EERH seminar - Rationing And Length: The Impact Of Water Supply Interruptions On Residential Users

Marian García-Valiñas, INRA-LERNA, Toulouse  

Date and Time: Tuesday 27 October, 4pm-5:30pm

Venue: Seminar Room 2, Crawford School

EU Water Framework Directive leads to manage water in an efficient way. Water scarcity originates frequently the need for rationing, and various methods, including supply interruptions, can be used. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of those methods in reducing residential water consumption. We estimate a demand function segmented into two components in order to capture the proportion of water consumed by households under different supply cut schemes. We find that the reduction in consumption per hour of cut decreases with the length of the daily interruption. Thus, it is better to implement many short cuts than a few long cuts in order to achieve the targeted reduction in consumption, minimizing the total time of interruption. Additionally, we show the relative effectiveness of prices to control water demand.

This seminar is sponsored by the Environmental Economics Research Hub.
More details >>

National Water Week ANU Seminar Day – Call for presentation

Wednesday 21 October 2009, 9am – 5pm

In response to the National Water Week on 18-24 October 2009, the College of Physical Sciences and Research School of Earth Sciences presents the National Water Week ANU Seminar Day. The theme of the seminar is “Securing Our Water Future”. We now invite our ANU students and ANU researchers from all fields to give a short presentation (15 min) about their research on water related topics. A price will be awarded to the best presenter.  

More information [here] and enquiries: Jenna Roberts, email: jenna.roberts@anu.edu.au

Water Diary 09 – call for volunteers

This year, the Water Diary will again be run during National Water Week, Oct 18 – 24.  The diaries are delivered to the households, with a stamped, addressed envelope to facilitate its return when complete. They now call for volunteers to participate in the water diary 09. The research will be valuable to understand the household water use in Canberra.

For more information [click here] and register as volunteer, contact Kate Harriden, waterdiary@hotmail.com

Water Diary 2008 Report

Skukuza communiqué – 10 September 2009

The Skukuza 2009 workshop, co-sponsored by the ANU Water Initiative, has issued this summary communique on the key conclusions reached by the scientists who gathered at Goolwa South Australia. A special edition of Marine and Freshwater Research is due to be published in 2010 based on the workshop's papers and deliberations.

Background of Skukuza 2009 <<here>>

Skukuza communiqué 2009  <<here>>

Media coverage: ABC News (AM) <<here>> ; ABC News (PM) <<here>>

Fenner School Seminar Series “Watershed management and climate warming in the Sierra Nevada”

Speaker: David Rheinheimer, PhD Scholar, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Center for Watershed Sciences, University of California, Davis

Thursday 17th Sept 2009
1:00 - 2:00pm Forestry Lecture Theatre
Forestry building no. 48

Details: http://fennerschool.anu.edu.au/news_events/seminars/2009/rheinheimer_sept2009.php

David is undertaking a PhD on operating hydropower systems for better freshwater ecosystem management in the Sierra Nevada mountains, in the face of climate change and increasing demands for both water and power, using systems analysis methods.

Public meeting “"Water allocation and climate change: the future of the world's rivers"

Wednesday 9 September 7.30 to 9.30pm

Goolwa Council Chambers Caddell St Goolwa

The Skukuza 2009 Meeting on "Management of environmental flows within a changing climate" is being held in Goolwa from 7-11 September. As part of the meeting there will be the opportunity for the public to hear from experts on the changes underway in rivers from around the world, as well as the River Murray, and consider the solutions being proposed to sustain people and nature. Many of the presenters will emphasize that our societies know enough now to take action to improve the health of our rivers, and that by sharing knowledge from different parts of the world we can find ways to better conserve freshwater habitats.

The evening will include presentations on managing rivers in Australia, South Africa, Britain and California in the face of climate change.  Speakers include Prof Richard Kingsford of the University of NSW, Dr Harry Biggs, South African National Parks, Trevor Bishop, Environment Agency of England and Wales and David Rheinheimer, University of California, USA.  Prof Max Finlayson, Charles Sturt University and Ramsar Scientific and Technical Review Panel, will outline the role of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and Mayor Kim McHugh will discuss the future of the lower lakes and Coorong.  This will be followed by time for questions and discussion.

