02 - NoonTalk@DIATI

2 marzo 2016 - ore 13:00

STRIVING FOR GLOBAL IMPACT ON WATER CHALLENGES

Sala Riunioni 1° Piano DIATI ingresso 3, Politecnico di Torino - Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, Torino

Seminario con il Dr. Stefan Uhlenbrook

BIOGRAPHY
Coordinator, United Nations World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) Director, Programme Office on Global Water Assessment, United Nations World Water Assessment Programme Scientist and educator. Officer in Charge, Vice-Rector for Academic and Student Affairs and Professor of Hydrology, UNESCO-IHE; has concentrated on upscaling the impact of UNESCO-IHE programmes in education, research and capacity development to contribute effectively to sustainable management of water and environmental resources worldwide.  Professor of Hydrology, Delft University of Technology. Member of several editorial and programme steering committees. Expertise: hydrological processes  research and river basin management at various scales, studying the impact of global changes on water cycle dynamics in different areas in in Africa and Asia.

ABSTRACT                                                                                                                                                                                                     This presentation will introduce the Global Risks related to the water crisis and introduce some key results of the World Water Development Report (WWDR) 2016 entitled Water and Jobs. It clearly demonstrates the linkage between water, jobs and economic development and the important role socio-hydrology has to play to inform society and support good policy making. Water is an essential component of national and local economies, and is needed to create and maintain jobs across all sectors of the economy. Half of the global workforce is employed in eight water and natural resource-dependent industries: agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy, resource-intensive manufacturing, recycling, building and transport. Sustainable water management, water infrastructure and access to a safe, reliable and affordable supply of water and adequate sanitation services improve living standards, expand local economies, and lead to the creation of more decent jobs and greater social inclusion. Sustainable water management is also an essential driver of green growth and sustainable development. Conversely, neglecting water issues runs the risk of imposing serious negative impacts on economies, livelihoods and populations with potentially catastrophic and extremely costly results. Unsustainable  anagement of water and other natural resources can cause severe damages to economies and to society, thus reversing many poverty reduction, job creation and hard-won development gains. Addressing the water-jobs nexus, notably through coordinated policies and investments, is therefore a prerequisite to sustainable development in both developed and developing countries and, consequently, addresses directly the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Developments and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The presentation will highlight also a few concrete research results from the Mekong River Basin, SE Asia.