Event: Fresh Water

Please join the Woodrow Wilson Center's Brazil Institute and Environmental Change and Security Program as well as George Mason University for a dialogue on

Managing the Planet’s Freshwater

featuring

Karin M. Krchnak, Senior Advisor for International Water Policy, The Nature Conservancy

Dann Sklarew, Sustainability Fellow, George Mason University

Thomas Lovejoy, University Professor, Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, and Biodiversity Chair, Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment

Moderator: Paulo Sotero, Director, Brazil Institute

Wednesday, February 23, 2011
3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars 6th Floor Flom Auditorium 1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC 20004 USA

Please RSVP (acceptances only) with your name and affiliation to
michael.darden@wilsoncenter.org



The environmental challenges of climate change, ecosystem change, energy demands, and demographic trends continue to mount. The first decade of the 21st century was the warmest in 130 years of recorded global temperatures and 2010 may be close to the warmest year yet recorded. Extreme events related to the environment -- such as the major wildfires in Russia, devastating floods in Pakistan and Australia, and record drought in the Amazon basin -- are becoming more frequent.
Meanwhile, over a billion people are without access to safe drinking water. Desertification and aquatic and wetland habitat destruction are rampant. Many now call for collective action at the global level to address these trends and move the planet and humanity toward a more sustainable future. This response requires the best of the sciences (including social sciences) and an integrated effort with the world of policymakers and practitioners.

The result is a set of "Managing the Planet" dialogues -- developed jointly by George Mason University and the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program and Brazil Institute. This session will focus on how we manage our planet’s increasingly stressed freshwater resources. Presenters will introduce key challenges, global responses and options, followed by full-audience participation in exploring solutions.

For more information and directions, visit www.wilsoncenter.org\brazil

Woodrow Wilson Center - 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. - Washington, DC
20004