The Water Crisis: Global Issues and Local Challenges

Today, more than ever, water is a universal and complex issue. Its importance will only grow in the coming years, exacerbated by climate change, population growth, and rapid urbanization. These factors are likely to lead to risks, disasters, economic and social difficulties, as well as tensions and conflicts across the globe. How, then, can we respond to these multiple crises? The answers and solutions are primarily local. They require us to rethink certain elements and foundations of how our human societies function.

Eric SERVAT is director of the UNESCO International Centre for Water Research and Education (ICIREWARD) in Montpellier, a research director at IRD, and an adjunct professor at the University of Montpellier.

The conference is organized by the Research Environmental Research Observatory (OREME) and is part of the Academic Year of Geosciences.