Aqua Publica Europea, the European Association of Public Water Operators, AEOPAS, the Spanish association of public water operators, and EMASESA, the Spanish public water operator of the city of Seville, have the pleasure to invite you to our public event 

WATER SCARCITY AND DROUGHT: from crisis management to long-term adaptation.

The event will take place in person at EMASESA's headquarters (C. Escuelas Pías, 1, 41003 Sevilla, Spain) and online, via Aqua Publica's Youtube channel.

While a significant part of the Mediterranean basin is currently affected by a severe drought, water scarcity is also a growing concern in other parts of our continent, including in northern countries. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) leaves little doubt that extreme weather events – floods and drought – will only increase in the future decades, and no region of Europe will be exempted. Our strategies and tools to manage water scarcity need to improve and become part of the operational planning of all actors involved in water resources management. Such strategies and tools concern both the capacity to respond to acute droughts (crisis management) and longer-term approaches that increase territories’ resilience.

While the role and responsibilities of public water utilities will be a focus of the debate, the seminar also aims to explore the governance conditions for sustainable use of water resources in the long-term, thanks to the contribution of representatives from civil society, public authorities and business.

Agenda and speakers

11:00    Welcome address – Antonio Muñoz Martínez, Mayor of Sevilla – President of EMASESA

11:10    Opening remarks – Bernard Van Nuffel, President of Aqua Publica Europea – Deputy Mayor for the environment of Jette (Brussels Region)

11:20   Setting the scene: What political change to address climate change -  Prof Cristina Monge, University of Zaragoza

11:40   Drought and water scarcity: initiatives at EU level - Dagmar Behrendt Kaljarikova, European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment -  Sustainable freshwater management

12:00  Session I: Drought management plans to handle competing needs – the role of water operators

• Jesús Oliden, Director , Aguas de Cádiz (Spain)
• Laurence Bovy, Chief Executive Officer, VIVAQUA (Belgium)
• Miguel Lemos Rodrigues, President, Aguas de Gaia (Portugal)
  • Moderated by Luis Babiano, AEOPAS

13:00 Lunch break

14:00 Session II: Long-term adaptive approaches to water scarcity: what kind of governance?

• Jaime Palop, General Manager, EMASESA
• Rafael Seiz, WWF Spain
• Jesús Vargas, Citizens’ drought observatory, University of Sevilla (Spain) 
• Maria Berglund, Directorate for Environment – Government of North Rhine-Westphalia
  • Moderated by Nuria Hernández-Mora, Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua

15:00 Closing remarks - Jaime Morell, Secretary-General of AEOPAS