International Expo "Water and Sustainable Development"
International Forum on Drought
Start Date: Sunday, 17 June 2007, 11:30 h
End Date: Wednesday, 20 June 2007, 14:45 h
Place: Barceló, Gran Hotel Renacimiento, Isla de la Cartuja, Seville
URL: http://www.forosequia.com
Organised by: Water Tribune, Spanish Ministry of the Environment, Regional Council of Andalucía
backOne of the Forum’s main objectives was to put an end to the social perception of drought as a catastrophic event, and instead encourage communities to view drought as part of our planet’s natural dynamic. This issue is particularly important in the current context of climate change, which affects both precipitation and evaporation levels.
The Forum launched an invitation for people to learn to live together with drought, which will help not only to improve water resources health, but also to diminish the social instability that can be at the origin of conflicts related to water use in times of water shortage. Discussions held on 19 June established an overview of the current situation, examined major unresolved issues, and suggested avenues for change to allow today’s threats to become tomorrow’s strengths.
Many governmental institutions, research centres, professional associations, NGOs, and world media participated in the Forum.
Within in the framework of the Forum, Expo Zaragoza 2008 was responsible for organizing the events of 19 June:
- 9:00 am to 5:30 pm: Day of debate organized on the subject of ‘Living with Drought,’ structured around two thematic conferences and four round tables:
- Drought and society
- Drought and legal innovation
- The challenges of drought under extreme conditions
- The social and environmental challenges of drought
- 11:00 am and 6:00 pm: Presentation of Expo Zaragoza 2008: Plan for Participation and Volunteering.
>> Access the Forum’s conclusions (in Spanish)
>> Access the Seville Declaration
Access the Report ‘Drought in Spain. Guidelines to minimize its impacts’ [PDF format – 2.53 MB]
