Humans and water: the human impact on water management and pollution 

Our planet's vital water resources are severely affected by climate change and pollution generated by human activities. This is leading us down a disastrous one-way path if we do not take swift action involving stakeholders from different fields and at all levels.

This symposium highlights the significant environmental impacts of human activities on water resources: from how we manage this resource to how we can control its pollution/contamination by plastics, per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (forever pollutants), heavy metals, and organic pollutants.

Understanding the life cycle of these pollutants, from their production to their dispersion in the environment, and their impact on biodiversity is therefore a major challenge in terms of knowledge and regulation.