The IWA-IDB Innovation Conference takes place from Monday 30 September until Thursday 03 October at the premises of ESPOL University in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Throughout these four days, a wide variety of keynote presentations, technical sessions, social activities and technical visits are scheduled. An overview of these activities is provided on this page, while more specific information can be found be clicking the links or downloading the preliminary conference program.
|
|
Sunday 29 September |
|
|
|
Monday 30 September |
|
08h30: Start of conference day 1 with keynote presentations of:
Sergio Campos "Water and Sanitation in Latin America" It falls in our generation to achieve universal access to water and sanitation as our generation will be judged on whether it was able to reach the 6th Sustainable Development Goal. Only with effective innovations we will be able to shorten times, limit costs and scale up solutions that will allow this. The big challenge is the need for water and sanitation utilities in a highly urbanized region to "embrace innovation". Our goal (WSA / IDB) is to help the utilities with creating the enabling conditions and “systematize” the incorporation of innovations and innovative practices. Presentation |
Sudhir Murthy "Innovation in the Water Sector" Innovation happens on a daily basis and all around the world, but require global networks for their dispersion. Too often, innovative ideas are born do tackle specific problems without reaching other parties struggling with the same issue. Connecting water industries, utilities, researchers and professionals on a global scale gradually reduces this hurdle. Now, the ultimate goal is to transcend this barrier and turn it into a part of history. Presentation |
Will Sarni "Emerging Technologies for Water Management" The World Economic Forum has framed the opportunity for digital transformation in water and other sectors as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). 4IR in water is now enabling improved access to safe drinking water and water for other uses including industrial needs and ecosystem management. Digital technologies such as; the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, remote sensing and augmented reality/virtual reality are scaling in the water utility, industrial and public sectors. The adoption of these technologies are also enabling the advancement of off-grid water supply and localized treatment solutions Presentation |
Peter Goethals "Technology-augmented River Basins" Technologies such as weirs for flood control, hydropower dams for energy production, drinking water (and wastewater) treatment systems and irrigation equipment are widely used to guarantee the needed water, food and energy supplies, and avoid disease outbreaks. Emerging technologies such as innovative sensors, IoT, remote sensing and robotics can however lead to more reliable solutions. Nevertheless, one needs to start from the ecological functioning of river basins to efficiently implement these technologies as part of the sustainable development of river basins. This presentation will consequently merge recent insights from ecology and technology. Presentation |
10h30: Start of parallel Session 1
13h30: Start of parallel Session 2
15h30: Start of parallel Session 3
17h10: Start of parallel Session 4
|
|
Tuesday 01 October |
|
08h30: Start of conference day 2 with keynote presentations of:
Cheryl Davis "Sustainable Use of Water by Industry: How Can We Save Us from Ourselves" Industrial water use, with its huge impacts on water supply, water quality, ecosystems, and communities exists not only because of the products and services desired by consumers, but also the need of companies and individuals to make money. Balancing these drives with the urgent need to protect our water and planet will require us to become much more focused, active, imaginative, and collaborative. Utilities, government policy-makers and regulators, educators, researchers, financial institutions, non-profit organizations, industry, and the public have both the opportunity and the obligation to investigate how we can jointly protect our shared long-term interests. Presentation |
Jason Morrison "Generating Impact in the Water Sector" Over the last decade, recognition has grown that the business community can have significant, positive impact on sustainable water management. From its humble beginnings in the mid-2000s, corporate water stewardship has matured in terms of both breadth and depth. Mr. Morrison will review the evolution of water stewardship over that time period, and explore current spheres of innovation and examples of leading practice. He will also reflect on the long-term promise of water stewardship vis-à-vis the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and Global Climate Action Agenda. Presentation |
Dave Archambault "Water is a Source of Life, Not a Resource" Dave Archambault is a Senior Fellow for the First Peoples Worldwide which addresses the unique social and environmental impacts of development in indigenous communities, while preparing current and future leaders to meet the pressing social responsibility challenges facing today's businesses. Dave will discuss the importance of water to indigenous peoples and why his tribe stood up against the United States Government and Corporate Interest. Presentation |
Alexis Morgan "From a Trickle to a Flood: How Emergent Innovative Approaches Can Scale Water Stewardship" This keynote will unpack how so-called 4th industrial revolution technologies are being combined with new forms of financing to help scale up the next generation of water stewards. Building on WWF’s successes with leveraging big data, new technologies and bankable water solutions, this talk will highlight how we can scale up implementation efforts to solve our local and global water challenges. Presentation |
10h30: Start of parallel Session 1
13h30: Start of parallel Session 2
15h30: Start of parallel Session 3
17h10: Start of parallel Session 4
|
|
Wednesday 02 October |
|
08h30: Start of conference day 3 with keynote presentations of:
Petra Schneider "The Role of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Industrial Applications" The Nexus Approach goes beyond classical integrated water resource management approaches and addresses the circular use of water across industrial sectors. It offers resource efficiency approaches for different industrial sectors, particularly food and energy production. The topic will highlight how the Nexus approach is moving from a concept to realisation. Presentation |
Paula Kehoe "Sustainable Water Use by Cities: Combining Technology with Collaboration" The City of San Francisco has been very proactive in its water resource and drought planning, including diversifying its water supplies with groundwater, recycled water, onsite water recycling along with the use of advanced technology. However, sustainable municipal water use also requires collaboration—with customers, with other entities in the watersheds from which a city draws water, and even at the regional, national, and international level. Presentation |
Juan Pablo Mariluz Silva "The Certificado Azul: Peru's approach to Encouraging Sustainable Water Use" The Certificado Azul ('Blue Certificate') is a powerful tool as it recognises the State of Good Practices within a company that efficiently manages the sustainable use of water. Thereby, it combines social and environmental responsibility of the company relying on water resources within the basin. This is translated in the development of a free application procedure by the National Water Authority, with participation being completely voluntary. Presentation |
Oliver Maennicke "Young Water Professionals: Making a Difference in Global Water Management Challenges" The presentation will provide an excursion on how young water professionals impact on developing water challenges of the Anthropocene. Shining some light on major shifts in technological advancement, communication and working styles that impact on wicked problem solving in a complex and interconnected environment. Presentation |
10h30: Start of parallel Session 1
13h30: Start of parallel Session 2
15h30: IWA-IDB Action Plans
- What's next? - Presentation of the Innovation Conference's Action Plan (Presentation)
(Track-specific plans: Industry)
16h30: IWA's Closing of the Conference
- Official Start of the Ecuadorian National IWA Chapter and Young Water Professionals Organisation
16h45: IDB's Closing of the Conference
- IDB 'Ideas in Action' Awards
17h45: Closing of the Conference
- By Cheryl Davis (IWA Specialist Group Sustainability in the Water Sector, USA)
|
|
Thursday 03 October |
|
07h00: Start of Technical visit 3:
- National Aquaculture and Marine Research Center (CENAIM) (more)
08h00: Start of Technical visits 1 and 2:
09h00: Start of the Alliance for Water Stewardship Workshop:
- Provided by SGS (more)
