Program

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Description

The global freshwater system is under severe pressure: Phenomena such as water scarcity, overdraft of surface and groundwater stocks, modification of large-scale water cycles, degradation and pollution of aquatic ecosystems, impacts of climate change and extremes, and water conflicts are becoming more intensive and widespread, affecting billions of people. Collectively, these developments lead to an ever stronger transgression of the planetary boundary for freshwater change, and a water crisis of global magnitude appears to be unfolding. Against this backdrop, this talk outlines drivers of the current world water situation with a particular view on how agriculture is both a victim and a driver of change. It also shows that improved agricultural water management – such as by more efficient irrigation, water harvesting, soil conservation – is essential for saving water resources, reducing pressure on the planetary boundaries, and meeting several Sustainable Development Goals at once.

About the Speaker

Dieter Gerten is geographer and hydrologist and works as research group leader of the group “Terrestrial Safe Operating Space” ( TESS ) at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). He is also Professor for Global Change Climatology and Hydrology at the Humboldt University Berlin.

His research focuses on global water resources, particularly on agricultural water scarcity as well as on the impacts of climate change and human activities on water cycles and ecosystems. His team primarily investigates interlinkages between planetary boundaries and the role of the freshwater cycle in the Earth system, based on a terrestrial biosphere model that simulates the key underlying processes and dynamics.

Throughout his career, Gerten has published >150 peer-reviewed papers and books and contributed to the 5 ^th IPCC Assessment Report. In addition, he is in the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal Detritus and served as Associate or Guest Editor of several journals, amongst others of Hydrological Sciences Journal , Earth Perspectives , and PNAS . Furthermore, since 2020 he is co-speaker of the Leibniz Research Network “Earth & Societies”, and member of the Advisory Board of the European Forum for the Study of Religion & Environment.

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Water security in times of climate change means challenges in terms of enough water, water at the right time and place, too much water, water quality, water supply and much more. There are many challenges in the field of water management for decision-making. Three significant challenges are (1)  the need for a sound knowledge base to build robust decisions, (2) developing strategies and measures as well as making robust decisions that address both existing risks and consider inherent uncertainties of knowledge and (3) the implementation of management strategies and action plans on different (spatial and institutional) levels with various stakeholder.

Transdisciplinary research, specifically the co-production of knowledge, is often considered to help to overcome or at least to tackle these challenges. Transdisciplinarity is regarded as a research approach that involves inter-scientific cooperation between various disciplines and cooperation between science and society by including practitioners and non-scientific actors in the research project. In doing so, transdisciplinary research is expected to address complex societal problems by enabling processes of mutual learning in which knowledge is co-produced between science and society to solve societal or real-world problems. The lecture will present various regional examples on the subject of flood risk and water management, in which a central element was the co-production of knowledge and generation of databases for modelling and the use of socio-technical tools to understand the complexity of the respective system, visualise interconnectedness and the effects of certain interventions. In particular, the methods for knowledge production, social learning and competence building will be presented.

About the Speaker

Mariele Evers is Professor for Geography with a focus on Ecohydrology and Water Resources Management at the Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms University Bonn, Germany. She also holds the UNESCO Chair on Human-Water-Systems since 2021. She studied Geography at the Universities of Münster, Bonn and Montpellier and obtained her doctoral degree at Hannover University in 2008 and was guest professor in Sweden and Thailand.

Evers research concentrates on water resources management and ecohydrology in general and focuses particularly on hydrological extremes (droughts and floods), disaster risk management as well as on climate, water and food systems’ interactions. In the context of the UNESCO Chair on Human-Water-Systems, Mariele Evers and her colleagues explore intersectoral integration approaches for river basin management and study collaborative, informed decision-making processes. This also includes the development of web-based tools to foster participatory decision-making. Her research regions are mainly Germany, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Africa.

Moreover, Evers has published widely in numerous papers and is Specialty Chief Editor for water and human systems of the journal Frontiers in Water . She also serves as peer reviewer of various journals, amongst others of Hydrology and Earth System Sciences , Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences , and Water Resources Management . In addition, she chaired the German Scientific Advisory Board for the water research programs of UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for eight years and is member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Natural Climate Protection (WBNK) since 2023.

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Scientist have invested so much in improving information systems and decision support for policy development. Specially to tackle climate change and to adapt to its consequences. Why is so little really changing? This keynote highlights constraints in translating data to policy and operation. It lists deficiencies that partially explain why the science policy framing is failing so often. Key conditions are discussed that allow decision makers to access scientific information in real world contexts. The keynote presents a few hypotheses for allowing a transformation in how science, policy development and operations could work together in the future. The role of Universities in addressing challenges related to climate change and water security is part of the discussion.

