In the last interview of the series, researcher Aditi Mukherji talks about the water-energy-food nexus and saving the Himalayan springs.
As published in Nature inFocus on Monday, 31 August 2020
It’s time for a pop quiz! Don’t worry, this will be easy. On a piece of paper, describe the images that come to mind when you hear the term ‘water conservation’. Did you describe a dripping tap? Fair enough. Cleaning lakes in cities? Maybe. But how about electric lines, water pumps, and the beautiful Himalayas?
If you are wondering where this is going then let me introduce you to Aditi Mukherji. She is a Research Group Leader at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) where she leads the Climate Change, Adaptation and Resilience group. She has also worked as the Theme Lead for Water and Air at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Nepal. For more than two decades, she has been researching the impacts of our policies on the water-energy-food nexus. Put simply, this means understanding how our water and energy requirements impact agriculture/food production and vice versa. Mukherji holds a PhD in Human Geography from the University of Cambridge and is also the first recipient of the annual Borlaug Field Award (2012) for her research on groundwater in West Bengal. She has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed papers and more recently was part of the editorial team of The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment report which is the first comprehensive report to cover this region. She is also a Coordinating Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report.
In short, this small paragraph does not do justice to Mukherji’s exhaustive work in the field of water management. Her research is exemplar of how wide and varied the impacts of water conservation can be. Over emails and phone calls, she responded to my questions about her research and the need to establish better water-related policies – or should I say about electric lines, water pumps and scenic Himalayan springs.
Read the complete interview here–> https://www.natureinfocus.in/save-every-drop/a-water-conservation-journey-spanning-valleys-and-plains