New Frontiers in Water Science
In her lecture, water researcher Veena Srinivasan called for a new approach to science that is problem driven, interdisciplinary and grounded in real-world questions. She presented three examples to illustrate why we must consider anthropologic changes in this new approach. She addressed the case of disappearing surface water in the Upper Arkavathy watershed near Bengaluru, the impact of droughts on Chennai and questioned whether tree planting is good or bad for streams.
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About the Water researcher
Veena Srinivasan is a Fellow at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bangalore, where she leads the Water, Land and Society Programme. She also leads the Centre for Social and Environmental Innovation. Veena’s research interests include inter-sectoral water allocation, impacts of multiple stressors on water resources, ground and surface water linkages, and sustainable water management policy and practice.
Veena has won several awards for her work including the 2015 Jim Dooge Award for best paper in the journal Hydrology and Earth System Science from the European Geophysical Union, the 2012 Water Resources Research Editor's Choice Award from the American Geophysical Union She is also a recipient of the Teresa Heinz Environmental Scholars Award.
Connected Exhibits and Programmes
Sounds Tapper - exhibit playing the sound of polluted Bengaluru water
Hydrosocial Cycle - a workshop on human-water interaction by researcher Trevor Birkenholtz