We are pleased to welcome you to the 7^th International Electronic Conference on Water Sciences (ECWS-7), which will be held online, promoted by the open-access MDPI journal Water (ISSN 2073-4441; IF 3.530).

In recent years, six International Electronic Conferences on Water Sciences (ECWS-1, ECWS-2, ECW-3, ECWS-4, ECWS-5 and ECWS-6) have addressed a variety of important water-related issues. A seventh conference is focusing on adaptive water resources’ management, policies and governance to tackle the challenges brought about by the ongoing and dramatic climatic, environmental and societal changes. The ECWS-7 conference will be a forum to explore and discuss the following key issues: adaptive water resources management; enhancement of water security for humans, their economic activities and the environment; and the formulation of new governance structures for water resources’ management and development. The conference intends to assist in the formulation of innovative methodologies and produce recommendations for best practices and the building of institutions that can meet these recommendations.

The ECWS-7 invites researchers from academia, as well as water practitioners, to contribute original findings, novel ideas, scientific concepts and new technologies and experiences to deal with water resources management, policies and governance, with a special focus on sustainability, resilience, uncertainty, risk and adaptation, making reference to the following topics:

• Integrated water resources’ management, policies and governance;
• Systems modelling of global change to inform future development paths;
• Hydrological response under climate variability and change;
• Hydro-economic modeling;
• Informing water policy through quantitative models;
• Finding a balance between water availability and environmental protection;
• Policies to enable climate change adaptation and the contribution of stakeholders to adaptive water resources' management;
• Instruments to assess environmental impacts and climate change effects (footprints, nexus approach, impact and risk assessment, life cycle assessment, etc.);
• Sustainable management of agricultural water and land resources;
• The urban water cycle and its adaptation to climate change;
• Advanced technologies to facilitate industrial and municipal wastewater reuse;
• Hydrological extremes under a changing climate;
• Water disasters: approaches to understanding vulnerable landscapes.

Within the framework of the ECWS-7, 3–4 webinars will be organized, inviting well-known speakers. The topics of the webinars and the speakers will be announced later.

The conference will be a solely online event, which facilitates participation from all over the world with no concerns regarding travel and related expenditures. An electronic conference provides a platform for rapid and direct exchanges on the latest research findings and novel ideas. Participation, as well as “attendance” to this online conference and the accompanying webinars, is free of charge.

Accepted papers will be published in the proceedings of the conference and selected papers will be published in the Special Issue of the Water journal: Adaptive Water Resources Management in an Era of Changing Climatic, Environmental and Social Conditions.

We hope that the water scientific community will share our enthusiasm and help make this 7^th edition of ECWS a success, allowing for many more to come in the future.

The Members of the ECWS-7 Conference Committee

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