2008 Sigma Xi Annual Meeting and Student Research Conference

H₂0₀₈ Panel

November 20-23, 2008
Marriott Renaissance Hotel
Washington, D.C.

The Global Water Crisis - A panel of four international experts on water science and policy will address the critical issues that foretell the future of the planet. Following the panel discussion, participants will divide into five break-out groups, each facilitated by one of the panelists/moderator. Re-convening, the groups will report on their conversations.

Moderator: Dr. Michael Crosby, Executive Director, National Science Board and Interim Vice chancellor for Research, University of Hawaii. The National Science Board sets policies for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and serves as an independent advisory body to the President and Congress on science and engineering research and education.

Prior to becoming executive director of the National Science Board in 2003, Crobsy held several positions with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ranging from chief scientist for sanctuaries and reserves to senior advisor for international science policy. Crosby also served as senior science advisor for marine and coastal ecosystems at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and held several science positions with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Cancer Institute, in addition to faculty positions at several universities.

Panelists

Global Freshwater Resources: Soft-Path Solutions for the 21st Century
Peter H. Gleick, Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security

The soft path seeks to improve the overall productivity of water use and deliver water services matched to the needs of end users, rather than seeking sources of new supply.

Not a moment too soon, the world is awakening to the need to rethink fundamentally the way freshwater resources are distributed, managed and used. In an era of technological breakthroughs and the wonders of the information revolution, millions die each year from preventable water-related diseases, and hundreds of millions more suffer from debilitating illnesses.

Twentieth-century water policies relied on the construction of massive infrastructure in the form of dams, aqueducts, pipelines, and complex centralized treatment plants to meet human demands. These facilities brought tremendous benefits to billions of people, but they also had serious and often unanticipated social, economical, and ecological costs. Many unsolved water problems remain, and past approaches no longer seem sufficient. A transition is under way to a "soft path" that complements centralized physical infrastructure with lower cost community-scale systems, decentralized and open decision-making, water markets and equitable pricing, application of efficient technology, and environmental protection.

Water: At the crossroads of peace and science
András Szöllösi-Nagy, Deputy Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO, France

Water is a major challenge for the twenty-first century but presents itself as well as a catalyst for peace. It is widely recognized that the management of water, as one of the most valuable resources on this planet, is forming a major challenge for the twenty-first century and beyond.

It is important to outline why water has become such a worldwide concern. Human beings have been changing the water system throughout history in a globally-significant way without adequate knowledge of the system, and thus without an adequate response to that change.

Global change encompasses more than the phenomena traditionally associated with climate change such as rising temperatures, increasing nitrogen flux, and a growing loss of biodiversity: it also implies social dimensions. Of all water resources, 97.5% are marine resources, oceans and seas, and only 2.5% is freshwater. Considering that 80% of that freshwater consists of icecaps and permafrost and that only the major part of the remaining 20% is groundwater, only 0.25% of the world's water resources is available for immediate consumption. Today 2.4 billion people have no access to drinkable water. Moreover, freshwater resources are not equally distributed. Half of humanity lives in cities where urban conflicts on water are looming. Raising awareness and investing in education and capacity building are priorities in addressing future water crises.

Ethos Water is sold in stores across North America. The elegant bottle features a map of the world and sales of the water benefit those who are most in need of water in developing countries.

Ethos was founded by Peter Thum in 2002. Thum was profoundly affected by seeing the water crisis in Africa firsthand. His goal then became to build a business that would personally engage Western consumers in the process of addressing of the clean drinking water in developing countries.

His plan was that for every bottle sold, Ethos would donate part of the profit to clean-water initiatives in developing countries such as Honduras and Kenya. Initially, investors turned him down but he persisted and three years later, in 2005, Starbucks acquired the Ethos brand.

Since its inception, Ethos has made grants of more than $6 million that will help an estimated 420,000 people through access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. By 2010, Ethos plans to give at least $10 million to nonprofits that fund such programs.

The scope and scale of our planet's water challenges can only be adequately addressed through new partnerships between business, government and civil society argues Tom Mattia, who helped forge these partnerships at The Coca-Cola Company. Mattia will share some "lessons learned" and advocate for the next step in the evolution of water partnerships.

In the first phase, businesses realized that they can only grow sustainably if the communities they serve are sustainable themselves. This business realization, coupled with new consumer expectations, opened the door for progressive businesses to seek new partnerships to build sustainable communities.

In the second phase, civil society organizations and businesses formed partnerships, such as Coca-Cola's water partnership with the WWF. As NGOs and businesses started to work together, each institution brought a skepticism and self-interest to these early relationships. In addition to partnerships with NGOs, the second phase includes new partnerships between businesses and intergovernmental organizations, including Coca-Cola's work with the U.N. Global Compact and the CEO Water Mandate.

Mattia believes more progress needs to be made on third phase of the evolution - bringing governments together with business and civil society. Mattia notes that this phase, perhaps the most important, is also the most difficult as many areas that need the most help are failed states. Mattia argues that business and civil society stand ready to provide governments with badly-needed resources and expertise, but governments must be willing to engage. Specifically, governments -- from the federal to municipal levels -- must make water a top priority, identify the local needs, and provide stability and security on the ground.

Mattia is optimistic that the progress that's been made between business and civil society can have an even more significant impact when governments join as partners.