Kaveh Madani - Water Bankruptcy in the Homeland

Summary: Frequent droughts coupled with over-abstraction of surface and groundwater through a large network of hydraulic infrastructure and deep wells have escalated Iran’s water situation to a critical level. This is evidenced by drying lakes, rivers and wetlands, declining groundwater levels, land subsidence, water quality degradation, soil erosion, desertification, and more frequent dust storms.
In this seminar, Dr. Kaveh Madani overviews the major drivers of Iran’s water problems. He argues that Iran is suffering from a socio-economic drought—i.e. “water bankruptcy,” where water demand exceeds the natural water supply significantly. Dr. Madani believes that the current structure of the water governance system and the food-dependence paranoia in Iran leaves minimal hope for a meaningful reform that can address Iran’s water problems in a timely manner. 

Dr. Kaveh Madani, is an environmental scientist, educator, and activist, working on complex human-natural systems at the interface of science, policy, and society. He is currently a Rice Senior Fellow at the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, affiliated with the Yale Program in Iranian Studies and the Department of Political Science. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Centre for Environmental Policy (CEP) of Imperial College London. He has previously served as the Deputy Vice President of Iran in his position as the Deputy Head of Iran’s Department of Environment. He has also served as the Vice President of the UN Environment Assembly Bureau and Chief of Iran’s Department of Environment’s International Affairs and Conventions Center. He held different strategic roles during his public service and led Iran’s delegation in different major intergovernmental meetings and negotiations. Dr. Madani has received several awards and recognitions for his fundamental research contributions, teaching innovations, as well as outreach and humanitarian activities. More information about Kaveh Madani can be found on Yale University, Imperial College or Wikipedia.


Additional References:

Interview with Amanpour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PplIO6-m10E

TEDx talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSL_xx2Qnyc

ICUM talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB_qehRm1mQ

Agenda
6:00 pm - 6:45 pm - Dinner and Networking (Dinner will not be served after 6:45pm) 
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm - Main presentation and Q&A
8:30 pm - 8:45 pm - Break
8:45 pm - 9:30 pm - Announcements and Short Presentation