Public lecture Wednesday, July 8, 2015 | 7:00 pm
We live on a blue planet. Yet freshwater makes up only 3% of all water on earth, 2% of which is locked up in snow and ice, leaving just 1% for all of us to use. The availability of clean freshwater is vital for life, humans and nature alike. However, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that by 2025 two out of three people will live in water stressed areas. Water is identified as one of the three most important challenges worldwide and this year, for the first time, the World Economic Forum (WEF) moved it to the top, considering it as the biggest societal and economic risk for the next ten years.
From 5 to 10 July, the University of Geneva is hosting the 9th Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences under the title “Freshwater sciences coming home”, this domain having been founded over 100 years ago in the Lake Geneva area. The symposium will gather over 500 researchers, professionals and stakeholders from universities, research laboratories, private institutions, as well as national and regional administrations from around 50 countries from Europe and other continents. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman of the “2030 Water Resources Group”, a Public Private Partnership, and of the Board of Nestlé S.A., is invited to give a public lecture in this context. Given the uncertainty about the availability of freshwater in the future, it is more crucial than ever to bring scientists, government, businesses and society together on the water issue in order to share a vision on how we can face these challenges and promote sustainable water use in the future.
JUN
