Conference Sub-Themes
1. Climate-Smart Water & Agriculture
Building Resilient Agricultural and Water Systems in a Changing Climate
Climate change is fundamentally altering the availability, distribution, and quality of water resources, creating significant challenges for agriculture and food security. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, recurrent droughts, floods, water scarcity, and increasing pressure on freshwater resources require innovative and sustainable approaches to water and agricultural management.
The Climate-Smart Water & Agriculture theme focuses on approaches that improve agricultural productivity while strengthening resilience to climate change and promoting efficient and sustainable use of water resources.
The theme brings together researchers, academics, policymakers, practitioners, and agricultural stakeholders to explore practical solutions for improving water-use efficiency, enhancing climate resilience, and developing sustainable agricultural systems.
Key Focus Areas
- Climate-smart agriculture and resilient farming systems
- Sustainable water management for agriculture
- Efficient irrigation and water-use efficiency
- Precision irrigation and smart irrigation technologies
- Water conservation and rainwater harvesting
- Groundwater management and sustainable aquifer use
- Drought and flood management
- Climate-resilient crops and cropping systems
- Soil and water conservation
- Agricultural water productivity
- Integrated water resources management
- Digital technologies for agriculture and water management
- Nature-based solutions for water and agriculture
- Food, water, and climate security nexus
- Smallholder farmers and climate resilience
- Sustainable agricultural policies and institutions
2. Technology & Innovation
Harnessing Innovation for Sustainable Water Management
Rapid advances in digital technologies, artificial intelligence, remote sensing, data analytics, modelling, and smart infrastructure are transforming the way water resources can be monitored, managed, and governed.
The Technology & Innovation theme explores emerging technologies and innovative approaches that can address complex water challenges and support sustainable water management in a changing climate.
The theme provides a platform for researchers, technology experts, policymakers, engineers, and practitioners to examine how technological innovation can improve water availability, quality, efficiency, resilience, and decision-making.
Key Focus Areas
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning for water management
- Smart water management systems
- Internet of Things (IoT) and sensor technologies
- Remote sensing and satellite-based water monitoring
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Big data and water resource analytics
- Hydrological and climate modelling
- Digital twins for water systems
- Smart irrigation technologies
- Water quality monitoring technologies
- Early warning and disaster management systems
- Leak detection and smart water networks
- Desalination and advanced water treatment
- Wastewater treatment and water reuse
- Water recycling and resource recovery
- Renewable energy and water systems
- Digital platforms for water governance
- Innovative financing and technology deployment
- Nature-based and technology-enabled solutions
3. Policy, Governance & Climate Adaptation
Strengthening Institutions and Communities for Water Security
Water challenges are not only environmental or technological—they are also fundamentally institutional, political, economic, and social.
Climate change, population growth, urbanization, water scarcity, and competing demands for freshwater resources require effective governance systems capable of coordinating stakeholders, developing appropriate policies, managing conflicts, and ensuring equitable access to water.
The Policy, Governance & Climate Adaptation theme examines the institutions, policies, governance frameworks, and community-based approaches required to achieve sustainable water management and strengthen resilience to climate change.
Key Focus Areas
- Water governance and institutional frameworks
- National and regional water policies
- Climate change policy and adaptation
- Integrated water resources management
- Transboundary water governance
- Water diplomacy and hydro-politics
- Water conflicts and cooperation
- Community-based water management
- Participatory water governance
- Water justice and equity
- Gender and social inclusion in water management
- Indigenous and local knowledge
- Urban water governance
- Rural water governance
- Water security and climate resilience
- Disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation
- Institutional capacity building
- Water laws and regulatory frameworks
- Public-private partnerships in water management
- Financing sustainable water systems
- Sustainable Development Goals and water governance