• September 7, 2010

IBM and The Nature Conservancy are launching a website this fall called "Rivers for Tomorrow" where watershed managers can map, analyze and share detailed information about the health of local freshwater river basins to inform clean-up programs.

As part of its corporate citizenship efforts, IBM provided the technical services to design, develop and test this Web application. IBM also announced a series of new, water-related research projects being hosted on the World Community Grid, another project managed by IBM's philanthropic arm.

The online application will provide access to data and computer models to help watershed managers assess how land use affects water quality. Issues such as water availability, soil loss, carbon production, and crop yields can be explored and analyzed to help understand how to mount clean-up efforts.

"Waterways are the lifeblood of our planet and responsible stewardship means that experts must have access to the right kind of information about these ecosystems, and the tools to interpret and share the data, this is what ought to drive clean-up efforts," said John Tolva, technology director of IBM's corporate citizenship & corporate affairs.--Tanya Irwin