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The 1st International Electronic Conference on Water Sciences
Part of the International Electronic Conference on Water Sciences series
15–29 Nov 2016
- Go to the Sessions
- Event Details
Call for Papers
The 1st International Electronic Conference on Water Sciences will be held on 15-29 November 2016. All proceedings will be held online at https://sciforum.net/conference/ecws-1
Throughout this event, we aim to cover the following topics:
- A: Water Resources Management and Monitoring
- B: Water and Wastewater Pollution
- C: Emerging Contaminants in the Water Cycle
- D: Water Supply and Distribution
- E: Water Policies and Planning Section
- F: Wetlands and Lakes
The conference will be completely free of charge—both to attend, and for scholars to upload and present their latest work on the conference platform. There will be a possibility to submit selected papers to the journal Water (ISSN 2073-4441; 1.687 (2015); https://www.mdpi.com/journal/water). ECWS-1 offers you the opportunity to participate in this international, scholarly conference without having the concern or expenditure of travel — all you need is your computer and access to the Internet. We would like to invite you to “attend” this conference by presenting your latest work.
Abstracts (in English) should be submitted by 15 September 2016 15 October 2016 online at https://www.sciforum.net/login. For accepted abstracts, the full paper can be submitted by 1 October 2016 1 November 2016. The conference itself will be held 15-19 November 2016.
For information about the procedure for submission, peer-review, revision and acceptance of conference proceedings papers, please refer to the section "Instructions for Authors" https://sciforum.net/conference/ecws-1/page/instructions.
Instructions for Authors
Submissions should be done by the authors online by registering with www.sciforum.net, and using the "Submit New Abstract" function once logged into system.
- Scholars interested in participating with the conference can submit their abstract (about 200-300 words covering the areas of manuscripts for the proceedings issue) online on this website until 15 September 2016 15 October 2016.
- The Conference Committee will pre-evaluate, based on the submitted abstract, whether a contribution from the authors of the abstract will be welcome for the 1st International Electronic Conference on Water Science. All authors will be notified by 30 September 2016 31 October 2016 about the acceptance of their abstract.
- If the abstract is accepted for this conference, the author is asked to submit his/her manuscript, optionally along with a PowerPoint and/or video presentation of his/her paper (only PDF), until the submission deadline of 31 October 2016 10 November 2016.
- The manuscripts and presentations will be available on https://sciforum.net/conference/ecws-1 for discussion and rating during the time of the conference 15-29 November 2016.
- The Open Access Journals Water, Resources, Membranes, Fluids will publish the proceedings of the conference as a Special Issue and accepted papers will be published in the proceedings of the conference. After the conference, the Conference Committee will select manuscripts that may be included for publication in this Special Issue.
Manuscripts for the proceedings issue must have the following organization:
- Title
- Full author names
- Affiliations (including full postal address) and authors' e-mail addresses
- Abstract
- Keywords
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results and Discussion
- Conclusions
- (Acknowledgements)
- References
Manuscripts should be prepared in MS Word or any other word processor and should be converted to the PDF format before submission. The publication format will be PDF. The manuscript should count at least 3 pages (incl. figures, tables and references). There is no page limit on the length, although authors are asked to keep their papers as concise as possible.
Authors are encouraged to prepare a presentation in PowerPoint or similar software, to be displayed online along with the Manuscript. Slides, if available, will be displayed directly in the website using Sciforum.net's proprietary slides viewer. Slides can be prepared in exactly the same way as for any traditional conference where research results can be presented. Slides should be converted to the PDF format before submission so that our process can easily and automatically convert them for online displaying.
Besides their active participation within the forum, authors are also encouraged to submit video presentations. If you are interested in submitting, please contact the conference organizer at ecws@mdpi.com to get to know more about the procedure. This is an unique way of presenting your paper and discuss it with peers from all over the world. Make a difference and join us for this project!
Submission: Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.sciforum.net/login by registering and logging in to this website.
Accepted File Formats
- MS Word: Manuscript prepared in MS Word must be converted into a single file before submission. When preparing manuscripts in MS Word, the Electronic Conference on Materials Science Microsoft Word template file (see download below) must be used. Please do not insert any graphics (schemes, figures, etc.) into a movable frame which can superimpose the text and make the layout very difficult.
