World

St Anne’s College, Oxford, UK

28-30 June 2010

In a world that is increasingly riven by conflict, often involving emergent non-state factions in rapidly changing patterns of inter-relationship, the need for rigorous conflict analysis is more pressing than ever.  However, to be robust and insightful, such analysis must be informed by the wide range of disciplines - including mathematics and decision sciences, diplomacy and international relations, peace and war studies, anthropology and psychology, military and political science, linguistics and communication studies - whose scholars presently engage with the topic of confrontation.  This conference, the 4th in an established and successful series hosted by the IMA will, like its predecessors, provide a forum for sharing the latest thinking in these disparate fields and for building multidisciplinary links between conflict researchers.

The theme of the present conference is the process of conflict transformation.  When conflict analysts focus upon specific episodes within what are usually protracted and complex networks of interaction, they may easily lose sight of relevant issues in the spatial, temporal or causal environment.  Furthermore the processes by which confrontation may transform into collaboration, or co-operation may degenerate into conflict, are central both to conflict escalation and conflict resolution.  The conference will therefore be concerned with the dynamics of conflict processes and will include wide-ranging interpretations and explorations of this theme.

It was an uncharacteristically sunny day for the monsoon, with blindingly clear skies. Namgye Chumbi was weeding his potato garden in Phakding by the Dudh Kosi on the morning of 4 August 1985.

There weren't too many trekkers on the trail. The Dudh Kosi was tumbling noisily over boulders nearby. Around two in the afternoon, the river went quiet. Namgye sensed danger.

"I noticed that the white water had turned muddy brown, and in the distance I heard a thundering sound like an approaching helicopter," recalls the 50-year-old farmer. "I looked upstream and saw this huge wall of dark brown water approaching very fast."

This section is based on Stockholm International Water Institute’s conclusions and what we consider as the key threads that emerged from the week. These overarching conclusions are also based on the summary reports from workshops and seminars and the rapporteur theme reports (see next section of this publication). Our interpretation of issues raised from over 100 substantive sessions are intended to provide meaningful messages for both participants who were at the week and other stakeholders unable to attend. The overall aim is to maintain a dialogue beyond the intense and fruitful discussions during the World Water Week itself.

Access to water

Water scarcity, poverty in its multiple manifestations, conflicts and political circumstances influence people’s ability to access water, particularly for the daily requirements for drinking water and household needs. Water may be available in aquifers, in nearby streams or even in village ponds, but due to technical, economic, cultural and other reasons many people may not have access to water sources or to the services that are organised by the public sector or other providers. Not having access to the most basic necessity of life is causing dramatic and detrimental consequences for the people concerned. Detailed statistical accounts and a large number of illustrated cases of people affected from a lack of access to drinking and household water, are repeatedly presented in literature and media. It is, indeed, mindboggling that in spite of repeated high level commitments and the fact that there are few, if any, political disagreements, the efforts to substantially reduce the plight of the 1.1 billion who lack access to household water are not enough. It is essential to recognise that it is not only the 1.1 billion who are affected. Families and relatives of those who are affected, their farms or work places and society at large also bear the brunt of this lingering tragedy. For various reasons, there is less evidence of these wider costs to society.

Invitation

Proposals for workshop paper and poster presentations for the World Water Week are welcome from experts and actors in different disciplines. The deadline for abstract submittal is February 15, 2010 . Abstracts are welcome on the specific workshop themes listed below and described on pages 10-13.

Workshop Themes:

• Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control
• Shortcutting Historical Pollution Trends
• Water Quality for Human Health
• Improved Water Use Efficiency through Recycling and Reuse
• Management of Groundwater Abstraction and Pollution
• Minimising Land Use Based Pollution
• Resilience, Uncertainty and Tipping Points
• Origins, Pathways and Accumulation of Pollutants –

5th South Asia Research Conference

Topic: Globalization of Governance - Implications for Water Management in South Asia

Dates: May 3-5, 2010 Bhutan

Theme:

Water is the primary medium through which climate change impacts will be felt by human populations and the environment.  Adapting to climate change will require adapting to changes in water availability and distribution.

Inland fisheries form an integral part of the vast gangetic basin.

Dear all, we just launched www.waterandclimatechannel.org - an online resource to understand the vital links between water and climate change. As you know there is not a lot of discussion going on during COP 15 on the relation with water. Through this channel we would like to draw more attention on the importance of it. Documents, articles, videos on water and climate change are very welcome.

In a free market where efficiency and value for money are the driving factors, the consumers become conscious (and highly selective) in what they are buying and what they get out of it. Who would buy a less fuel efficient car or for that matter an electric appliance which consumes more electricity for the amount of work it does?