About the Speaker

Johannes Cullmann is a German water scientist. He has worked for German universities and holds a PhD and a Habilitation in hydrology. His early career was focused on hydrological modelling and flood forecasting. Later he was responsible for international water cooperation for the German Federal Institute for Hydrology. He has supported various international commissions for transboundary water cooperation and presided UNESCO´s water program from 2012 to 2014. From 2015 to 2022, Johannes served as a senior director for water and climate in the World Meteorological Organization. He was the chief Scientist of the President of the UN General Assembly in 2022 and 2023. At present Johannes works for both the German Water Administration and the Institute for Water Education in Delft, the Netherlands.

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This research explores the interface between data, information, and knowledge on groundwater systems. We will present the results of two projects that are a continuum to have further understanding on this key interface. First, we will aim to identify the main emergent foresight knowledge related to the application to groundwater management of what we have defined as enhanced information systems (EIS). The results presented are based on results from a Delphi study undertaken at a global scale with 60 experts. The ultimate objective is to contribute to participatory and sustainable groundwater management in Mediterranean regions.

The results indicate that EISs are a necessary – but not sufficient- part of improving groundwater management. This prospective study suggests that EISs must be framed by a strong command and control system. They must have clear rules, stimulate stakeholder empowerment, and facilitate inclusive governance based on a citizen science-inclusive governance interface. The experts believe the fierce competition and rivalry for water resources seriously challenge this path. However, the interface between citizens/users and EISs can help tip the balance to empower stakeholders with more trust enabled thanks to science (and the use of EISs) and more transparency in data management. In the second part, we will turn rather than to the future, to the past, and the path dependence from diffuse pollution in groundwater, and again how information becomes a key element for robust groundwater management. We will present the case of Palma de Gandia, a small municipality in Spain that no longer has access to potable water due to diffuse pollution. We will thus reflect on how information is a critical element in the context of the political economy of the aquifer, and a key inroad to change the current status quo towards water security.

About the Speaker

Dr. Elena López-Gunn founded the research company ICATALIST, which is primarily focused on sustainability and climate change adaptation research. She currently works as director of ICATALIST and as Senior Research Fellow at the Royal Elcano Institute. She is a member of the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC). She is an EU Climate Pact ambassador, and part of the UNESCO Task Force on a Science Based Water Assessment.

Elena participated in Spain’s latest national climate change impact assessment leading the chapter on water and is currently involved in the expert panel for the new Risk assessment for the future Spanish national Adaptation plan. She serves as expert member in the Citizen Climate Assembly in Spain and contributed to the 6 ^th IPCC Assessment Report. She has a PhD from King's College, concluded her PhD in Geography at the King’s College, London, and was research fellow at the University of Leeds, the Botin Foundation Water Observatory and at the London School of Economics. She also has  a Masters from the University of Cambridge and a Master in Investigative Journalism data and Visualization from Juan Carlos I University. Besides, she also worked as Associate Professor at IE Business school in Madrid (Spain).

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This session aims at exploring the crucial role of transdisciplinary approaches in addressing complex societal challenges, with a particular focus on how universities can collaborate with the private and public sectors, as well as civil society, to foster regional innovation systems. The discussion will emphasize the importance of integrating diverse forms of knowledge and expertise across disciplines and sectors to drive impactful research, education, and knowledge transfer referring to the overall conference theme.

Based on the experiences and case studies shared by the panelists, the following key themes will be discussed: universities as hubs for transdisciplinary collaboration, fostering partnerships between universities, private, and public sectors, engaging civil society in research and knowledge transfer, and promoting regional innovation systems. Additionally, the session will delve into policy implications and explore future directions for effective knowledge transfer and innovation.

Panelists

Session Details

Description

The interface between urban and rural is consistently becoming blurred. The omnipresent peri-urban context of expanding urban spaces makes it challenging to demarcate the necessary ‘boundary conditions’ for water management. Not only does this have implications on sustainable use of available water sources, the ambiguity of jurisdiction affects the ‘formal’ or legal provision of water supply to such areas.

A pitfall of rapid urbanization is that it results in a perpetual ‘catch-up’ game for officials to augment water supplies that are invariably falling short of a growing demand, leaving them with very little scope and bandwidth to attempt new and creative approaches.

Existing models of water management for urban and rural water security are primarily engineering driven. The lack of a broader perspective offers little to enable water managers and officials to challenge the ‘business as usual’ scenario. Very few cities and countries have undertaken expansion of the capacities of the ‘water departments’, for example, in terms of expertise required with new technology or for assessing/ monitoring the socio-economic and environmental impacts of adopting any solution.

There is, therefore, a need to re-imagine models of ensuring urban-rural water security in an increasingly dynamic context, which is accentuated even more as climate change is beginning to manifest its effects.

The purpose of this panel discussion is to discuss these futuristic research needs required for these models from different perspectives:

• Creating scientific evidence to aid decision making
• Developing enabling policy frameworks
• Establishing adaptive governance mechanisms
• Facilitating On-the-ground action

Additional information regarding the panelists and their topics will be shared soon.