IWMI’s Luna Bharati (Co-spokesperson of the BWN) will open the event.
Book launch
Danilo Türk (former president of Slovenia and Geneva Water Hub), Margaret Deignan (Springer Nature), and Janos Bogardi (editor) will officially launch The Handbook of Water Resources Management: Discourses, Concepts and Examples’ (published by Springer, 2021). This multi- and interdisciplinary publication aims at facilitating communication and dialogue between actors of the international community involved in water resources management, discourses and multi-level decision-making processes. It provides the reader with facts, theories, methods and practical illustrations from a wide array of disciplines with relevance to water resources management, including hydrology, geology, geophysics, law, ethics, economics, ecology, engineering, sociology, and diplomacy
Round table discussion
Annabelle Houdret (DIE), speaker of the Bonn Water Network, will moderate the roundtable discussion with authors of the handbook and members of the Bonn Water Network relating their contributions to the World Water Day’s topic of ‚valuing water‘. Zita Sebesvari (UNU- EHS) will explain how different drivers, pressures and stressors challenge the value of water. Bernhard Tischbein (ZEF) will explore how to value water for the environment in a context of high demand and negative environmental impacts of water use for irrigation. Ines Dombrowsky (DIE) will explain the role and effectiveness of river basin organizations in mediating different water needs and values. Mahsa Motlagh (Bonn Alliance) will explore how emerging digital technologies can contribute to better valuing water in sustainable governance approaches.
What do our Bonn Water Network experts say about ‘Valuing Water’ from their perspectives? Read their statements here:
Dr. Luna Bharati, principal scientist with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI):“IWMI’s research responds directly to the demand for innovative, scientifically tested water- management solutions for sustainable development by addressing three high priority water challenges: Food and Ecosystems; Climate Change and Resilience; and Growth and Inclusion”.
More on IWMI’s work on water here.
Prof. Mariele Evers, Head of Research Group Eco-Hydrology and Water Resources Management / UNESCO Chair Human-Water-Systems – Geography Department – University of Bonn: “In our research we focus on the interrelations between various factors in human-water systems in terms of functional, spatial and temporal connectedness. We evaluate water-related ecosystem services and we develop methodologies for integrated assessment and management”.
More information is available here.
Dr. Birgit Kemmerling, researcher at the Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC): “Water has multiple, often competing meanings for different actors, sectors and regions. For BICC, valuing water means, in particular, understanding local needs, concerns and values of water and integrating them into political decision-making processes in order to avoid or mitigate conflicts”.
More information on BICC’s work on water at War and Peace/Module Environmental Safety.
Dr. Jean Carlo Rodríguez, senior researcher at German Development Institute/Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE): “Water has multiple meanings, reducing them only to its economic dimension neglects the social embeddedness of water and risks marginalizing the most vulnerable” (Rodriguez-de-Francisco and Schoderer, 2021).
More information on DIE’s work on water is available here.
Dr. Bernhard Tischbein, senior researcher at ZEF: “Contributing to sustainable development is an essential need and task in valuing water. ZEF’s research is combining hydrological, bio-physical, agricultural, environmental, socio-economical, institutional, and policy dimensions of water towards supportive management tools and strategies”.
More information on ZEF’s water-related research here.