You will need to "book" for the evening as seating is limited to 70 people.

Please rsvp to Dr Michael Geddes at mike.geddes@adelaide.edu.au as soon as you can.

If interest exceeds our capacity, bookings are first in first placed.

Public Lecture: Tipaimukh dam: the Socio-economic and environmental impact

Friday 3rd July, 2009, 3.30 PM, Lecture Theatre, Manning Clark Centre T5, Union Court, The Australian National University

ANU-Bangladeshi Students invite you to the public lecture concerning India’s planned Tipaimukh Dam plan on the river Barak: "The data, the denial and the future? Let there be light! Tipaimukh dam: the Socio-economic and environmental impact."

Speaker panel:

• Mr. Jamie Pittock, Fenner School of Environment & Society and the ANU Water Initiative
• Dr. Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, Resource Management in Asia-Pacific Program, ANU
• Dr Nargis Akhter Banu, Sydney based environmental planner
• Mr. Ekram Chowdhury, Sydney based I.T. specialist and human right activist.

[More information], Enquiries: Shamaruh Mirza on 0433550699

Skukuza 2009 “Management of environmental flows within a changing climate” Workshop

7-11 September, Goolwa, South Australia

The ANU Water Initiative is co-sponsoring the 2009 workshop of the Skukuza Freshwater Group, a biennial gathering of experts from academia, governments and environmental organizations to discuss a key emerging issue in freshwater conservation.

Participation is by invitation only. More information: Jamie Pittock – Jamie.pittock@anu.edu.au

[More Information]

ANU Water Diary Workhop

Water Diaries: Exploring the who, where and how much a household water use
2-5 pm, Friday 24 April 2009, Ross Hohnen Room, Chancellery, ANU
[More Information]

ANU Water Conference: Drought – Past and Future

Hedley Bull Centre Lecture Theatre, ANU, 14th – 15th November 2008

Capital-WATER launch today

The Capital-WATER, which is an equal partnership between the Australian National University and the University of Canberra, is launched today
View Gallery

• Program
• Outline of speakers and topics

BOM National Water Information Seminar – Canberra

The Bureau of Meteorology is hosting the National Water Information Seminar across all capital cities between September and November 2009. The seminars will feature presentations by senior Bureau and State representatives highlighting progress toward achieving the Bureau’s water information mission to ensure Australia is better equipped to manage water scarcity, water quality and flood risk through ready access to high quality water information at the national level. During the seminar we will also describe the water information products the Bureau plans to delivery over the next 6-18 months.

The Canberra seminar is held on Thursday, 15 October 2009 between 9.00am and 3:15pm in the civic centre. Participation is free and you will need to register before Thursday, 8 October 2009.  We hope you and your colleagues can attend the seminar. For more information please send an email to waterinfo@bom.gov.au

ESF-COST Conference on “Complex Systems and Changes - Darwin and Evolution: Nature-Culture Interfaces”

15-20 September 2009 - Hotel Eden Roc, Sant Feliu de Guixols, Spain

FINAL CALL FOR APPLICATIONS, Closing date: 10 July

Chairs: Roland Pochet - Université Libre de Bruxelles, BE & Alain Peyraube - CNRS/EHESS, FR

Scope: The conference will gather speakers from two different intellectual worlds: 'hard' and 'soft' sciences, i.e. biological sciences, humanities and social sciences and will aim to:

• a) Give a summary of the success of using a Darwinist approach within different disciplines;
• b) Highlight insights from other disciplines in understanding biological evolution;
• c) Explore the potential for developing hybrid domains.

It will be organised around the following four basic Darwinian principles:

• Variation and diversity (variations among individuals are the driver of evolution);
• Abundance (more offspring (progeny) are produced than would reach adulthood);
• Selection (the one best adapted to his environment has more chance of survival);
• Reproduction and transfer (organisms reproduce and pass on beneficial traits (inheritance)

Grants: available for young researchers to cover the conference fee and travel costs.
Grant requests should be made by ticking appropriate field(s) in the paragraph "Grant application" of the application form.

