World Water Institute at UC Davis
A Whitepaper for the Campaign Steering Committee
THE VISION
Water connects us all. Rivers and groundwater are the lifeblood of our planet, transporting water through our environment and serving as the primary intersections between humans and the freshwater system. Wise water stewardship is a pervasive, complex and urgent global challenge.
For more than a century, myriad stakeholders and UC Davis have worked together to balance water challenges with building one of the world’s largest economies and protecting ecosystems. California has developed unique and powerful water-related scientific expertise, management and policy tools, for which
UC Davis has been a leader every step of the way.
The availability and fair distribution of clean water may be the most critical resource issue facing much of the world. Now more than ever, an effective framework to integrate sustainable water management expertise is needed to secure a healthy future for our state and planet.
UC Davis’ comprehensive approach—formed in the crucible of the state’s history of floods, droughts, groundwater overdraft, rich but threatened natural resources, and persistent economic, agricultural and population growth—offers clear scientific, technical and management advantages. UC Davis is poised to formalize, promote, and leverage globally our unified approach to science-based sustainable water management: the “California Model.”
Recognizing that the need for rigorous science-based sustainable water management is greater than ever, UC Davis has a vision to further develop and extend the California Model to the global stage. The World Water Institute will crystallize UC Davis' interdisciplinary expertise in solving grand challenges related to water.From drought solutions to safe drinking water, from agricultural production to ecosystem restoration, the Institute will position UC Davis as the world’s premier hub for innovative solutions to 21st century sustainable water science, engineering, management and policy.
The World Water Institute will take inspiration from the world’s most successful public-private water management model. The Dutch have created a "hydro-industrial complex" that integrates education, applied research, and a water-science and engineering export industry, promoting the "Dutch Model" worldwide. The World Water Institute will promote California's water solutions globally through a similar synergy-rich three-part strategy:
· Engaging industry and public agency partners through a public-private arm and catalyzing creation of a new California Water Science Center.
· A Water Without Borders program will bring California Model expertise and solutions to under-served populations around the world who face emergent water crises.
· Training the next generation of leaders through existing and new graduate programs grounded in rigorous fieldwork and research, emphasizing engagement with real-world solutions, with paired studies of California systems with contrasting water systems worldwide.
We are at a pivotal moment where UC Davis can expand its global leadership in managing one of the world’s most precious resources.
THE RIGHT TIME AND THE RIGHT PLACE
Society has long grappled with the competing demands of a water-limited world, and now we must adapt to a globalizing economy and a changing climate.
UC Davis faculty and researchers in water-related science and policy already form one of the greatest concentrations of water expertise in the nation. Complemented by outstanding programs in agriculture, environmental sciences, engineering and public health—which all enjoy international reputations—the time is right to create an integrated framework to address state, national and global water problems. No other institution is better positioned to seize this opportunity, and the Institute will leverage the university’s strengths to foster new synergies.
UC Davis is already California’s major center for creative and persistent engagement in water problems. We have a long successful record of collaboration and effective engagement in the search for sustainable solutions, leading to significant advances in sustainable Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta management, fish and wildlife habitat restoration, flood management, water markets, groundwater contamination and other areas.
UC Davis' contributions to water solutions and policy, often spearheaded by the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences (CWS), are based on collaboration among faculty from diverse disciplines. The World Water Institute will build on existing partnerships between the CWS and the College of Engineering, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, College of Letters and Science, School of Law and the World Food Center. Together with other units across the university, we will fuel the innovation to deliver sound solutions around the globe and advance the scientific basis of policy discussions at all levels.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Imagine an African country with major public health, economic development, and ecosystem sustainability problems. UC Davis experts, working with local NGOs, develop solutions to safeguard drinking water supplies, identify policies and plans to sustain economic development and preserve native ecosystems, and support education and training for local experts and managers.
More than one billion people do not have access to safe drinking water. Imagine every one of them enjoying better health from having this simple human right. Or the 125 million hours women and children must spend every day collecting water being redirected to microenterprise or attending school.
Imagine, too, an early-career water professional who works with rural smallholder farmers in Chile. Having completed a postgraduate certificate at the World Water Institute, where she conducted extensive fieldwork in the Sacramento River, she is well-prepared to train farmers on how to adopt sustainable water management techniques so that they can continue to provide nutritious food for their families and earn a livelihood at local markets. Some 70% of developed fresh water is used for agricultural irrigation, yet most farmers live in water-scarce parts of the world.
UC Davis understands that moving the needle requires investing equally in engagement, research and education. The World Water Institute will advance our work in all three areas:
California Water Science Center
The region from Sacramento to the Bay Area has the world’s greatest concentration of water professionals across agencies, NGOs, universities, and consulting firms. These professionals serve the multi-billion-dollar California water economy, and to date have been only loosely and informally connected to UC Davis, despite many being alumni. The California Water Science Center will serve as the unifying educational and research hub of California’s water knowledge industry.
As a central scientific location for state, federal, NGO and industry work in water management, the California Water Science Center will fundamentally transform and improve the efficacy of agency and academic science for water problems in California. It will engage existing expertise in common problems of interagency concern in ways not yet realized so that we can best serve the public good. The Center has potential to provide sustained funding and recognition for UC Davis in California and the western United States, as well as to anchor the World Water Institute’s finances, reputation, and attention to scientific problem-solving.
Water Without Borders
The Institute will launch a rapid-action program, Water Without Borders, to address emergent water issues globally, particularly where severe environmental damage or social justice issues are at stake.
This first-of-its-kind program will be a mechanism for UC Davis scientists and students to parachute into water crises to provide on-the-ground expertise and impartial analysis, collaborate with local stakeholders to develop solutions, and collect perishable data for future research.
Educating the Next Generation
Adapting water policy and management to a changing world requires bold and creative leadership. We will recruit the best and brightest from around the world to ensure the next generation of water leaders are equipped to collaborate on emerging issues. In addition to adding potentially large numbers of international students to existing master’s and doctoral degree programs, the Institute will offer two new tracks: one-year and summer graduate certificate programs and Extension short courses for water professionals, managers and leaders, particularly those from developing and underserved countries.
Both tracks will meet the growing need for well-trained professionals in California’s many water agencies and the developing world, while elevating UC Davis’ international reputation. Programs will be highly interdisciplinary and include strong fieldwork offerings, with even senior short courses incorporating cutting-edge, expedition-based field instruction in mountain and river settings.
MOVING FORWARD
Creating a state-of-the-art World Water Institute will require physical space, start-up funding, and long-term funding from private donors as well as state and federal water agencies.
A small amount of additional Davis campus space (separate from what would be needed to support a multi-agency California Water Science Center) will require perhaps $3 million in capital funding.
The total cost is estimated to be $25 to $75 million over 10 years.
3