One Health: how can we rehydrate living organisms?

Water, Architecture, Health, Sustainable Development

The 19th Congress of the Occitanie Regional Public Health Society, organized in partnership with the UNESCO International Water Center, ICIREWARD, and with the support of the University of Montpellier, Montpellier Métropole, ENSAM, the French Public Health Society, and the Francophone Society for Environmental Health, will be held on Thursday, March 20, 2025, at the Faculty of Law and Political Science of Montpellier, both in person and remotely, on the theme "One Health: How to Rehydrate Life?"

Soil permeability, wetlands, nature's resilience to climate change, hydration and physical activity, eco-neighborhoods, etc. will be the different angles of approach for this conference. Several questions arise: How should we manage different types of water in the future, such as drinking water, rainwater, wastewater, water used for irrigation or industry, etc.? At what territorial levels? By which actors? What role should rainwater play? How can we promote water storage in our soils?

The first part will focus on concepts and their applications in public policy.

The second part will seek to answer the question, "How can we rehydrate our living environments?" The approach will focus on regenerative hydrology (regeneration of water cycles through land use planning, urban planning, etc.): the contribution of riparian forests or riparian woodlands, de-impermeabilization, revegetation, the impact of forestry and agricultural practices, and nature-based adaptation solutions.

The third part will address the subject from an architectural perspective, focusing in particular on how architecture can contribute to rehydrating living organisms and humans. How can architecture benefit living organisms, fauna, and flora? What developments are there in the management of rainwater and wastewater? How can they be reused? What are the impacts of green roofs and walls? How can we rehydrate humans and address water stress? What is the role of perspiration and transpiration? ...

A round table discussion aimed specifically at the general public, but not exclusively, will close the day with "WATER, A PUBLIC GOOD IN DANGER? HOW TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS."

This conference is aimed at the general public as well as decision-makers, professionals, and academics in the fields of water, health, public health, environmental health, hydrology, architecture, urban planning, agriculture, biodiversity, etc., with the aim of promoting a "One Health" approach.