How do you personally and professionally relate to water? 

Growing up in Israel, water scarcity was a constant backdrop to my childhood. The arid climate and frequent droughts shaped my relationship with water from an early age. One vivid memory that remains stamped in my mind is the series of TV campaigns highlighting the importance of water conservation. I recall sitting in front of the television, concerned by the urgency conveyed in those campaigns. The images of dry landscapes and the emphasis on every drop of water as precious left a lasting impression.

Introduction

Land subsidence is a global phenomenon and is defined as:

“a gradual settling or sudden sinking of the Earth's surface due to removal or displacement of subsurface earth materials”  - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2021)

Translated by: Isabel Zetina 

Imagine a world where your internet is delivered not through cables or cell towers but a vast swarm of orbiting satellites. That world is a very different place. Political borders are no longer communication boundaries. Your phone works just as well in the US as it does in Nigeria and Australia and Cambodia. You can communicate with people on the other side of the planet near the physical limits of information transmission, unconstrained by slow cable networks.

 Traduit de l'anglais par Mussa Kachunga Stanis

Introduction

L’affaissement de terrain est un phénomène mondial et se définit comme :

    "Un tassement progressif ou un affaissement soudain de la surface de la Terre dû à l'enlèvement ou au déplacement de matériaux terrestres souterrains" - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2021)

Pourriez-vous boire votre propre urine ? Pour la majorité, cette mesure ne serait prise que dans les cas les plus extrêmes. Cependant, les astronautes de la Station Spatiale Internationale (SSI ou ISS, Internationale Space Station, en anglais) boivent leur urine recyclée tous les jours depuis 10 ans. En 2008, l’SSI installe un Système de Récupération des Eaux (Water Recovery System en anglais) a bord de la station, permettant de recycler les eaux usées en transformant les urines, la sueur et l’humidité atmosphérique en eau potable.

Merci à Martin Sarret d'avoir traduit cet article volontairement.

During the summer season tropical cyclones (TC) tend to cause flood disasters over coastal areas. In ancient times fishermen along the coast of China predicted the coming of tropical cyclones by observing weather phenomena. They observed the shape of clouds and the sunset glow to anticipate them. Tropical cyclones occur in various places where they are named differently as well. In the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific the term hurricane is used. The same type of disturbance in the Northwest Pacific is called a typhoon.

Even 115 years later, the Great Baltimore Fire—which burned down much of the city of Baltimore in the United States—still carries important lessons in standardization. Firefighters from hundreds of kilometres away were sent to assist in putting out the fire, but they could do little to help because their hose couplings did not fit Baltimore’s fire hydrants – meaning, the fire hoses were not standardized. The lack of standardization turned hundreds of firefighters into spectators as the city burned (OGC, ISO & IH, 2018, p.

How would you feel about drinking your own urine? To most, it is a measure that would only be taken in the direst of circumstances. However, astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have been drinking recycled urine every day for the past decade. In 2008, the ISS installed the Water Recovery System, a wastewater recycling device which converts urine, sweat, and atmospheric moisture into drinking water. This device has allowed the ISS to be much more self-sufficient and devices like it could serve to more sustainably produce clean water on Earth.  

How do you personally and professionally relate to water? 

Growing up in Israel, water scarcity was a constant backdrop to my childhood. The arid climate and frequent droughts shaped my relationship with water from an early age. One vivid memory that remains stamped in my mind is the series of TV campaigns highlighting the importance of water conservation. I recall sitting in front of the television, concerned by the urgency conveyed in those campaigns. The images of dry landscapes and the emphasis on every drop of water as precious left a lasting impression.

Contribute your inputs on the themes proposed by the co-hosts for the UN 2023 Water Conference interactive dialogues!