2018 Water and Environment Security Conference

This conference served as a platform for the formal presentation of the newly established UNESCO Sustainable Water Security Chair at Florida International University. The event aims to bring together international experts on water and environment in an effort to address regional, national and global water and environmental security issues. The conference will highlight global challenges and opportunities, including special sessions dedicated to Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.

Group photo of conference attendees

Day 1

Opening Session

  • Giuseppe Arduino - Chief of Eco-hydrology, Water Quality and Water Education, UNESCO International Hydrological Programme
  • Anne Dix - Director, American Schools and Hospitals Abroad, USAID
  • Andres Gil - Vice President for Research, FIU
  • Michael Heithaus - Professor and Dean of the College of Arts, Sciences & Education, FIU
  • Cristiano Musillo - Consul General, Italian Consulate in Miami
  • Victor Pochat - President, Argentine Institute of Water Resources

Plenary Session: Water and Environmental International Issues

  • Giuseppe Arduino - Chief of Eco-hydrology, Water Quality and Water Education, UNESCO International Hydrological Programme
  • Leonard Berry - Co-founder, Coastal Risk Consulting
  • Max Campos - Senior Water Specialist, Chief Integrated Water Resources Management, Department of Sustainable Development, Organization of American States
  • Todd Crowl - Director, Institute of Environment, FIU
  • William Cunningham - USGS Director, Earth System Processes Division, Chairman of the US National Committee for the UNESCO IHP
  • Maria del Pilar Cornejo de Grunauer - Dean, Faculty of Marine Engineering, Biological and Oceanic Sciences and Natural Resources, and Director of the Pacific International Center for Disaster Risk Reduction, Polytechnic University ESPOL
  • Shlomi Dinar - Associate Dean, Graduate Studies & Innovation, Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs, Florida International University
  • Maria C. Donoso - UNESCO Chair-holder on Sustainable Water Security; Associate Professor, FIU
  • Basil Fernandez - Managing Director, Water Resources Authority, Jamaica
  • Leonel Lagos - Director of Research, Applied Research Center, Florida International University
  • William Logan - Director, International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM)
  • Jayantha T. Obeysekera - Director of the Sea Level Solutions Center, FIU
  • Roberto Olivares - President of the Latin America Network of Water Basin Organisms (LANBO)
  • Karen Nortje - Environmental Anthropologist, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa

Day 2

Plenary Session: Regional Water and Environmental Challenges and Opportunities

  • Jeffrey Andrews - Chief, Environmental Security, Engineer Branch, US Africa Command (USAFRICOM)
  • Lakhdar Boukerrou - Associate Scholar/Scientist/Engineer, FIU
  • Christine Caly-Sanchez - Associate Director, Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excellence, Florida International University
  • Silvio Carrasco - Director, Water Unit, Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM)
  • Marius Claassen - Group Leader, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Nile River Basin
  • Evens Emmanuel - Vice-Rector for Research, Quisqueya University, Haiti
  • Brian Fonseca - Director, Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy, Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, Florida International University
  • William Logan - Director, International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM)
  • Mantha Mehallis - Professor, Florida Atlantic University
  • Fernando Nardi - Director, Water Resources Research Documentation Centre (WARREDOC), Università per Stranieri di Perugia, Italy
  • Rita Teutonico- Associate Dean of Research and Associate Director of Education and Training for CREST CAChE, FIU
  • Swathi Veeravalli - Strategic Integration Officer, Engineer Research and Development, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

Learn More

Visit the conference's FIU program supporters, the Institute of Environment International Program and the FIU-UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Water Security.