DIWA – Digital Waters Flagship
Water is essential for good quality of life, and its integrated and sustainable management is the only way to secure water for people and ecosystems. The Digital Waters Flagship (DIWA) aims to become a top-tier water research cluster and innovation ecosystem that generates high-impact research outputs, input to policy development and innovations facilitating the next industrial water revolution. DIWA will also foster a new generation of water sector actors.
DIWA enables a transition towards the digital representation of real-world water systems (digital twins) to reproduce hydrological storages and their usage, with novel options for improved scenario analysis, planning and governance. The digitalisation of water resources will improve the management and security of water supply, distribution and use, for example in the event of flooding or droughts. Digital water management will also help balance the objectives of industry, energy, agriculture and forestry in a sustainable way.
The solutions provided by the DIWA Flagship are urgently needed as water is a critical natural resource globally. Climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental pollution and water scarcity require additional investments that will increase the value of water. The water sector has business potential worth several billion euros and is expected to grow rapidly.
- Director: Professor Bjørn Kløve, University of Oulu
- Host organisations: University of Oulu, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Aalto University, Finnish Environment Institute, University of Turku
