Water Security and Climate Change Conference 2019

28-30 October 2019, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

The Food Security Center – FSC (University Hohenheim), the Universidad Autonóma of San Luis Potosí, the Center for Natural Resources and Development – CNRD (TH Köln), and the International Network on Sustainable Water Management in Developing Countries – SWINDON (TU Braunschweig) were pleased to invite the community of renowned water experts working on the achievement towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the 4th international conference on Water Security and Climate Change (WSCC), 28–30 October 2019.

The WSCC 2019 provided continuity in serving as a platform for discussions towards water secure societies. International researchers, professionals, practitioners, politicians, industry, NGOs and other thematically involved societal groups discussed new and innovative ideas within 14 thematic sessions:

  • Governing Urban Waters under Climate Change
  • Understanding of Groundwater Flow Systems
  • Quantification of Synergies and Trade-offs of Water-Energy Nexus
  • Water Management in the Age of Big Data
  • Groundwater Management – A Main Stay for Save and Sustainable Water Supply
  • Risks and Prospects for the Presence of Inorganic Contaminants Naturally Occuring in the Water
  • "Arsenic and fluoride in water: risks and perspectives from the civil society and academia in Mexico" & "Environmental Arsenic in a Changing World" (book presentation session)
  • Social Sciences Supporting Sustainable Water Resource Management and Policies
  • Food and Water Security
  • Adaptation Strategies
  • Novel Approaches to Assess and Cope with Droughts in Data Scarce Regions
  • Water Diplomacy: Building Bridges for Sustainable Development
  • Novel Remote Sensing, Monitoring, Tracer and Model Techniques for WSCC
  • Viewing Water Security through the Lens of the SDGs
  • Nature-based Solutions for Water and Climate Related Hazards

Keynotes provided further an impulse for discussions:

  • 'Water Management for Climate Change Resilience: Priorities for Action' by Mark Smith, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
  • 'Arsenic in groundwater – a challenge to global water security', Prosun Bhattacharya, KTH - Royal Institut of Technology
  • 'Water Security and the Sustainable Development Goals', Mukand Babel, Asian Institue of Technology (AIT)
  • 'Human Demand vs Climate Change: which dominates the water scarcity problem around the world?', Jorge León Sarmiento, Latin American Water Funds

Since the Food Security goes hand in hand with water security, and already traditionally starting from 2017, the Food Security Center was actively involved in co-organizing the WSCC Conference. The FSC was in particular represented during the sessions “Food and Water Security: Adaptation strategies I & II”, where consequences of climate change and jeopardized water security were summarized: No food security without water security. Water security is a prerequisite for food production in terms of quantity and quality.

WSCC 2019 followed a successful series of conferences implemented at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok (2016), Technische Hochschule Köln in Cologne (2017) and Kenyatta University in Nairobi (2018).

More info: www.watersecurity.info