One health: how to rehydrate the Living?

Water, Architecture, Health, Sustainable development

The 19th congress of the Société Régionale de Santé Publique Occitanie, organized in partnership with the UNESCO International Water Centre, ICIREWARD, and with the support of the University of Montpellier, Montpellier Métropole, ENSAM, the Société Française de Santé Publique and the Société Francophone de Santé Environnement, will be held on Thursday, March 20, 2025 at the Montpellier Faculty of Law and Political Science, in face-to-face and distance learning sessions, on the theme "One health: how to rehydrate the Living?".

Soil permeability, wetlands, nature's resilience to climate change, hydration and physical activity, eco-neighborhoods... will all be addressed at this symposium. A number of questions arise: How will we manage the different types of water in the future: drinking water, rainwater, wastewater, water used for irrigation or industry, etc.? On what territorial scales? By whom? What role can rainwater play? How can we promote water storage in our soils?

The first part will be devoted to concepts and their application to public policy.

The second part will look at "How can we rehydrate our living environments? The approach will take a look at regenerative hydrology (regeneration of water cycles through land-use planning, urban development, etc.): the contribution of riparian forests or riparian buffers, desiltation, revegetation, the impact of forestry and agricultural practices, nature-based adaptation solutions.

The third part will look at the subject from an architectural angle, and in particular at how architecture can help to rehydrate the living and the human. What benefits can architecture bring to living organisms, fauna and flora? How can rainwater and wastewater be managed? How can it be reused? What are the impacts of green roofs and walls? How can we rehydrate people and deal with water stress? What is the role of perspiration and transpiration?

A round-table discussion aimed more specifically at the general public, but not only... will bring the day to a close with "WATER, A PUBLIC GOOD IN DANGER? HOW TO LINK UP THE VARIOUS PLAYERS".

This congress 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 helping to promote a "One Health" approach.