Geneva – Switzerland – In cooperation with Cifal Surrey and Reclaim, in collaboration with Cifal Surrey and Reclaim, the Unitar Global Water Academy organized a virtual side in cooperation with Cifal Surrey and Reclaim, “Streams of change: Research in the interface of water, agriculture and biodiversity”. The event brought leading experts in climate resilience, hydrology, hygiene and water management together to examine the interfaces between urban infrastructure, sustainable agriculture and protection of biological diversity.
Framed with three core topics that suffer access to water, sustainable agriculture and the management of biological diversity. The event emphasized the decisive role of integrated water strategies when achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGS), in particular SDG 6 for clean water and sanitary, SDG 2 at zero hunger and SDG 15 15 in the country.
The discussion participants contain:
- Dr. Ebru Canan-Sulkulu, deputy director of Cifal Global Network, Unıtar
- Prof. Amelia Hatfield, Director, Cifal Surrey, co-director of the Institute for Sustainability, University of Surrey
- Prof. Prahant Kumar, Director, Reclaim
- Dr. Devendra Saroj, Institute for Sustainability Fellow
- Dr. Jonathan Chenoweth, Institute for Sustainability Colleagues
- Dr. Katherine Pond, Institute for Sustainability Fellow
- Dr. Daniel Green, Reclaim Fellow at Heriot-Watt University
- Dr. Belen Marti-Cardona, Institute for Sustainability College
- Dr. Louise Firth, Reclaim Fellow, UCC, Ireland)
- Dr. Thomas Kjeldsen, department for architecture and civil engineering, water innovation and research center, University of Bath
Dr. Canan-Sukullu opened the event with recognition
The international day for biological diversity is a strong memory of the fact that the health of our water resources is deeply intertwined with the well -being of ecosystems and the sustainability of our food systems.
In addition, she emphasized the opening speech in professional fas
Agriculture itself makes up 70% of global freshwater withdrawals, […] But sustainable and non-sustainable agricultural practices, I think where we are now, we see an over-irrigation, we see an excessive use of pesticides, we see bad land management, and this has a discount on water pollution, the exhaustion of the applicant and a loss of biological diversity.
Plate 1: Clean water and sanitary facilities for cities and rural areas
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Prof. Kumar opened the discussion by presenting a multidisciplinary network financed by Great Britain that focused on climate adaptive cities. He emphasized Reclaim's track record of 40 webinars and 80 experts engagements that aim to promote environmentally friendly infrastructure solutions for urban resistance.
Dr. Saroj underlined that sanitary facilities are not just a service, but a human right. He campaigned for culturally appropriate sanitary systems with closed loops, which enable the safe return of nutrients to agriculture and promote a circular phosphorus economy that is of crucial importance for the sustainability of food systems.
Dr. Chenoweth offered a sobering assessment of the global water shortage. He emphasized that the availability of PRO -Kopf -Wasser, although it is simple, remains a reliable indicator of the scarcity. It noticed the excessive water footprint of meat -like diets and the global dependence on the food trade and explained that the core challenges are not in water availability, but in the social, political and economic structures that hinder a fair distribution.
Water is not scarce. There is a lot of fresh water worldwide. The problem is not the water volume, but the fact that water is unevenly widespread – Dr. Chenoweth
Dr. Pond emphasized that 40% of people in Africa south of the Sahara and Oceania still depend on non -improved water sources. It established strong connections between water quality, loss of biological diversity and the disease burden and emphasized that the most endangered communities are often the least equipped to finish with these risks.
Panel 2: Opportunities and challenges in sustainable agriculture
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Dr. Green presented convincing data on how urban soil and climate conditions influence the water flows. He introduced bioret station cells, which are known as rain gardens-as a natural-based solution for rainwater management. These systems integrate vegetation and soil to naturally absorb and save rainwater and reduce the risk of flood and at the same time to support the biological diversity.
Dr. Marti-Cardona shared national case studies from Jordan and Pakistan and emphasized the dangers of the groundwater oversextraction. It called for data -controlled integrated water resource management (IWRM) to optimize the plant patterns and water allocation and enable agriculture that are both productive and sustainable under water stress.
Every kilogram of the rice production takes up 3,000 liters of water. This is not sustainable. We cannot rely on this export of rice because we won't have enough water – Dr. Marti Cardona
Panel 3: Conservation of Vs. Conservation Water Roll in Biological Diversity
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The marine ecologist Dr. Firth examined the ecological effects of artificial islands and the coastal infrastructure. She described the “Palm effect” in which built environments drastically change the sea ecosystems. While artificial structures can support marine life, they often accommodate invasive species rather than locals. From the 300-year transformation of Liverpool docks, it showed, such as mussels, a filter food species, naturally colonized and improved water quality, and offered a model for eco-engineering green-gray infrastructure.
Dr. Marti-Cardona returned to emphasize the importance of maintaining natural hydrological regime. She called for guidelines that protect environmental flows, protect wetlands, cope with sedimentation and prevent eutrophication. In particular, she warned of the permanent damage reduction activities on water systems and emphasized the need for holistic approaches to control the pollution.
Case studies: innovation through recovery
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Dr. Kjedsen presented an innovative model anest that uses machine learning to evaluate debris in urban rivers based on image recognition. The model helps the cities to determine whether the waterways are blocked and enables efficient maintenance. Pilot studies showed the vitality of the tool with plans for a user -friendly app and inexpensive camera systems that democratize the monitoring of the waterway.
Final considerations
Dr. Canan-Sokullu and Prof. Amelia Hatfield closed the event with the confirmation of Unitars and Cifal Surrey's commitment to interdisciplinary, inclusive and scalable water solutions. They emphasized how important it is to use academic partnerships, local knowledge and technological innovations for the development of water systems that are fair, resilient and ecologically solid.
Water touches every aspect of our life and what we eat, how we build our cities, only by bracing science, politics and community, we can ensure that water really becomes a stream of changes. Canan-Sokullu.
Announcement of the unit course
In accordance with the topics of the event, Unitar also mentioned his latest e-learning program:
“Fundamentals of SDG 6: Clean water and sanitary facilities.” This interactive course is intended to provide participants with the tools for the analysis of SDG 6 goals, to implement sustainable water management strategies and to use context-sensitive solutions.
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