International Drought Symposium
The Water Science and Policy Center at the University of California, Riverside, is planning an International Drought Symposium that will take place March 24-26, 2010, at the Marriott Hotel in Riverside. The main objective is to compare drought impacts and mitigation under various physical, economic, and institutional situations in these states, and to allow 'out of the box' approaches to be considered and adopted by the various countries.
The symposium will bring senior disciplinary experts from Spain, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, and California — all drought-prone areas — to sit together and share scientific and policy aspects related to drought and its mitigation in each of these areas. The disciplines to be included are: economics, agronomy, hydrology, ecology, technology, policy, and water management.
Format of the Symposium
The Drought Symposium comprises a series of presentations by teams of water experts from five countries: Australia, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, and the U.S. (California). Each country team includes an expert in seven areas: agronomy, ecology, economics, hydrology, policy, regional water management, and technology (Irrigation). These 35 experts will be joined by two keynote speakers. The presentations will be organized by subject area, with each of the five countries' expert in that area speaking, followed by questions and answers from the audience.
The symposium will be geared toward professionals working in the field of water and drought; however, anyone with an interest in the subject may attend. Invitations will be sent to agencies, organizations, governmental bodies, and universities throughout the world. The goal of the symposium is to assemble a body of information about current and best practices in the field of drought. A proceedings volume will be assembled and published following the symposium.
Water professionals from other countries or who are not members of a country's team cannot present papers at the symposium. However, opportunities for collaboration with other professionals will be facilitated by attending the symposium.
Public Event
"A World with Less Water: Discussion on Drought Policy"
Because the topic of drought is of great interest to Southern Californians, a free public event — "A World with Less Water: Discussion on Drought Policy" — will be held on the last day of the symposium (Friday, March 27, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.). Sponsored by the Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy, this public event will be advertised widely throughout the region. A panel made up of water policy makers will discuss drought issues, answer questions from the audience, and provide a thoughtful discussion about what can be done to avoid and ameliorate drought, both in California and worldwide. This event will take place in the Marriott Riverside Hotel. No registration is required to attend, and the event is free of charge.
Registration Information
Registration for the symposium will begin on or about Dec. 1 on the Drought Symposium website, www.cnas.ucr.edu/drought-symposium/. The cost for most registrants is $125; for students and University of California faculty and staff, $75. After March 1, a late fee of $25 will be assessed to all.
The public event is free of charge and open to all. No registration will be required.
Thanks to generous support from our sponsors, we have been able to keep the registration fee low. Consequently, no financial aid is available from the organizers of the symposium.
Presenting Teams
Click on each country's name to get information about the drought situation in that location and to see biographies of participating team members.
Australia
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
California (U.S.)
Water Science and Policy Center, University of California, Riverside
Mexico
Instituto Nacional de Ecologia
South Africa
Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy for Africa, University of Pretoria
Spain
Agrifood Research and Technology Center
Information for the Presenting Teams
Click HERE for the page providing the schedule and other information specifically for the Presenting Teams. See below for the general schedule for attendees.
Keynote Speakers
Michael J. Hayes is Director of the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC), University of Nebraska-Lincoln. NDMC has 23 faculty and staff working on local, tribal, state, national, and international drought- and water-related issues. Hayes has worked at the center since 1995, he was named director in August 2007. He is also an Associate Professor in UNL's School of Natural Resources , where his responsibilities include conducting research on the economic, environmental, and social impacts of drought; developing new drought monitoring and impact assessment methodologies; assisting with the development and review of drought plans; and helping to organize and conduct drought workshops and conferences. Hayes received a bachelor's degree in Meteorology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and master's and doctoral degrees in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Daniel Connell is a research fellow with a joint appointment to the Australian National University's Water Initiative and Crawford School of Economics and Government. His recent book Water Politics in the Murray-Darling Basin examined the institutional arrangements in that region with a focus on basin-scale water planning and the evolving relationship between the increasingly dominant national government and the state governments that have controlled water management in the MDB for over a century. His current research focuses on multilevel water governance in Australia, South Africa, the U.S. Southwest, Spain/Portugal, India, and China.
Abstract
"Rivers within their federal systems - Similar issues, different responses in the south-west United States, Mexico, southern Africa, Spain/Portugal and southern Australia."
Governance responses to recent extreme droughts in the Colorado, Guadiana, Orange/Vaal, Rio Grande and Murray-Darling systems will be the focus of this paper. The aim is to develop a comparative template to assess policy and management performance. Elements of the template will include dispute resolution and scarcity sharing procedures, planning and policy frameworks, decentralization processes, use of economic instruments such as water trading, involvement of non-government stakeholders, treatment of sustainability and environmental issues, monitoring and reporting procedures, management of compliance issues (involving both state/provincial governments and non government stakeholders), treatment of equity issues (particularly those involving first peoples), responses to emerging issues such as climate change and, more generally, the impact of their federal systems on water management.
Core Team Members
Dr. Jose Albiac, Agrifood Research and Technology Center (CITA), Government of Aragon, Spain.
Dr. Jeff Connor, The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Sustainable Ecosystems team, Glen Osmond SA, Australia.
Professor Ariel Dinar, Water Science and Policy Center (WSPC), University of California, Riverside, California.
Professor Rashid Hassan, Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy for Africa (CEEPA), University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Dr. Carlos Muñoz Piña, Instituto Nacional de Ecologia, Mexico City, Mexico.
General Schedule
| Wed., Mar. 24 | 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Drought Symposium |
| Thurs., Mar. 25 | 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Drought Symposium |
| Thurs., Mar. 25 | 6 - 9 p.m. | Banquet |
| Fri., Mar. 26 | 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Drought Symposium |
| Fri., Mar. 26 | 2 - 4 p.m. | Public Forum (panel discussion) |
"Save the Date" Flyer
Click HERE to see the flyer that was e-mailed to potentially interested audiences.
Organizing Committee
University of California, Riverside:
Michael Allen, Sara Clausen, Ariel Dinar, Exequiel Ezecurra, Carol Lerner, Carol O'Brien, Kurt Schwabe, R.C. Sutton
University of California Water Resources Center:
Julie Drouyor, Christine French
For Further Information
More information will be posted on this web site as plans are finalized. In the meantime you may contact the Water Science and Policy Center:
Water Science and Policy Center
Department of Environmental Sciences
University of California, Riverside
900 University Avenue Riverside, CA 92521
Dr. Ariel Dinar, Director, telephone 951-827-4526, email ariel.dinar@ucr.edu
Ms. Carol O'Brien, Assistant to the Director, telephone 951-827-5116 x25116, email carol.obrien@ucr.edu
Sponsors
Click HERE to see the sponsors of the conference and of the country teams.
