On 22 September 2019, the IAH Commission on Transboundary Aquifers (TBAs) will organize a strategy workshop that will take place at the Centre of Hydrogeology, University of Malaga, in Malaga, Spain. This pre-conference at the 46th IAH International Congress will be a critical stocktaking of the work and outcomes achieved so far in terms of addressing transboundary aquifers (TBAs) and the special challenges and opportunities these water resources present. Interested IAH and non-IAH members can attend this workshop for free, but attendants are kindly requested to register by submitting this registration form by 15 July 2019.
TBA Questionnaire
For this stocktaking, the commission published a questionnaire related to the challenges and strategy for TBA management and for the future focus of the IAH Commission on TBAs. The outcomes of this questionnaire survey can provide focus for discussions at the workshop and will provide important input for the future work plan of the IAH-TBA commission. Therefore, the commission kindly invites everyone working on transboundary aquifers to respond to the questionnaire, also those of you who cannot attend the event.
About the IAH-TBA pre-conference event
The theme of the workshop is: ’The Future of Transboundary Aquifers: Research, Management, and Policy Directions’. Discussing the future requires taking stock of the current situation and past activities. Since the late 1990’s, global inventories on TBAs have been prepared, legal framework guidance has been developed, significant recognition of the prevalence of transboundary aquifers has been achieved, and in a number of TBAs cooperation between countries is advancing. Yet it may be argued that together with national groundwater resources, transboundary resources still receive scant attention, despite these resources often having a critical socio-economic role. The workshop will facilitate discussion on research, management and practice needed for their mainstreaming in the coming years. This will guide the next phase of the work of the IAH Commission, and offer a framework for other partners (such as UNESCO, UN ECE, and others) to engage in the sustainability of these resources.
Aim of the Workshop
The primary aim of the workshop is lively discussion. Contributions as short presentations and items for discussions will be made in the workshop, as follows:
Structure of the Workshop
- Welcome/Introduction
- Taking stock: Keynote speakers
- Lightning presentations on taking stock (6 mins each)
- short presentations on cutting edge research
- Forward-looking presentations (10 mins each)
- Scientific and data-oriented perspectives
- Law and policy perspectives
- Socio-economic and institutional perspectives
- Moderated roundtable on future research, management & policy directions
- Moderated open forum regarding the role and work programme of the IAH Commission on Transboundary Aquifers
- Closing remarks
Participation
The event is an open event, and all IAH members, as well as non–members, are welcome. Please register by 15 July 2019, using this registration form.