Water, Food and Public Health in a Changing World

7-9 June 2021

Water, Food and Public Health
in a Changing World

Currently, the whole world has been focussed on public health with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has also disrupted farming, production, and shipping, highlighting the fragilities of the interconnected systems we all depend upon. Water is a critical factor in both agriculture and food processing, as well as in nutrition and broader human health issues. This complex nexus of sectors is often treated in silos, from both science and policy perspectives. The main goal of the IWRA 2021 Online Conference was to examine the inter-linkages between water, food and public health which are now more critical than ever, especially as the world changes in response to the stressors of pandemics, climate change, population growth, and urbanization.

7-9 June 2021

IWRA’s 2021 Online Conference in collaboration with the FAO addressed these challenges and priorities. The conference was held from June 7^th to 9^th, 2021, and its main goal was to promote the sharing and exchange of the latest scientific and policy knowledge on the links between Water, Food, and Public health for the sustainable governance, use, and management of these resources globally.

Thanks to the generous support of FAO to this online water event, we were able to grant free access for all registered attendees. We particularly welcomed participation by experts from Africa, low income countries, women and youth. FAO’s support also ensured open access to all conference related materials.

The generous UNESCO contribution to this event supported this online conference themes, debates and results, particularly on “How can science better inform public policy, governance and capacity building for water, food and health?” (Theme 5). This theme also helped to further on the implementation of UNESCO’s Phase Eight of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (2014-2021).

The IWRA 2021 online conference had the overarching theme of “One Water, One Health: Water, Food and Public Health in a Changing World” with five different sub-theme challenges to be addressed, which you can see here.

Themes & Issues

How can we better manage water for food and public health in a changing world?

THEME 1

How can managing water in agriculture contribute to food security and public health?

THEME 2

What opportunities lie in the improved cooperation between water, food, and public health sectors?

THEME 3

What are the synergies or trade-offs between ecosystem health and human health?

THEME 4

How can science better inform public policy, governance and capacity building for water, food, and health?

THEME 5

Keynote Speakers

Aziza Akhmouch

Head of the Cities, Urban Policies and Sustainable Development division within the Centre for entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities of the OECD

Abou Amani

Director, Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO & Secretary, Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP)

Carmen Bullon

Legal Officer, Legal Division, FAO

Stefano Burchi

Chairman, International Association for Water Law (AIDA)

Sarah Cahill

Senior Officer, Secretariat of the Codex Alimentarius Commission

Jean-Maurice Durand

Engineer General in Water and Forests by background. Seconded by Expertise France to FAO as Senior Land Tenure Expert

Omar Elhassan

Environmental Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Water Management Expert working in the Land and Water Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

John Etgen

CEO | Project WET Foundation

Loïc Fauchon

President of the World Water Council

Edeltraud Guenther

Director of the UNU-FLORES

James W. Jones

Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the University of Florida

Benjamin Kiersch

FAO Land and Water Development Division

Rojina Manandhar

UNFCCC secretariat

Kate Medlicott

Sanitation and Waste Team Leader, WASH Team, WHO

Rebecca Metzner

Senior Fisheries Officer with the Fishery Division (NFI) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Tanja Miškova

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia

Steven Musser

Deputy Center Director for Scientific Operations at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)

Josiane Nikiema

PhD, Research Group Leader – Circular Economy and Water Pollution, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Pernille Nilsson

Project Manager, SEQAFRICA, Technical University of Denmark

André F. van Rooyen

Principal Scientist (Crop Livestock) & Acting ICRISAT Country Representative for Ethiopia

Eric Stevens

Policy Analyst in the Office of the Center Director at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

John C. Tracy

Director of the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI)
Interim Head of the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at Texas A&M University

Jessica Troell

Senior Attorney and Director of the International Water and Africa Programs at the Environmental Law Institute

Gerda Verburg

UN Assistant Secretary-General and SUN Movement Coordinator

Jaap Wagenaar

Professor at the Vet School in Utrecht

Kang Zhou

Food Safety and Quality Officer at Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

International Scientific Committee (ISC)

Sasha Koo-Oshima

CO-CHAIR

Deputy Director & Head of Water, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Yuanyuan Li

CO-CHAIR

Vice-President, IWRA; Professor General, Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Planning and Design - Ministry of Water Resources, China

Rabi Mohtar

CO-CHAIR

Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Life Sciences American University of Beirut; Professor of Environmental Resources Engineering, Texas A&M

Alice Aureli

MEMBER

Chief of the Groundwater Systems and Settlements Section, UNESCO-IHP & Programme Coordinator, ISARM

Tala Awada

MEMBER

Associate Dean in the Agricultural Research Division; Professor of Plant Ecophysiology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Boubacar Barry

MEMBER

Chair of GWP-WA Technical Committee

Henning Bjornlund

MEMBER

Research Professor, Water Policy and Management, University of South Australia & Chair, Science, Technology and Publication IWRA Committee

Bassel Daher

MEMBER

Research Scientist, Texas A&M Energy Institute

Xiaokai Li

MEMBER

Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank Group

Iman Nuwayhid

MEMBER

Professor, Public Health, Occupational and Environmental Health, American University of Beirut

Pedi Obani

MEMBER

Assistant Professor in the School of Law, University of Bradford

Rabindra Osti

MEMBER

Asian Development Bank

Mark Smith

MEMBER

Director General, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Jennifer Sara

MEMBER

Global Director, Water Global Practice, World Bank

Raya Marina Stephan

MEMBER

International Water Consultant, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Water International & Executive Board, IWRA

Dave Tickner

MEMBER

Chief Freshwater Adviser, WWF - UK

Lesha Witmer

MEMBER

Steering Committee (advocacy lead), Women for Water Partnership

Lili Yu

MEMBER

Professor Level Senior Engineer, GIWP, Ministry of Water Resources (MWR), China

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Water, Food and Public Health in a Changing World

7-9 June 2021