Research area water
The “Water” research focus at the Department of Geography concentrates on the most important resource of the 21st century. The natural and social sciences need to adopt interdisciplinary approaches to the burning questions of our time on various spatial and time scales.
Water is the most important resource of the 21st century and is crucial to the survival of humanity and ecosystems. At the same time, it harbors life-threatening risks in the form of flooding. Geographical water research is thus an important part of many geographical research disciplines (hydrology, geomorphology, developmental research, etc.).
The natural and social sciences need to adopt interdisciplinary approaches to the burning questions of our time on various spatial and time scales. This is because, as well as being able to view water from a quantitative and qualitative perspective, the demand for it has to be considered both for society and for individual ecosystems. The “Water” key field is closely linked to another, “Risk,” via extreme events (flooding, drought).
The “Water” key field focuses on issues and approaches concerned with current water-related problems such as water shortages, water quality, food security and flood and drought risks on a local to a global level—problems that are being increasingly exacerbated by global change (climate change, changes in land use, demographic trends, etc.). Geography, which looks at spatial relationships and the interactions between human beings and their environment, is an indispensable science for devising sound potential solutions. Besides a physical understanding of the processes involved, a key role is also played by socio-economic and political factors, which have a marked impact on land use, access to water and water consumption, among other things. Sustainable and practicable solutions to the problems can thus only be found by taking account of natural and anthropogenic influences and processes at the same time in the form of integrated, transdisciplinary approaches.
The Department of Geography at the University of Bonn is involved in numerous water-related research projects, many of which are being run together with national and international partners. A selction is given below.
Some partners in Bonn:
At national level the ABC/J (Aachen, Bonn, Cologne / Jülich) geoscientific research alliance is helping to ensure close collaboration with the support of the University. The main partners also include the Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG) and the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), Germany's international development agency.
Partners in Germany:
- Hochwasser Kompetenz Centrum Köln
- Hochwasserschutzzentrale Köln
- Wupperverband
- Erftverband
- Emschergenossenschaft
Selected partner institutions on an European level:
- Institute of Development Studies, Brighton
- London School of Economics and Political Science, London
- CIEMAT, Madrid (EnMap)
- Fluvial Archives Group (FLAG)
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, Institut of Geography, Bern (Dr. Daniel Viviroli)
- Centre for Hydrological and Ecosystem Science, Department of Geography Loughborough University (Dr. Rob Wilby)
Partner institutions on a global level:
- Centre des Sciences Humaines, New Delhi
- IRD: Institut de recherche pour le developpement, La Paz
- INQUA Commission on Terrestrial Processes, Deposits and History (TEFPRO) Focus Area „Hydrological Change and Climate“ (ex Glocoph)
- Water & Climate Impacts Research Centre (W-CIRC), Victoria, Canada
- Water Resources and Hydrologic Modeling Lab, McMaster University (Dr. Paulin Coulibaly)
- West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL)
