- Sunday, April 14 Optional trip to the island of Aigina on Sunday April 14th and lunch with local environmental activists !
Despite obvious regional differences in availability, water scarcity is no longer a phenomenon that can be approached in regional terms. The term "water risk" may be relatively new, but it is increasingly being used in international conversations about sustainability, including those of large corporations, which are developing "sustainable water management tools". The risks posed by increasing demand and decreasing supply of fresh water are social and economic, political and environmental. Some of the questions we will be addressing are: What legal, scientific, political and economic management tools can be brought to the table to reduce the risks? And what are the dangers of neglecting water risks? Are changes in water management likely to exacerbate political and social tensions? Is a democratic approach to the equitable use of scarce water resources possible? What role can scientists, legislators, NGO's and international bodies, business leaders, artists and private individuals play in reducing water risk and creating a basis for successful management of an increasingly scarce global resource.
- Conference Program (PDF)
Schedule
Friday, April 12th
- 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm - Welcome and Opening Reception
- Gail Holst-Warhaft, Tammo Steenhuis on behalf of Cornell University
- Agni Vlavianos-Arvantis, Biopolitics International, Greece
Saturday, April 13
- 9:30 am - 2:00 pm
- Ecological Conflict and Migration: From Desert Aquifers to the Mediterranean Sea
Saleh Saleh, University of Dundee, Scotland - The Role of Drought and Climate Change in the Syrian Uprising: Untangling the Triggers of the Revolution
Francesca de Châtel, Journalist and Editor, Holland - Drought Frequency and Evapotranspiration Trends Under a Changing Climate in the Eastern Mediterranean
Professor Nadim Farajalla, American University of Beirut, Lebanon - Cross-Borders Groundwater Basins in the Middle East: A Trigger for Conflict or a Catalyst for Collaboration
Eilon Adar, Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
- Ecological Conflict and Migration: From Desert Aquifers to the Mediterranean Sea
- Lunch
- Coming Changes in Water Policy: The Case of Spain
Prof. Ramon Llamas,Director, Water Observatory, Bottin Foundation, Spain - Large-scale Land Acquisitions in Contemporary Ethiopia: Implications for Water
Professor Fouad Makki, Cornell University - Collaboration on Transboundary Water Resources Management in the Mediterranean: How far, how fast?
Vangelis Constantianos, Global Water Partnership Mediterranean, Greece - Water Issues in a Troubled Urban Landscape
Panayiotis Nektarios, Agricultural University of Athens - Biopolicy and Biodiplomacy against Hydroschizophrenia and Hydrohegemony. The actions of the three parameters, Society, Science, Government
George Stournaras, University of Athens
- Coming Changes in Water Policy: The Case of Spain
- 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
- The Program “Water-Life-Culture” in Crete and the Mediterranean. (Crete-Cornell)
Nikos Kastrinakis, Governor, Lasithi Province, Crete - Water on the Brink
Gail Holst-Warhaft and Tammo Steenhuis, Cornell University - Hydrology and Governance
Cathelijne Stoof and Diana Biller, Cornell University
- The Program “Water-Life-Culture” in Crete and the Mediterranean. (Crete-Cornell)
- 6:30 pm - Reception
- 7.30 pm
- Performance by Mariza Koch: Teaching Water’s Value: “The Quilt with the Golden Bells”
- 9:00 pm - Dinner
Sunday, April 14
- Optional trip to the island of Aigina on Sunday April 14th and lunch with local environmental activists.
Unless we hear from you by the end of this week, we cannot guarantee that you will find a ticket on the hydrofoil. The trip is at your own expense but we will be making a group booking on the boat and we need to know the exact number of tickets required.
