The Global Network of Water Museums is a flagship initiative endorsed by the Council of UNESCO-IHP (Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme)

Valuing Ancient Water Cultures

Home Activities Webinars

WAMU-NET contribution to UN-WATER Groundwater Summit

Valuing Ancient Water Cultures. An Inspiring Source of Innovations for Sustainable Groundwater Management

Paris, 6-8 December 2022

Session organizer: Global Network of Water Museums (WAMU-NET)

DOWNLOAD THE EXHIBITION BROCHURE

Supported by

Kingdom of the Netherlands; Permanent Delegation of Italy to UNESCO; Netherlands National IHP-HWRP Committee; UNESCO Chair 'Water, Heritage, Sustainable Development', Ca’ Foscari Venice University, Italy; IHE Delft (Institute for Higher Education – UNESCO Centre cat.2), Netherlands; NICHE (The New Institute, Centre for Environmental Humanities) Ca’ Foscari Venice University, Italy; IGRAC (International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre), UNESCO Centre cat.2, Netherlands; Living Waters Museum, Pune, India; Musée des Egouts, Ville de Paris, France

 

In cooperation with

Musée pour la Civilisation de l’Eau au Maroc ‘Mohammed VI’, Marakech, Morocco; Museo del Agua “Agua para Siempre”, Puebla, Mexico; Water Museum of Venice; UNESCO Chair on ‘Sustainability and Ancestral Hydro-technologies’, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain; UNESCO Chair on ‘Hydro-archaeology’, University of Nizwa, Oman; “Water Cultures – The Water Cultures of Italy 1500-1900”, ERC grant at Ca' Foscari University Venice, Italy; Académie de l'Eau, France; Université de Limoges, Observatoire des Mutations Institutionnelles et Juridictionnelles (OMIJ); RAKI Films; CIRAD (Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement), France; G-eau, France; TE.AM, International research Study Centre, Naples, Italy, Civiltà dell’Acqua International Centre, Venice, Italy.

Session description:

The side event organized by WAMU-NET consists of three activities:

  • a session (6 December from 12 to 1pm – Venue: Room XI) involving experts from different disciplines that will discuss a number of case studies from Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America to highlight how historical practices of groundwater management are targeting the UN SDGs
  • an exhibition titled ‘Valuing Ancient Water Cultures’ (Vernissage: 7 December at 4pm, in conjunction with the official coffee break of the Summit). Eight case studies from all over the world illustrate how traditional knowledge, techniques, and social management of groundwater represent an inspiring source of innovations for future resilience planning.
  • a visit to the Sewage Museum, Musée des Egouts de Paris (on December 6), which will showcase the historical management of groundwater in the city of Paris and ongoing activities on water sustainability education.

The planned activities aim at providing answers to the following questions: how can ancient groundwater management and practices inspire institutions and policy makers to address the current sustainability challenges? What lessons do ancestral hydro-technologies offer for future resilience planning? What is the role of water museums and education programs for more forward-looking water uses supporting the SDGs?

Objectives

  • Stress the relevance of ancient groundwater management practices and farsighted visions to foster new ideas for innovation and future resilience planning
  • Highlight the role that water museums and visitors’ centers play to make ‘the invisible visible’ and raise greater awareness about groundwater vulnerability

Key message

Learning from our watery past and involving local communities in managing and monitoring groundwater quality and quantity are the prerequisites for enlightened water use that supports the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

 

Speakers