International Secretariat
The International Secretariat for the Sustainable Water Future Programme (Water Future) is in Brisbane, Australia. It is a not-for-profit organisation ( Australian Business Number ABN: 77476990859) providing scientific services to help direct and drive solutions to global water problems.
Griffith University hosted it for the last eight years (2016-2023).
The International Secretariat is managed by the Executive Director, Professor Anik Bhaduri. It is supported by its nodes, Water-Future Australia and Water-Future Canada, each comprising a consortium of leading universities and organisations.
The International Secretariat plays a key role in implementing the programme’s strategic priorities and facilitating communication processes. To support Water Future’s networking role, the International Secretariat functions as a node and information hub, collecting information, ensuring communication flow and organising events relevant to the entire programme.
The International Secretariat is further responsible for the dissemination of outcomes and results of the Programme’s activities. Staff members represent the programme at important scientific and programmatic meetings, lobbying and initiating new activities and partnerships and fostering research activities. Equally important, the International Secretariat serves the governing body of Water Future, namely The Planning Committee, and also attends to the Scientific Committee through the coordination and implementation of decisions.
In collaboration with the Working Groups and its broader network of scientists, the International Secretariat is responsible for attracting third-party funds and preparing research proposals. Communication and outreach activities for the programme are concentrated within the International Secretariat, which also supports selected activities of the projects in this realm. It’s main responsibility is to provide services of crosscutting interest for the entire programme.
Sudeh Dehnavi
Consultant
Dr. Sudeh Dehnavi is a distinguished expert in agricultural economics, water resources management, and environmental sustainability. With an academic and professional career spanning over two decades, Dr. Dehnavi has contributed to research, education, and practical applications in her areas of expertise. Based in Germany, Dr. Dehnavi is also the CEO and Founder of ENRoot GmbH, a company focused on environmental awareness and capacity building. She has produced and advised on several documentary films to raise awareness about environmental issues. Dr. Dehnavi’s research interests include water security, climate adaptation, food security, and sustainable agriculture. She has worked extensively on projects across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, focusing on integrated water resources management (IWRM), flood risk reduction, and environmental policy. Throughout her career, Dr. Dehnavi has been dedicated to education and mentorship. She has developed and implemented numerous educational programs and workshops on topics such as water economics, governance, social innovation, and environmental sustainability. She has also been involved in capacity-building initiatives for young professionals and has supervised numerous student projects and theses.
Anik Bhaduri
Executive Director and Member of the Planning Committee
Anik Bhaduri is the Executive Director of the Sustainable Water Future Programme ( Water Future), a member of the Planning Committee and an Adjunct Professor at the Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University and Honoury A/Prof at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, ANU. Previously, he served as Executive Officer of the Global Water System Project (GWSP).
Anik Bhaduri has extensive research experience in theoretical and applied water economics, focusing on water assessments, resource allocation, and assessing climate change impacts and adaptation strategies. Anik has contributed to integrating geostatistical models with spatial projections of economic development, demographics, land use, water allocations, and climate in assessing human water risks.
As Director of the Sustainable Water Future Programme of Future Earth, Anik Bhaduri coordinates a large network of more than 400 working group researchers facilitating integration and synthesis exercises in collaboration with Water Future’s fifteen international and interdisciplinary research groups. Anik currently serves as the co-chair of Future Earth-Asia, which aims to provide strategic direction for the Future Earth community in Asia and promote and build collaborative research on sustainable development in Asia.
Anik currently contributes to a joint initiative with UNESCO as a core committee member on “Science for SDG6: Science to accelerate the implementation of SDG6”, focusing on the role that 21st Century Science can play in addressing the gaps in SDG monitoring, assessment, and implementation. Anik serves as a committee member of UNESCO’s task force on National Water Assessments. Previously, Anik was on secondment to the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the UN, Rome, as a senior expert consultant to develop the methodology for the FAO flagship report on the State of Land and Water for Agriculture (SOLAW21).
Synne Kvåle
Intern
Synne Kvåle from Norway is a dedicated student at Griffith University pursuing a Bachelor of Social Science with majors in Environmental Sustainability and Global Security Threats.
Chris DeBeer
Science Manager, Canada Node
Chris completed a B.Sc. (Honours) in Physical Geography at the University of Saskatchewan in 2004, an M.Sc. in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta in 2006 (supervisor: Professor Martin Sharp), and a Ph.D. in Hydrology at the University of Saskatchewan in 2012 (supervisor: Professor John Pomeroy). He started work at the Global Institute for Water Security in December 2010 as the Institute and the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Water Security were being established at the University of Saskatchewan under the leadership of Professor Howard Wheater. Since March 2013, Chris has worked as the project manager for the Changing Cold Regions Network, and he has served in the role of Science Manager for the Global Water Futures Programme since the fall of 2016. Chris’ research interests are on snow and glacier hydrology, hydrological modelling, and understanding and prediction of physical Earth system responses to climate variation.
Phani Adapa
Director of Operations, Canada Node
Phani Adapa is the Assistant Director for the Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS), University of Saskatchewan (UofS) and Director of Operations for the Global Water Futures (GWF) program, Canada First Research Excellence Fund. His expertise is in the area of research administration and provides strategic advice to the GIWS and GWF senior leadership teams. He is responsible for day to day operations of the GIWS and GWF; to oversee staff performance; develop new and sustain existing collaborations with stakeholders, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, external funding agencies, industry partners; support internationalization efforts, assist and where required lead coordination and writing efforts for development of major grant applications. In addition, he is also responsible to facilitate and coordinate research and administrative efforts of the GWF community including 138 partners (Federal and Provincial Government Agencies, industries, international institutions, non-governmental and indigenous communities), and over 380 researchers from 18 Canadian universities.
Phani has Bachelor of Science (1998) and Master of Science (2001) degrees in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering (2011).