Regional Hybrid Training Workshop on
“Groundwater governance: lessons learned, challenges and solutions”
April 23-24, 2024, Tehran, Iran
Click on the bellow link to join the workshop:
https://unesco.adobeonline.ir/groundwater
- Introduction
Contributing more than 50% in providing water for economic, social, and cultural processes, groundwater resources are highly valuable in Iran, However, climate change, prolonged droughts, and excessive overexploitation have threatened the sustainability of these strategic resources. Therefore, a paradigm shift towards conservation and optimal use of groundwater resources are vital. Sustainability of groundwater for different purposes is associated to its system of governance and management. The science of groundwater governance is an emergent knowledge which can be enhanced through sharing experiences and dialogue among practitioners from different regions and countries.
Aiming in providing a learning environment to share knowledge and experiences in the field of groundwater governance, the Regional Centre on Urban Water Management- Tehran (RCUWM) under the auspices of UNESCO is planning to organize a workshop entitled “Groundwater Governance: Lessons Learned, Challenges, and Solutions” in line with its mandate and the project proposals approved in the 13th of Governing Board Meeting held in Tehran, February 2023.
The main objectives of the workshop would be to develop knowledge and come up with innovative options to help improve groundwater governance specifically in the local scale. The lessons and experiences shared in such workshops, focusing on problem driven solutions, are hoped to bring significant effects on sustaining the limited groundwater resources. The workshop main intention would be to seek for applied experiences and practical case studies on effective governance and improved conditions of groundwater resources. In this regard, the main theme of the workshop is the Local Problem-Driven Groundwater Governance adapted from different case studies.
- Workshop Topics
The presentations are expected to bring and share practical experiences through different local level case studies in line (but not limited) to the following topics:
- Mainstream Groundwater Governance Frameworks
- Equitable Access to Groundwater Data and Information
- New Interactive Technologies for Monitoring and Controlling Groundwater Resources
- Involvement of Local Stakeholders in Decision-making Processes
- Inter-sectorial collaboration and Policy Coherence
- Experiences and Lessons Learned, Challenges and Solutions
- Workshop Objectives
- Enhancing knowledge and sharing practical innovative problem-driven experiences through different local level case studies to help improve groundwater governance
- Improving scientific and technical knowledge of stakeholders and the capacities of policy building and decision making in order to operationalize protective and collaborative groundwater resources
- Making practitioners capable to deal with emergent groundwater challenges effectively
- Date and Venue
The workshop is planned to be held in Tehran, Iran on 23th and 24th of April 2024. The event will be also virtually accessible via a link to a platform announced one week prior to the event.
The presentations will be accepted in PowerPoint format. And the final decision will be announced just after receiving the file.
- Audiences and Participants
The audiences of the workshop will include:
- 20 Officers or senior experts of the member states of the governing board of RCUWM
- 30 Iranian practitioners in relevant fields of the workshop
- 30 Governmental, officers and decision makers in the field of groundwater management
- Official Language
The official language of the workshop will be English and Persian. Simultaneous translation would be also provided.
- Financial Support
The Regional Centre on Urban Water Management will provide all domestic expenses (including accommodation, local transportation, meals and workshop registration fee) for the participants of the workshop whose contributions have been accepted to be orally presented.
- Workshop Program
The tentative program of the event along with the event’s poster will be disseminated in due time.
- Outcome
It is expected that the event would bring fruitful inputs to help improve the capacities of policy building and decision making in order to sustain/restore groundwater resources and make practitioners capable to deal with groundwater challenges effectively.
