Dr Seth Westra will be presenting at the Water Forum.

In the World Economic Forum’s recently released 2015 global risk assessment, the threat identified as having the greatest potential impact was “water crises”.

As our population grows and climate changes, the effective management of water resources will become increasingly critical; not just for the survival of communities and industries, but entire regions, with so-called “water wars” a very real possibility.

So how should we prepare for this volatile future? In this special Research Tuesdays forum, our expert panellists will explore the issues in detail, analysing:

• the key big-picture factors of climate change and infrastructure
• the economics of water, especially in the often neglected area of demand
• South Australia’s specific challenges regarding water regulation, policy and planning
• current best-practice water management around the world.

The presenters:

Associate Professor Sarah Wheeler is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow with the University of Adelaide’s Global Food Studies research centre. Her primary focus is agricultural and resource economics, specialising in water economics. Sarah has over 85 peer-reviewed publications.

Dr Michele Akeroyd is Director of South Australia’s Goyder Institute for Water Research. A 2014 South Australian Women in Innovation, Environment and Primary Industries Award winner, she has held executive roles in the public and not-for-profit sectors managing transboundary natural resource programs, translation of science into policy, and large-scale water research programs.

Dr Seth Westra is a Senior Lecturer in the University of Adelaide’s School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, and leads its Intelligent Water Decisions group. He recently received the Australian Institute of Policy and Science’s Tall Poppy Award, and was a joint winner of the Minister’s Award for Excellence in Water Sustainability by the Water Industry Alliance.

Professor Mike Young holds a Research Chair in Water and Environmental Policy at the University of Adelaide and was the Founding Executive Director of its Environment Institute. He is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society. He is known internationally for his capacity to integrate biophysical and economic information to produce innovative policy proposals that catalyse change.

WHEN: Tuesday 10 November, 5:30 – 7:00pm
WHERE: The Braggs Lecture Theatre, North Terrace Campus
COST: Free – please register online for this event.