Water connects all living things, reflects memory and culture, is crucial to community sustainability, and expresses the fundamental need of human and natural systems to thrive under global change.

Ensuring equitable, safe, and resilient water systems for societies and ecosystems is a priority challenge globally — requiring research across disciplines (e.g., engineering, ecology, health, policy, law, art). UBC has some of the world’s leading scholars on water-related research. Our research cluster understands that studying complex water issues requires novel interdisciplinary research that challenges the questions we ask and aims to address existing and emerging problems while also advancing diverse socio-ecological goals. Measures put in place today to manage current and emerging water issues will affect future water resilience, human and ecosystem health and society’s capacity to realize opportunities and minimize unforeseen tragedies in the future. This reality makes thoughtful interdisciplinary approaches to water a key imperative.

Future Waters examines the future states of water system design, management, policy, and governance. Our interdisciplinary research intersects law, policy and governance, and the applied and biophysical sciences.