The Conference is an activity of the WATERLAT Network. It is co-organized by the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, the Institute of Advanced Studies of the University of Sao Paulo and the Centre for Brazilian Studies for Latin America of the Memorial Foundation, with the support of UNESCO's Latin American Memorial Chair, under the responsibility of the Organizing Commission. The event will take place at the Latin American Memorial in Sao Paulo. The Conference's Scientific Commission supervises the quality of the event's overall programme.

The event is an excellent opportunity to deepen the debate and exchange of knowledge and experiences about the different dimensions of the processes of water governance and management in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is organized around three main themes that structure the activities of each of the three days of the event (Themes 1 to 3 in the table). These themes are closely related to WATERLAT's Research Priorities. Also, we have identified three cross-cutting thematic areas that run across the main themes:

____________________________________________________________________________________

25 OCTOBER	26 OCTOBER	27 OCTOBER
THEME 1 The tension between social and environmental justice in water management	THEME 2 Water related ecological distribution conflicts	THEME 3 Confronting vulnerability and social defencelessness in relation to water hazards and threats
CROSS-CUTTING THEMATIC AREAS i.               Geopolitics of water, transboundary water management ii.              Large-scale hydraulic infrastructures iii.             Risks, water threats and vulnerability

_____________________________________________________________________________________

There will be a series of keynote conferences, round tables, parallel sessions for paper presentations, exhibition of posters, and cultural activities.

 

3 keynote conferences:

Joan Martínez-Alier, professor of economics at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, will speak about “The organizations of environmental justice: between activism and environmental sciences”.

Erik Swyngedouw, professor of geography at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, will talk about: “Urban water: urban environmental justice or political ecology?”.

Léo Héller, professor of sanitary engineering at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, will address “The exclusion in the access to water and sanitation services: some reflections on the situation of Latin America”.

 

5 round tables, followed by plenary sessions:

Session No 1: “The tension between social and environmental justice in water management”, with participants from Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia, among others.

Session No 2: “Water related ecological distribution conflicts”, with participants from Brazil, Chile, and Costa Rica, among others.

Session No 3: Special Round Table on Public-Public Partnerships (PUPs) in the management of water and sanitation, organized by Public Services International (PSI). The round table will feature participants from Colombia, Ecuador, England, and Peru, among others.

Session No 4: “Confronting social vulnerability and defencelessness in relation to water threats and hazards”, with participants from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Haiti, Mexico and Venezuela.

Session No 5: Special Round Table on the relationship between academics and social actors in relation to water governance and management. This session will have participants from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Mexico, among others.

 

20 parallel sessions for paper presentations plus exhibition of posters:

The conference will have twenty parallel sessions for paper presentations, with participants from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, England, France, Honduras, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Uruguay, and Venezuela. There will be also an exhibition of posters presenting research results.

The themes covered by papers and posters cover a wide range of interests and problems, including:

• The social and environmental impact of large water infrastructures
• Basin management
• Environmental education and social learning
• The challenges to water management in arid zones
• Water commodification and privatization
• Transboundary water management
• Vulnerability and defencelessness in relation to water threats and hazards
• Water as an object of social and political control
• Technologies for democratic and sustainable water management
• Social struggles for the democratization of water management
• Water and gender, ethnic and class conflicts
• Water as a common good and as a human right
• Agribusinesses and the pollution and over exploitation of water
• Water control and the configuration of territories
  

 

Cultural activities and publications:

The event will feature musical activities, films, and other free attractions for the participants. There will be also an exhibition of publications relevant to the themes of the conference.

 

SEE CONFERENCE STRUCTURE AND TIMETABLE

DOWNLOAD A CONFERENCE FLYER

 

Participation:

Although WATERLAT is a network for scientific research, our activities promote transdisciplinary approaches that seek to involve different sectors of society in the processes of production and validation of knowledge. Therefore, the event is also open to the participation of sectors connected with different aspects of water governance and management, including particularly social movements, civil groups, workers’ unions, non-governmental organizations, local governments, and other relevant actors.

 

Form of registration and payment:

The cost of registration is 150 Brazilian Reais for academics and professionals, and 75 Brazilian Reais for students. The payment can be made via bank transfer or credit card. Please, complete your registration and payment here.

Please, if you have any queries e-mail us on WATERLAT.