- Electronic Conference on Water Science MS Word Template File
- References: References must be numbered in order of appearance in the text (including tables and legends) and listed individually at the end of the manuscript. We recommend preparing the references with a bibliography software package, such as EndNote, ReferenceManager or Zotero to avoid typing mistakes and duplicated references. Citations and References in Supplementary files are permitted provided that they also appear in the main text and in the reference list. In the text, reference numbers should be placed in square brackets [ ], and placed before the punctuation; for example [1], [1–3] or [1,3]. For embedded citations in the text with pagination, use both parentheses and brackets to indicate the reference number and page numbers; for example [5] (p. 10). or [6] (pp. 101–105). The Reference list should include the full title as recommended by the ACS style guide. The style file for endnote, MDPI.ens, can be found at https://endnote.com/downloads/style/mdpi
- Author List and Affiliations: Authors' full first and last names must be provided. The initials of any middle names can be added. The PubMed/MEDLINE standard format is used for affiliations: complete address information including city, zip code, state/province, country, and all email addresses. At least one author should be designated as corresponding author, and his or her email address and other details should be included at the end of the affiliation section. Please read the criteria to qualify for authorship.
- Figures, Schemes and Tables: All figure files should be separately uploaded during submission. Figures and schemes must be provided at a sufficiently high resolution (minimum 1000 pixels width/height, or a resolution of 300 dpi or higher). All Figure file formats are accepted. However, TIFF, JPEG, EPS and PDF files are preferred. Materials can publish multimedia files in articles or as supplementary materials. Please get in touch with the Editorial office for further information. All Figures, Schemes and Tables should also be inserted into the main text close to their first citation and must be numbered following their number of appearance (Figure 1, Scheme I, Figure 2, Scheme II, Table 1, etc.). All Figures, Schemes and Tables should have a short explanatory title and a caption. All table columns should have an explanatory heading. To facilitate the copy-editing of larger tables, smaller fonts may be used, but in no less than 8 pt. in size. Authors should use the Table option of Microsoft Word to create tables. For multi-panel figures, the file must contain all data in one file. For tips on creating multi-panel figures, please read the helpful advice provided by L2 Molecule. Authors are encouraged to prepare figures and schemes in color (RGB at 8-bit per channel). Full color graphics will be published free of charge.
For further enquiries please contact us at ecws@mdpi.com.
Authors wishing to publish their papers are asked to abide to the following rules:
- Any facts that might be perceived as a possible conflict of interest of the author(s) must be disclosed in the paper prior to submission.
- Authors should accurately present their research findings and include an objective discussion of the significance of their findings.
- Data and methods used in the research need to be presented in sufficient detail in the paper, so that other researchers can replicate the work.
- Raw data should preferably be publicly deposited by the authors before submission of their manuscript. Authors need to at least have the raw data readily available for presentation to the referees and the editors of the journal, if requested. Authors need to ensure appropriate measures are taken so that raw data is retained in full for a reasonable time after publication.
- Simultaneous submission of manuscripts to more than one journal is not tolerated.
- Republishing content that is not novel is not tolerated (for example, an English translation of a paper that is already published in another language will not be accepted).
- If errors and inaccuracies are found by the authors after publication of their paper, they need to be promptly communicated to the editors of this journal so that appropriate actions can be taken. Please refer to our policy regarding publication of publishing addenda and corrections.
- Your manuscript should not contain any information that has already been published. If you include already published figures or images, please obtain the necessary permission from the copyright holder to publish under the CC-BY license.
- Plagiarism, data fabrication and image manipulation are not tolerated.
MDPI AG, the publisher of the Sciforum.net platform, is an open access publisher. We believe that authors should retain the copyright to their scholarly works. Hence, by submitting a Communication paper to this conference, you retain the copyright of your paper, but you grant MDPI AG the non-exclusive right to publish this paper online on the Sciforum.net platform. This means you can easily submit your paper to any scientific journal at a later stage and transfer the copyright to its publisher (if required by that publisher).
