Save The Date For The IDA Seville Summit On Water And Climate Change, 16-18 October 2023

"Today, 40 percent of the world's people are affected by water scarcity; 80 percent of wastewater is discharged untreated into the environment, and more than 90 percent of disasters are water-related." Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of droughts and floods, making water resource management and clean water supply one of the biggest challenges worldwide. As Andrew Steer, current President and CEO of Bezos Earth Fund (and former President and CEO of the World Resources Institute, WRI) put it: "Water stress is the biggest crisis no one is talking about. Its consequences are in plain sight in the form of food insecurity, conflict and migration, and financial instability." In addition, there are significant water losses due to the lack of investment in developing and maintaining water infrastructures for municipal, industrial, and agricultural needs.

Coinciding with the 50th-anniversary celebration of the International Desalination Association, the IDA Seville Summit on Water and Climate Change will take place on 16-18 October 2023 in the spectacular setting of Seville, Spain. IDA is an NGO with recognized consultative status by the United Nations ECOSOC and a member of the UN Special Framework for Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG) hosted by the UN FAO Land and Water Division. The IDA promotes unconventional water resource solutions to offset water scarcity and enhance resilience, long-term water security, and adaptation to climate change.

The IDA Seville Summit will focus on adaptation to climate change and address synergies between mitigation and adaptation, integrating unconventional water resources to ensure long-term water security, decarbonizing the water sector, the need for environmental stewardship, integrated water resource management, and solutions to food security, industry, and municipal water needs.

Critical discussions will include the following topics;

1. How can we contribute to building a roadmap for climate change adaptation with a water resource management transition?
2. How to unlock institutional, technological, and financial lock-ins for meaningful progress toward diversifying water supply sources?
3. If adaptation and circularity are rational behaviors, do they not happen spontaneously? Why are successful examples hard to scale up?

The Summit will combine high-level thematic sessions and a peer-reviewed technical program.

IDA is Now Accepting Abstracts for the Technical Program
IDA is seeking original work on a variety of topics related to unconventional water resources to offset the effects of climate change on clean water availability. Submissions will be peer reviewed and accepted on technical merit and assigned to a related session. All abstracts and presentations will be reviewed for originality and importance of findings.

Authors accepted for oral presentation slots will be expected to sign a participation agreement and are required to register by May 15th to be confirmed in the program.

Abstract submissions will be accepted up to March 31, 2023.

Topic 1: Unconventional Water Resource Solutions to Tackle Water Scarcity

• Water reuse and desalination systems for agriculture and industrial water needs
• AI case studies for municipal and industrial water production facilities
• Direct and indirect potable reuse
• Non-potable and agricultural water re-use
• Water quality monitoring and control

Topic 2: Going Green or Blue to Ensure a Circular Water Economy and Reach Net Zero Water Production

• Decarbonization of desalination and water reuse systems; processes, technologies
• Case studies on integration of renewable energy to power desalination and water reuse systems
• Case studies to implement a circular water economy
• Designing water treatment systems to be water neutral
• ZLD and MLD case studies for industrial water
• Desalination brine mining and resource recovery