Presentation of the interregional African/American project on Water Scarcity

Addressing Water Scarcity on Two Continents will feature an interactive dialogue session based on a study carried out by the Water Program of the Inter-American Network of Academies of Sciences (IANAS) and the Network of African Academies of Science (NASAC). The hybrid session will include 4 authors from IANAS and 1 from NASAC which will have interdisciplinary topics from the Americas and the Caribbean and 1 author from Africa. Among the topics to be covered are Water Scarcity: principles and problems and different definitions; an overview of water scarcity in four regions of the Americas (North America, Central America, the Caribbean and South America) as well as an overview of water scarcity in Africa. Despite the variability of waterscapes, landscapes, governance institutions and behaviors both within and between the two continents, several common themes and findings emerge. These include:

1. Analysis of different definitions of water scarcity;
2. The threats and uncertainty of climate change in both continents;
3. The urgent need to develop and implement effective ground water management plans everywhere;
4. The special need to protect and enhance water quality on both continents;
5. Water policies based on knowledge from water science and scientific research and the development of water science worldwide and especially in developing countries; and
6. Water governance is important but is inadequate in virtually every setting in Africa and the Americas.

Some key questions will be included such as what can be learned from a study of water scarcity of two vast and variable continents? Are there universal lessons that transcend continental, regional and local variabilities? and more. The session will be planned for one hour with contributions from 3 authors from the Americas and Africa.

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