List of accepted submissions (29)
Id | Title | Authors | Poster PDF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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sciforum-008759 | Monitoring of an urban lake in the Mediterranean coast after restoration measures | , , , , , | N/A |
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Urban lakes are artificial systems that accomplish many functions, such as storing rainwater, avoiding flooding of adjacent urban areas and supporting recreational activities. However, their intrinsic aesthetic value is usually reduced due to eutrophication problems and anoxia processes. The objective of this study is to present the results of the water quality monitoring of a small urban lake (11264 m2 and 1.5 m average depth) in Tavernes de la Valldigna (Valencia, Spain) during summer 2016. The final aim is to determine the better parameters for monitoring urban lakes having into account budget restrictions. La Goleta lake has suffered repeated events of fish deaths and bad odors that cause the alarm of residents and tourists, especially in summer. Municipal authorities undertook a restoration project which first part was developed during the first semester of 2016. Surveillance monitoring should be financed by the Town Council, so limiting the monitored parameters to the most appropriate ones is key for guarantying long-term surveillance. The results of this study show the importance of macrophyte community in determining water quality and maintaining dissolved oxygen levels. Dissolved oxygen is a key parameter easy to measure and a good indicator of lake water quality evolution. Analytical methodologies must be adapted to the high organic matter content of these systems to avoid interferences. |
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sciforum-008741 | Exploiting carbon and nitrogen compounds for enhanced energy and resource recovery | , |
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Microbial desalination cells (MDCs), a recent technological discovery, allow for simultaneous wastewater treatment and desalination of saline water with concurrent electricity production. The premise for MDC performance is based on the principles that bioelectrochemical (BES) systems convert wastewaters into treated effluents accompanied by electricity production and the ionic species migration (i.e. protons) within the system facilitates desalination. One major drawback with microbial desalination cells (MDCs) technology is its unsustainable cathode chamber where expensive catalysts and toxic chemicals are employed for electricity generation. Introducing biological cathodes may enhance the system performance in an environmentally-sustainable manner. This study describes the use of autothrophic microorganism such as algae and Anammox bacteria as sustainable biocatalyst/biocathode in MDCs. Three different process configurations of photosynthetic MDCs (using Chlorella vulgaris) were evaluated for their performance and energy generation potentials. Static (fed-batch, SPMDC), continuous flow (CFPMDC) and a photobioreactor MDC (PBMDC, resembling lagoon type PMDCs) were developed to study the impact of process design on wastewater treatment, electricity generation, nutrient removal, and biomass production and the results indicate that PMDCs can be configured with the aim of maximizing the energy recovery through either biomass production or bioelectricity production. In addition, the microbial community analysis of seven different samples from different parts of the anode chamber, disclosed considerable spatial diversity in microbial communities which is a critical factor in sustaining the operation of MDCs. This study provides the first proof of concept that anammox mechanism can be beneficial in enhancing the sustainability of microbial desalination cells to provide simultaneous removal of ammonium from wastewater and contribute in energy generation. |
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sciforum-008722 | Catalytic wet air oxidation of caffeine by using a Pt based-catalyst supported on a lignocellulosic activated carbon | , , , | N/A |
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Introduction Wastewater usually contains a great variety of hazardous organic compounds, being of special concern the so-called emerging compounds. Among these substances, the priority compounds are considered as especially toxic, showing most of them endocrine disruption effects. The objective of this work was to evaluate the removal of caffeine from water by catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO), using a Pt based-catalyst supported on a lignocellulosic activated carbon. The effect of the operation conditions, e.g., pressure, temperature and weight of catalyst on the removal of the contaminant and Total Organic Carbon was studied. MATERIALS AND METHODS The tested catalytic support was based on a mesoporous activated carbon synthesized from peach stones by chemical activation using H3PO4 solution. The active phase of the catalyst was platinum with a metallic content of 3%, using H2PtCl6x6H2O as precursor. The metal was incorporated to the support by incipient wetness impregnation. The textural and morphological properties of the catalyst were explored. The tested operation conditions were the total pressure (20-40 bar), temperature (130-170 ºC) and the weight of catalyst (0.1-0.3 g). The sample analysis were carried out by using HPLC technique. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm of the catalyst can be classified as IV-type, characteristic of mesoporous solids. The specific surface area of the catalyst was of 1100 m2.g-1. BET area decreased after the CWAO process until 900 m2.g-1, probably due to the formation of a carbon deposit on the catalyst surface. Referring to the CWAO process, caffeine and TOC concentration gradually decreased along the reaction time, reaching to a final conversion, after 180 min, of 78-94% and 14-72%, respectively and depending on the reaction temperature. CONCLUSIONS The results of the study showed that CWAO of caffeine and TOC in water was successfully carried out using Pt(3%)/activated carbon as catalyst at the tested conditions. This material provides an efficient removal of caffeine, a trace compound of the domestic wastewater pollution.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad Contact CTM2014-53485-REDC TRAGUANET, CTQ2014-59011-R REMEWATER and by Comunidad de Madrid through REMTAVARES Network S2013/MAE-2716. |
