Public Workshop on June 9, 2017, at the Konfuzius-Institut at Freie Universität Berlin
Public Workshop on June 9, 2017, at the Confucius Institut at Freie Universität Berlin
№ 145/2017 from Jun 01, 2017
How does China deal with its water resources? What strategies were developed for sustainable water management? Scientists from Germany and abroad will address these issues during a workshop on June 9, 2017, at the Confucius Institute at Freie Universität. The workshop participants will explore the cultural, socio-economic, and political dimensions of water management. They will discuss the Chinese government's approach to a more sustainable water management. The workshop language is English. The event is public, and admission is free.
"The Chinese capital Beijing, with its 22 million inhabitants, is expanding in a region with extremely limited local water resources," says the sinologist Dr. Eva Sternfeld, who designed the workshop. The local water scarcity in the northern Chinese capital is comparable to the situation in Israel and the neighboring Arab states. The situation in the South China Pearl River Delta, on the other hand, is quite different. According to a study recently published by the World Bank, the metropolis of Guangzhou leads the international list of coastal cities that are considerably threatened by the consequences of climate change and rapid urbanization as well as by rising sea levels and flooding as a result of typhoons.
"This unfavorable distribution of water resources has been a challenge to Chinese society for thousands of years," says Sternfeld. To the present day, an adequate water supply and flood protection are prerequisites for regional economic development and social stability. Technical development and the regulation of water have recently led to enormous increases in agricultural yields as well as supporting rapid industrialization in regions where the water supply is difficult. Massive technical interventions in the water regime, such as the construction of large dams and the diversion of water from the South to the North have resulted in greater planning security, but they also involve high social and environmental risks as well as international implications for cross-border river flow.
The following scientists will give presentations: Jia Shaofeng, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing; James Nickum, School of Oriental and African Studies, London; Seungho Lee, Korea University, Seoul; Bettina Blümling, University of Utrecht; Miriam Seeger, Staatsbibliothek Berlin; and Sabrina Habich, Freie Universität Berlin. The workshop language will be English.
Time and Location
- Friday, June 9, 2017, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Confucius Institute at Freie Universität Berlin, Room 203, Goßlerstraße 2-4, 14195 Berlin. S-Bahnhof Lichterfelde-West (S1), Bus M48
Program and Registration
Programm unter: www.konfuziusinstitut-berlin.de/html/de/veranstaltungsprogramm/workshops/workshop-wasser-energie-entwicklung/index.html
RSVP: anmeldung@konfuziusinstitut-berlin.de
Contact
Sören Vogler, Konfuzius-Institut at Freie Universität, Tel.: +49 30 838-72881, Email: info@konfuziusinstitut-berlin.de