Water security

Danube Conferences traditionally are the common connections of the hydrological regional cooperation. These meetings commenced in Budapest in 1961. Since 1975, cooperation has been conducted within the framework of the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) of UNESCO.

The congress central theme is “Water – Across Boundaries”, covering aquifers, rivers, reservoirs and dams, estuaries, coasts and ports, urban water, hydroinformatics and experimental methods, climate change and risk mitigation and governance and water resources management.

Following the success of the first two editions in 2019 and 2022, the Copernicus Relays of Luxembourg and Belgium (i.e. LIST, Skywin, ISSeP, Spacebel and VITO) organise the 3rd edition of the AI4Copernicus event, focussing this time on:

                             “Earth Observation & Artificial Intelligence solutions for climate change challenges”

which will take place on 25 May 2023 in Mondorf-les-Bains, Luxembourg or online.

The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Open Science Conference, focusing on “Advancing climate science for a sustainable future”, will be held in Kigali, Rwanda, and online on 23-27 October 2023, with the major goal of bridging science and society.

The Transformative Futures for Water Security Conference is set to take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 15–17 February.

Water security is key to our collective future, yet many parts of the world are deeply water insecure. In addition, water security is deeply intertwined with climate security. In the face of a changing climate and without immediate and bold action, water security is set to worsen.

Risks to water security are the greatest threat to attaining global sustainability goals. Many countries lack water infrastructure - including storage - to be able to provide water when and where it is needed. Natural disasters are occurring with alarming frequency. Climate change is disrupting global weather patterns, triggering increasingly extreme weather events including floods, droughts, and heatwaves, exacerbating water scarcity and causing catastrophic suffering from Pakistan to the United States to Kenya.

Overview

"The 6th Nile Basin Development Forum (NBDF) hosted virtually by Ethiopia, will focus on assessing whether NBI Member States have been implementing water resources investments at a speed and scale commensurate with the growing demand for food, water and energy across the Basin. Given the significant shortfall in meeting these demands, the need to re-examine and overhaul, as needed, our approach and practice is urgent" (HE Dr Eng Seleshi Bekele - Minister of Water Resources and Energy)

The central theme of the World’s Large Rivers Conference 2023 is

"Rivers in a Changing World".

The pressures and impacts on the World’s Large Rivers have increased greatly in recent years. Large rivers are particularly exposed to problems of multiple uses, often with conflicting aims. At the global scale, there is no comprehensive assessment of the current status of the World’s Large Rivers, the conflicting demands on such rivers, and likely future anthropogenic impacts, as well as the potential for restoration and the associated problems.

The 1st IAHR and 4th CAE International Conference on Global Water Security and Sustainable Development will be held by the Yangtze Institute for Conservation and Development, Hohai University and Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute in Nanjing (China) from October 30th to November 3rd, 2023.