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sciforum-008740 | Holistic analysis of emerging contaminant removal using advanced oxidation processes | , |
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The presence of pollutants known as emerging contaminants in water and wastewater is a topic of growing interest. Emerging contaminants, which include endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), are compounds that remain relatively unknown, although their adverse effects have been proven. Emerging contaminants are not satisfactorily removed by traditional treatment methods; therefore, there is a need for innovative techniques. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been recognized as successful removal methods for these problematic pollutants. However, technical success is not the only factor that must be considered. Process engineering, environmental, and economic and social parameters were considered. A holistic analysis was completed using a ranking system to determine the performance of several AOPs (ozonation, UV, photocatalysis, the Fenton reaction, and integrated processes). Ultimately, H2O2/O3 presented the highest average ranking (3.45), with the other processes showing similar performance, with the exception of TiO2 photocatalysis (2.11). |
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sciforum-009642 | HUMAN RISK ASSESSMENT: TOXICITY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH MIXTURE OF CHEMICALS RELEASED DURING PLASTIC REUSE AND RECYCLING | , |
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The objective of study is to understand challenges in assessing risk due to exposures of mixture of polymers released into water during reuse and recycling activities of plastic materials on human health. A four- step human health risk assessment framework consist of hazard identification, dose response assessment, risk estimation, uncertainty characterization was developed for assessing risk. Mixture of Bisphenol A (BPA) and Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP): endocrine disrupting substances was taken as an example. Both of these chemicals are used in packaging bottles, beverage and food containers and are probable to occur in water cycle simultaneously, and thus, assessment of their combined risk is required. Information on co-occurrence of these chemicals in water medium, their associated toxic effects to human were obtained from published reports and current knowledge gaps were identified. Findings of this study indicated that there exists data gaps in (1) lack of information on simultaneous exposure of two chemicals, (2) their combined mode of action, (3) mixture toxicity dose and concentration dose- response relationships, (4) lack of knowledge about interaction of chemicals (5) variation of exposure with time and location, (6) complex effects at different level and segments of community, including indirect effects on ecosystem These identified data gaps need to be filled by conducting more research in this direction so that exposure of population to polymeric compounds and chemicals in water from plastic waste can be estimated with more confidence and efforts for protecting them can be made. This information is required in properly understanding toxic effects of mixture of plastic compounds on human health. |
List of Authors (70)
About this conference
About 1st International Electronic Conference on Water Sciences
The papers will be organized in 6 parallel sessions, assigned to the following sub-themes and issues:
- A: Water Resources Management and Monitoring
- B: Water and Wastewater Pollution
- C: Emerging Contaminants in the Water Cycle
- D: Water Supply and Distribution
- E: Water Policies and Planning Section
- F: Wetlands and Lakes
Conference Schedule
Deadline for Abstract Submission: 15 September 2016 15 October 2016
Notification of Acceptance: 30 September 2016 31 October 2016
Deadline for Submission of Full Paper: 31 October 2016 10 November 2016
Conference Open: 15-29 November 2016
Conference Organizers
Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Püttmann
Chair of the 1st International Electronic Conference on Water Sciences
Professor in Environmental Analytical Chemistry,
Goethe University Frankfurt am Main,
Institute of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences,
Department of Environmental Analytical Chemistry,
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Prof. Dr. Athanasios Loukas, University of Thessaly, Greece
Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Drizo, Heriot-Watt University, UK
Prof. Dr. Jiangyong Hu, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Prof. Dr. Marco Franchini, University of Ferrara, Italy
Prof. Dr. Bruno Brunone, University of Perugia, Italy
Prof. Dr. Julio Berbel, University of Cordoba Campus de Rabanales, Spain
Prof. Dr. Richard C. Smardon, State University of New York, USA
Conference SecretaryMs. Mengdie Hu
MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland
E-Mail: ecws@mdpi.com
A. Water Resources Management and Monitoring
Section Chair:
Prof. Dr. Athanasios Loukas, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly, 38334 Volos, Greece
Water has a critical role in sustaining human health, food security, energy production and ecosystem services. Population growth, climate, environmental and land use change increasingly threaten water quality and quantity. Successful management of water resources requires an integrative understanding of coupled human and natural system components that can be used to generate practical, scientifically sound, economically-efficient and socially acceptable solutions that are sustainable. Furthermore, adequate monitoring of water resources plays a key role for the understanding of the surface water and groundwater systems functionality. This session provides a forum for discussing the innovations in water resources monitoring, the advances in water resources systems analysis, planning and management to inform public policy, water resource allocation, conflict resolution, water governance, and sustainable development in a changing world.
