Dr. Lagutov Leads Water Security Session and Panel at Eye on Earth Summit
From October 6-8, 2015, over 650 delegates convened at the second Eye on Earth Summit in Abu Dhabi. The Summit, focused on informed decision-making for sustainable development, aimed to stimulate international action to revolutionize how we collect, access, share, and use data and information to make real, tangible changes in the world.
Dr. Viktor Lagutov, Facilitator of the Eye on Water Security Special Initiative (SI), organized and led a 90-minute breakout session entitled “Decision-Making in Water Security: Community Strategy for Success” on October 7. The session, attended by approximately 150 attendees, paralleled the Summit topics, addressing water security issues in the context of data demand, supply, and enabling conditions and incorporating a regional focus, as water is such a critically important issue in the Middle East. The session also discussed the role of water-related data in the achievement of the recently-adopted sustainable development goals (SDGs). Speakers included Mark Sorensen of GPC Group, Mohamed Dawoud of Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, Brenda Rashleigh of US Environmental Protection Agency, Lorant Czaran of UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, Kirstin Miller of Ecocity Builders, Philipp Saile of UNEP GEMS / Water, Carmelle Terborgh of Esri, and Viktor himself. The session culminated with a fruitful discussion about the importance of water security, a declaration of how the Water Security SI should move forward in the future, and the sparked interest of numerous additional stakeholders and partners. Over the next several months, the community will expand and provide a platform for networking and collaboration, joint project development, and knowledge sharing.
