Water worries: What is the state of our most valuable resource? (UBC Dialogues: Vancouver)

We often hear about the possibility of future water wars as populations can’t survive without adequate and safe supplies of fresh water. In recent years, the effects of climate change have led to a global redistribution of water reserves, and agricultural and industrial uses are further straining our supplies of clean fresh water. California is in the midst of a devastating drought and in recent months areas of British Columbia have been hit by drought-like conditions. What steps do we need to take to protect the quality and quantity of our water supplies for decades to come? What lengths will governments go to in order to secure fresh water sources? Who “owns” the planet’s water and how can we ensure there’s enough to go around?

Moderator

Johanna Wagstaffe – CBC Meteorologist

Panelists

Margaret Catley-Carlson, BA’66, LLD’94 – Vice Chair, Canadian Water Network
Leila Harris – Associate Professor at IRES Institute on Resources Environment and Sustainability and Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice; Co-Director of the Program on Water Governance
Simon Donner – Associate Professor, Department of Geography
Damien Gillis, BA’02 – Documentary Filmmaker and co-founder of the online publication “The Common Sense Canadian.”

This event took place October 7, 2015, at The Fairmont Waterfront in downtown Vancouver.