In referring to transboundary waters – the idea of riparian relations is often seen as a complex set of actions that derive the conflictive and cooperative nature of transboundary water management issues. It may be good advice to move away from stringent theories and concepts of water resources management and instead look at the broader […]
World Water Day reminds us of the very contemporary challenges facing many of our freshwater bodies. This year, World Water Day focuses on the link between water and sustainable development, and it offers a useful opportunity to consider in depth the politics surrounding water abstraction, allocation, access and use, particularly in developing country contexts. While […]
Safe drinking water is essential for the health of all people and ensuring safe water at the national level requires a framework comprised of regulation and responsible actors. A new analysis of the current national framework in Iceland explores the interplay between various safe drinking water actors on a national level was recently published in […]
The World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Risk 2014 Report ranks water crises as the third greatest global economic risk, just after fiscal crises in key economies and employment rate challenges; and water related risks of extreme weather events (#6) and food crises (#8) rank in the top ten. However, Lloyd’s Risk Index (LRI) ranks water scarcity […]
Chrisine Buesser left Switzerland more than 15 years ago to initially pursue a degree in Business Administration at Babson College. From there, she worked as an investment banker in New York City for three years before joining Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF/ Doctors Without Borders) in 2007. Since then, she has lead MSF’s projects and missions […]
Water resources have the potential to contribute to sustainable social and economic development. However, water boundaries (rivers and their basins) don’t align with political geography. To address a development problem that involves water, where should institutional boundaries lie? Which parties are the “right” parties for addressing a particular challenge? A hydro-supportive approach that gets the […]
Since July, the Museum of Science (MoS) has been home to a special temporary exhibit: Water Stories: a conversation in paint and sound. Anne Neely, an accomplished New England based artist started painting the featured land and waterscapes after reading de Villier’s Water, the Fate of our Must Precious Resource, and the exhibit space is […]
As the international community gears up for the climate negotiations in Lima this December, technology transfer features prominently on the agenda. Technology transfer is essential for both mitigation and adaptation, and technologies, while not themselves a solution to climate related challenges, will play an important role in climate change mitigation and adaptation…
We recently completed our 4th Water Diplomacy Workshop (WDW) with 32 participants from 16 countries. We were fortunate to have a wonderful and diverse group of people eager to listen, learn and share. We originally designed this 5-day experience to provide a practical approach to synthesizing the theory and practice of water to create actionable knowledge. We know this workshop experience is intense. Each morning, we start…
Earlier this spring, Harvard University’s South Asia Institute hosted its annual symposium, a two-day program focused on South Asia Regionalism: Shared Challenges and the Way Forward. I was privileged to lead the the Urban Water Challenges panel and workshop held during the symposium with Peter Rogers, Afreen Siddiqi, Farhana Sultana and Jim Wescoat. Some major […]
