From 2002-10-08 to 2002-10-10

Venue: University Institute Kurt Bösch, Sion, Switzerland

Summary:
A crucial vulnerability faced by the international community in the near future will be access to fresh water in sufficient quantity and of adequate quality to meet increasing and more diverse needs of a growing world population. Mountains have always held a privileged relationship with water, as the sources of the world's greatest rivers and as the home of the great reserves of water held in glaciers.

The primary focus of the conference is on competitive uses of water. Themes relevant to this issue include:
- Water as a public good: property rights management structures, past and present
- Linking climate change and mountain hydrology: current hydrological assessments and future projections of future quantities, seasonal distribution
- Water-related natural disasters in mountain regions: prediction, mitigation, adaptation
- Future uses of water for hydroelectricity, agriculture, industry, tourism, domestic use, etc.
- Evolving international legal regimes for water management: compatibility with national policy and other international agreements (trade, environment)
- Water pricing and water markets
- Water use and international conflict
- Sustainable and fair water use (efficiency and equity issues).

Organizers: Alps, Environment and Society Group
Contact Name: Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch
E-mail: mery.bornet@iukb.ch
URL: http://www.montagne2002.ch/AIMFR/Projets/iukb1.htm