Virtual Conference

 Interaction of Water and Forests In celebration of the Water Day  22. March 2024

The Water Program of the Inter-American Network of Water Sciences (IANAS) and the International Institute of Ecology (IIE) in Brazil, presented to the Latin American academic and and other global audiences,  an International Virtual Conference on March 22, commemorating World Water Day, highlighting the theme of the Interaction between Water and Forests. The Conference aimed to showcase current research and information related to the topic. Researchers from Brazil, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, Colombia, Nicaragua, Argentina, the USA, Panama, and two European countries, Poland and Switzerland, participated. The dynamics in the interrelationship between water and forests in different ecosystems of the continent were considered, given the increase in deforestation due to interventions in land use change that exacerbate the potential impacts of climate change that could result in the future and the current trends observed recently. The conference focused on projecting 5 relevant themes: 1) Water and Forests in Ecosystems, 2) Impacts of Deforestation on the Water-Forest Relationship, 3) Interaction of Wetlands and Water, 4) Water, Forest, and Health, and 5) Management and Methodology for Water-Forest Interaction and the Climate Cycle. Considering the variety of geographical zones, constituent ecosystems, and observed impacts causing environmental degradation, it was concluded that it is essential to work with appropriate interdisciplinary research concepts such as ecohydrology and promote reforestation adapted to specific ecosystems and forest types that can contribute to improvements in the effects of climate change on the climate cycle, such as the acceleration of temperature increases, regional and local precipitation, and climate in general.