Research

The Global Freshwater Initiative (GFI) is developing strategies that promote the long-term viability of freshwater supplies for people and ecosystems threatened by climate change, shifts in land use, increasing population, decaying infrastructure and groundwater over-pumping. Our investigations of freshwater vulnerability are global in scope but regional in focus.

Jordan Water Project At the heart of the Middle East, Jordan is one of the ten poorest countries in the world in terms of freshwater resource availability. The region is expected to experience temperature increases of...
Arsenic in Asia In Southern Asia, an estimated 100 million people have been exposed to risks from groundwater contaminated with naturally occurring arsenic. The tainted water, used for drinking, agriculture and...
Chennai, India In 2003-2004, Chennai (formerly Madras) suffered a crippling water crisis. Reservoirs dried up, the piped supply system shut down and most private wells went dry, forcing city residents to rely...
Estimating Crop Water Use in Northwestern China This project aims to produce a better understanding of the potential for freshwater use in China’s Heihe River Basin, a major agricultural production center and one of the country’s...
Global Water Crisis Analysis Freshwater scarcity is one of this century’s most pressing challenges, but it is surprisingly hard to describe the nature of the "global water crisis." GFI staff are the first to...
Identifying Water Supply Vulnerability To aid the exploration of ways to reduce water system shocks, GFI is exploring a new approach to identifying regions with extremely vulnerable freshwater supplies. We are developing a framework...
Irrigated Agricultural Needs The effects of climate change have the potential to greatly reduce agricultural production in the future. However, relatively little is known about whether there will be enough water to meet growing...
Multi-Urban Impacts on Shared Water Supplies Cities hold more than half of the world’s population. As urbanization continues, demands for freshwater increase. To find adequate supplies of water to meet urban needs, some cities must create...
Yaqui Valley Project The fertile Yaqui Valley produces 40 percent of Mexico’s wheat. In 2004, an eight-year period of low rainfall caused all three surface-water reservoirs to dry up. Wheat production dropped to...