Upcoming Event: UN Water Conference March 22-24th, 2023


Climate Resilience: Addressing Drought and Flood at the Bronx Community College-CUNY


Thursday, March 23rd, 2023

2:45pm – 6:30pm

This 2023 UN Water Conference Side Event at Bronx Community College of City University of New York will feature a key address by Dr. Rajendra Singh, “the Waterman of India.” The event is being organized by International Association of Advanced Materials, People’s World Commission on Drought and Flood, and Bronx Community College/City University of New York.

The Side Event will contribute to the thematic interactive dialogues ID 3: Water for Climate, Resilience and Environment: Source to sea, Biodiversity, Climate, Resilience and DRR (SDGs 6.5, 6.6, 7, 11, 5, 13,14,15). This side event in connection with the UN 2023 Water Conference strives to assimilates the learning from different disciplines that cover various facets of water security. The event also aims to discuss solutions that can be implemented in a coordinated and comprehensive manner to mitigate the effects of drought and flood. To discuss some important solutions like water management, flood protection, rainwater harvesting, climate-resilient agriculture, forest management, early warning system and climate adaptation.

The purpose of this side event is to bring together experts and practitioners from various fields to discuss the latest strategies and approaches for managing the complex challenges of drought and floods. The event will provide a platform for sharing experiences, knowledge and best practices in dealing with these natural hazards and exploring ways to increase resilience and reduce vulnerability. The specific issues and themes that will be addressed include:

  • Understanding the causes and impacts of drought and floods and their relationship with climate change
  • Identifying and assessing the risks of drought and floods at different scales
  • Developing early warning systems and emergency response plans
  • Enhancing water management and conservation strategies
  • Promoting integrated and holistic approaches to drought and flood management
  • Building community resilience and support for disaster-affected communities
  • Exploring the potential of new technologies and innovations for drought and flood management
  • Identifying gaps in current knowledge and research and discussing future research priorities.

The event will provide a unique opportunity for participants to learn from experts, exchange ideas and network with other professionals in the field. It will also contribute to the advancement of knowledge and best practices in dealing with drought and floods and support the implementation of sustainable and effective drought and flood management policies and programs.


Meeting Urban Stormwater and Coastal Resiliency Challenges via Cross-Sectoral and City to City Collaborations at Brooklyn College’s Center for Worker Education


Friday, March 24th, 2023

8:30am – 1:30pm

Urban flooding poses risks to human health and safety, causes extensive property damage, exposes vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure and leads to the degradation of adjacent waters. In coastal cities the risks are compounded when chronic and extreme rainfall coincides with storm surges and high tides. With projected increased frequency of extreme precipitation and storm events associated with climate change, these problems will become even more acute for coastal cities and their surrounding areas. Responding to this myriad of challenges will require dynamic planning with holistic and integrated water management (IWM) approaches that span jurisdictional and geographical boundaries and that provide equitable solutions to meet both community and environmental needs. IWM encompasses a broad array of context-dependent practices which will require diverse, cross-sectoral expertise from and between academic, public and private sectors to meet its full potential. While there is much engagement between municipal and private sectors in the implementation of IWM approaches, collaboration with academic institutions is also critically important for introducing innovation and for training a well-equipped workforce to meet current and future challenges. As many cities (national and international) explore IWM solutions and engage in these cross-sectoral collaborations, there is much to be gained from city-to-city information exchange about successes, challenges, and dynamic planning approaches. At this highly interactive half-day symposium, we will bring together national and international experts from academic, public and private sectors who are currently engaged in cross-sectoral IWM approaches for urban stormwater and coastal resiliency to share their experiences, lessons learned in these endeavors and to discuss plans for meeting future challenges. The symposium is aligned with Theme 4 (Water for Cooperation) and will be comprised of both expert panels and breakout sessions for audience engagement.


Learn more about the UN Water Conference!