigated agriculture, industry, inland navigation, hydropower and tourism), integrating non-structural measures
- Quantification of indicators and strategy evaluation
- Recommendations on: IWRM implementation, system expansion and management, non-structural measures, decision support, and further action needed
Development, Evaluation and Comparison of Alternative Measures, Projects and Strategies
- Quantification of suitable indicators for the economic, social and environmental evaluation of alternative IWRM measures, projects and strategies.
- Economic feasibility (including cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit analysis)
- Environmental impact assessment
- Comparison of project alternatives, using multi-criteria methods to ensure scientifically sound and transparent decisions with high acceptance level
- Recommendations on: implementation, management, decision support and further studies
Climate Change Adaptation Strategies
- Definiton of climate scenarios
- Climate change impact (floods, droughts, water availability, water demand, water quality)
- Selection and quantification of appropriate decision criteria
- Assessment of potential impacts of climate change (business-as-usual)
- Compilation of structural and non-structural measures
- Development and evaluation of alternative mitigation and adaptation strategies for specific challenges (e.g., flood protection, droughts) as well as specific water uses (ensuring water supply, navigability, agricultural production, etc.)
- Recommendations on: strategy implementation, system management, monitoring, modeling, decision support and other needs for action
Decision Support, Software Development and Training
- Development and application of online (also GIS-based) tools and expert systems for decision support
- Use of multi-criteria methods for the evaluation, comparison and ranking of decision options
- Use of hydro(geo)logical models (impact assessment, quantification of indicators)
- Recommendations for the use of appropriate models and tools for decision support
- Training courses in the field of decision support as well as IWRM implementation
Implementation of the German hydrogen strategy
- Strategy development with regard to sustainable and risk-minimized production of green hydrogen in non-European countries
- Potential analyses on a regional level with regard to the production of green hydrogen in Brazil as well as in the Middle East
- Comparison and selection of alternative locations for the production of green hydrogen using scientifically based multi-criteria procedures (indicators: economic viability, water and energy supply, existing infrastructure, transportation, risk, sustainability, etc.)
- Support of German companies and industry in the selection of production sites abroad
- Representation of German companies in Brazil and the Middle East
Innovative Technologies and their Transfer Abroad
- Integration of innovative water technologies and renewable energies in water resources system planning and IWRM implementation
- Support for technology companies in marketing abroad and technology integration in the water resources system planning process
Support for German companies and industry in issues related to water, the environment and renewable energies in Brazil
- Analysis of the security of supply, risk of bottlenecks and the potential for conflict of potential locations for branches and industrial sites, concerning water, energy, environmental restrictions and climate change
- Regional studies on the need for infrastructural measures in the economic sectors of water, renewable energy. environment as well as production of green hydrogen
- Assessment of the potential for technology transfer in the fields of water, renewable energies, climate and environmental protection
- Consulting on the production of green hydrogen in Brazil
- Consulting in the field of irrigated agriculture, agricultural production and export of agricultural products
- Representation of German companies in Brazil
Research
- Water resources management in the face of water scarcity and adaptation to climate change
- Integration of innovative water technologies and renewable energies for sustainable water resources planning towards IWRM implementation.
- Cost-effective and sustainable implementation of seawater desalination and water transfer
- Scientific methods for efficient and transparent decision support in participatory processes (operations research)
- Development of online expert systems and decision support tools