[More information], Program and application form available online at: www.esf.org/conferences/09309

Contact: Ms. Zuzana Vercinska, Conference Officer (zvercinska@esf.org)

17th Annual Conference of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists

24-27 June 2009, Amsterdam, The Netherlands  

Deadline for early registrations: 1st May 2009

We would like to remind you that the deadline for registration at an early fee for the 17th EAERE Annual Conference 2009 that will take place at the VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from 24 June – 27 June, 2009, is 1st May, 2009.

EAERE 2009 will have:
Kirk Hamilton, Billy Pizer, Scott Taylor and Rick van der Ploeg as Keynote speakers, a Preconference on Water Economics on 24 June, 2009, registration deadline 1st May, 2009, Special sessions with invited speakers on different topics, a Poster Session, and a Job market again.
 
Full details can be found on the following web site: www.eaere2009.org.

5th World Water Forum - Bridging Divides for Water

16-22 March 2009, Istanbui, Turkey

The World Water Forum is the main water-related event in the world, aimed at putting water firmly on the international agenda. A stepping stone towards global collaboration on water problems, the Forum offers the water community and policy-and-decision-makers from all over the world the unique opportunity to come together to create links, debate and attempts to find solutions to achieve water security. It is organised every three year by the World Water Council, in collaboration with the host country.

Daily session report and newsletter.

ESWG Summer School on "Sustainable Use of Water in Agriculture"

Indicators and trends for water resources conservation Venezia, Italy, 5-9 October 2009 Isola di San Servolo - Venice International University
Sessions:

• Hydrological (quantity and quality of the resource) and socio-economical aspects focused on managing strategies for water resources conservation, with special emphasis to coastal regions
• Hydrological approaches to water saving and quality protection, especially against nutrients and pesticides
• Present engineering methods used to improve water efficiency and case studies
• Economical evaluation of water-related issues in agriculture - The framework of European directives

Application and details: http://eswg.watercivilizations.org ; Deadline for applications: 30 April 2009

Gender and Water Summer Institute for South and East Asia  

The Gender and Water Alliance, together with the Asian Institute of Technology are organising the first Gender and Water Summer Institute (GWSI). This 2 weeks course will take place from 31 May till 13 June 2009 at the International Conference Centre of AIT, Bangkok, Thailand.
More information: GWA Website, Brochure, Application Form

Circle of Blue - Water News & Call for Interns  

- Keep up-to-date with the latest water news

- Circle of Blue, the journalism and science project reporting the global freshwater crisis, seeks one or more interns for summer 2008.
More information

Job vacancy - Researcher in Water Services Regulation                              

Dundee UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science, University of Dundee, Scotland

Closing date: 30 September 2008
More details

Mekong River Commission – Water Expert Vacancies

There are 3 positions consultancy announcement

1. Training Expert - IWRM (2 working months)

2. Training Expert - Scenario-based Water Resources Planning (1 working month)

3. Training Expert - Water Governance (1 working month)

Details and Terms Of Reference

Seminar: Inclusion and Vulnerability in the water & sanitation sector

Friday, August 22, 2008, Canberra

ACT AWA Student prize for Undergraduates, Post Graduate and Young Water Professionals
Nominations should be made by 1 September and papers will be accepted until approximately 21 September 2008
[More Information]

International Conference on Water Resources Policy in South Asia
December 18-20, 2008, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  Second Announcement and Call for Papers, download details here

Marie Curie Fellowships - Applications Welcome!

For more information, visit website at http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/people/home_en.html or CMCC website at www.cmcc.it . Next deadline is 19 August 2008!

11th International Riversymposium: A Future of Extremes < Registrations Now Open! >

  (Brisbane, Australia, 1-4 September 2008) 

Brochure is available and registration online at www.riversymposium.com.

For more information visit: http://www.unece.org/env/water/meetings/monitoring_workshop.htm

6 November 2008 at Institution of Civil Engineering, Central London

Organised by Bruce Lankford, University of East Anglia

[Program details]

For further information see also these website: http://www.icid.org.uk/ ;  www.uea.ac.uk/dev/lankford.

The winner receives $10,000.  Entries CLOSE 2 May 2008.