The Sustainable Water Future Programme is a core activity of Future Earth and addresses water-related science, policy, and societal questions regarding global environmental change. Prof. Anik Bhaduri, Executive Director, Australian River Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia, visited DCCC and delivered a talk on “Global Water, the Anthropocene and the Transformation of a Science towards a Sustainable Water Future ” on 14 September 2016. He spoke about the Anthropocene’s influence on global water systems, more specifically, how human interventions have been affecting the global water system combined with ecosystem and biogeochemical cycles, and how they may further affect water systems in the years to come. He stated that a modified hydrological cycle could lead to abrupt changes such as potential shutdown of the North Atlantic deep-water formation and ocean circulation arising from changes in Eurasian river discharge. 

Prof. Anik deliberated on research questions like how humans are changing the global water cycle, and what are the socioeconomic and environmental feedbacks arising from these changes. He talked about the preparation of a major collaborative project aiming to develop International Water Quality Guidelines for Aquatic Ecosystems, to make water sustainable in the near future. He proposed on setting up a network of water solution labs both locally, regionally, and globally to cope with water related issues. The talk ended with a discussion on future plans by the committee to establish working groups in these solution labs to identify gaps or deficiencies, and propose feasible innovative solutions to address water system security and achieve global sustainability. This has since translated into the formation of a Bengaluru Water Solutions Lab, based in DCCC.