Specifically, this session focuses on recent advances in science as well as in practical application, including:
- The development, analysis, and application of new data collection techniques, such as environmental sensor networks, satellite imagery and participatory data collection methods;
- New understanding of hydrological processes;
- The impact of climate and land use change on surface water and groundwater;
- Innovative water management strategies, such as the storage of reclaimed water or excess water from different sources in Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR);
- Methodologies for assessing the impact and cost-effectiveness of selected response measures toward an optimal water allocation;
- Best water scarcity and droughts indicators across a range of scales and develop specific targets regarding water efficiency, ecosystem services which allow their sustainability in the river basins;
- Studies on how different water allocation strategies in transboundary international basins could impact water resources.
Keywords: water resources management; water resources monitoring; climate change; land use change; water allocation; water efficiency; ecosystem services; sustainability
Session Chairs
Professor Wilhelm Püttmann
Professor Athanasios Loukas, University of Thessaly
B. Water and Wastewater Pollution
Section Chair:
Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Drizo, Professor in Water Technology, School of Energy, Geosciences, Infrastructure and Environment, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
Water quality deterioration caused by population growth and continuous expansion of industrial and agricultural activities has become an issue of a global concern. Following "Water for Life" Decade 2005-2015 the United Nations recognizes eutrophication as the most prevalent water pollution problem globally. It is caused by perpetual nutrients loading from human activities (agricultural, domestic sewage, municipal, industrial and urban runoff) resulting in harmful blue-green algae blooms (HABs). Phosphorus loading has been recognized as the principal trigger of eutrophication. Over the past 6 years the number of coastal areas worldwide experiencing symptoms of eutrophication increased by nearly 85%. As much as 78% of the assessed continental U.S. coastal area and approximately 65% of Europe's Atlantic coast exhibit symptoms of eutrophication. The actual magnitude most likely much greater given that in many regions of the world (e.g., Asia, Latin America, Africa) it has just started to be researched. The situation is even more alarming for freshwater resources with over 50% of the lakes worldwide being identified as eutrophic. HABs are reducing potable water supplies and cause significant losses to the economies. Global Climate Change will promote cyanobacterial growth and exacerbate HABs at much larger scales.
Emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals and personal care products, veterinary antibiotics and medicines) releases in the waters is becoming a problem of increasing concern as current conventional wastewater technologies are not equipped to provide treatment for this kind of pollutants. Rubbish thrown directly into oceans represents another concern. It has been estimated that worldwide every hour about 680 tonnes of waste gets thrown directly into the oceans, more than half of it is made out of plastic. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex, spans waters from the West Coast of North America to Japan covering an area size of Western Europe.
In recent years a number of innovative technologies have been developed that showed potential in reducing water pollution. There is an urgent need for a radical change in water policies and technology verification programmes worldwide in order to enable these technologies application at national, international and global scales.
Keywords: water pollution; water and wastewater treatment; municipal wastewater effluents; residential wastewater; agricultural effluents and runoff; industrial effluents; urban stormwater runoff; eutrophication; nutrients loading; harmful algae blooms; emerging contaminants; ocean trash and sea pollution; innovative technologies
Session Chair
Professor Aleksandra Drizo
C. Emerging Contaminants in the Water Cycle
Section Chair:
Dr. Jiangyong Hu, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
As micropolluants issues have become increasingly important due to rapid population growth, industrialization, and so on, it would be of great importance to have such a chance to gather water professionals from all over the world to share technical expertise and solutions in micropllutants monitoring, treatment and management and to foster potential international cooperation. Emerging contaminants with known or unknown health effects, once produced, will find their own way to enter into the aquatic environments. Their fates and behaviours in the water environment are still not fully understood and their associated risks have not been clearly known. Removal of emerging contaminants still remains as a big challenge in today's water industry after the bulk pollutants such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus are successfully dealt with for decades. Regulatory framework relevant to emerging contaminants is still under early development stage. Water scientists and professionals are therefore urged to come together through this wonderful platform for an exchange of views and experiences on emerging contaminants.
Keywords: emerging contaminants; monitoring; fate and behaviour; treatment; risk; regulation; management
Session Chair
Dr. Jiangyong Hu
D. Water Supply and Distribution
Section Chairs:
Prof. Dr. Marco Franchini, Department of Engineering, University of Ferrara, I-44100 Ferrara, Italy
Prof. Dr. Bruno Brunone, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICA), University of Perugia, I-06125 Perugia, Italy
The aim of this conference is to provide a forum for all those who are interested in water pipe systems: researchers—from Universities and research centres—and design and consulting engineers—from water authorities and companies. Moreover, the conference would like to serve as a bridge between research, engineering applications and management aspects. According to the web tremendous potential in terms of results spreading, this conference is a compulsory event for shearing experiences from people all around the world without shouldering the financial burdens imposed by the time-consuming participation in person to a "traditional" Conference.
Following successful international events in the field of distribution and transmission pipe systems, the main focus of this conference is on system modelling, water demand forecasting and characterization, leakage and energy management, water demand, roughness and leakage calibration under uncertainty, districtualization, real time monitoring and control, optimal pump scheduling, system surveying and performance assessment (with a particular attention on data management and advances in sensors), sustainable management, effects of climate change on management rules, water quality related problems, and “worst-case” scenarios (with a particular attention on transients).
Case studies, research papers, and authoritative review articles are welcome (particularly those dealing with paradigms for smart cities).
Keywords: water distribution systems; water supply systems; climate change; mathematical modelling; uncertainty; real time control; water system efficiency; leakage control and quantification
Session Chairs
Professor Bruno Brunone, University of Perugia
Dr. Marco Franchini
E. Water Policies and Planning
Section Chairs:
Prof. Dr. Julio Berbel, Department of Economics, Sociology and Agricultural Policy, University of Cordoba Campus de Rabanales, E-14014 Córdoba, Spain
Groundwater (GW) is one of the most valuable natural resources, which supports human health, economic development and ecological diversity. In water scarce regions, aquifers usually suffer pressures that are simultaneously quantitative (over extraction) and qualitative (chemical pollution, saline intrusion). Water scarcity is a global issue but its management is a local problem. Aquifers play a vital role in meeting water demands. Pressures of urban, industrial and agricultural water uses are both quantitative (over-allocation and illegal abstraction) and qualitative (chemical pollution and saline intrusion); moreover, they are transmitted to surface water and terrestrial ecosystems connected to groundwater systems.
Any GW management plan should be supported among others, in the following keystones: a) reasonable knowledge of the aquifer; b) satisfactory monitoring of aquifer evolution, the monitoring should use remote sensing, piezometric and aquifer control and voluntary user’s abstraction volumetric supervising; c) good agro-economic system knowledge; d) use of socio-economic methods to enhance stakeholder participation and aquifer governance. Negotiation and active involvement with participation of water managers, experts, stakeholders and representatives of the general public requires decision support tools (Environmental Decision Support Systems; EDSS) that build on transparency and flexibility in order to reach sound action plans and management instruments.
The objective of this session is to review the experience in technical, normative and economic instruments used for groundwater planning and management and to analyze the state of the art and breakthrough technologies that may improve GW management and guarantee the sustainability. Topics addressed will look for the analysis of human pressures, economic and environmental impacts of GW use and over exploitation and public and private responses, the analysis of the evolution of GW systems from open exploitation to closure, the socio-economic aspects of GW management and strategies for maximizing stakeholder participation and sustainable governance systems, the groundwater protection strategies and mechanisms for negotiation and managing conflict, use of Multiple criteria decision making models for GW management and other topics relevant for GW management and planning.
Keywords: decision support systems; remote sensing; groundwater vulnerability; groundwater management; public participatory modelling; multiple criteria decision making; common pool resources management; regulatory institutions; energy costs; irrigated agriculture; game theory; water economics
Session Chair
Dr. Julio Berbel
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F. Wetlands and Lakes
Section Chair:
Prof. Dr. Richard C. Smardon, Department of Environmental Studies, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, NYU 13210, USA
Wetlands, lakes and their watersheds, as aquatic systems, provide valuable ecosystem services such as fish and wildlife habitat, nutrient cycling and carbon storage. From a more anthropocentric view these ecosystem services may include food, water supply, waste assimilation as well as aesthetic, recreation and educational opportunities. But these same aquatic systems are heavily stressed by human induced water pollution, land use encroachment and reduced watershed flows due to consumptive water usage in both developed and developing countries. So high quality interdisciplinary aquatic science is needed to address both 1) the nature of such ecosystem services and functions, 2) the stresses on these aquatic systems, and 3) appropriate management strategies to reduce or eliminate such stresses. Climate change is also an increasing dominating factor inducing gradual long-term shifts impacting the health of these aquatic systems – so again we need to understand such shifts and their effects.
Keywords: wetland; lakes; watersheds; ecosystem services; aquatic science; stresses; management; climate change
Session Chair
Dr. Richard Smardon, SUNY/ESF
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