Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi participates in the International Water Summit 2017

Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, one of the leading universities in the UAE, is participating in the International Water Summit 2017 organized as part of Abu Dhabi sustainability week 2017 and held under the patronage of H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and, from 16 to 19 January in ADNEC, Abu Dhabi.

The International Water Summit is an important platform for Sorbonne Abu Dhabi and its faculty to share their insights about the latest trends in the water field. The summit is also a great opportunity to highlight the significant role of the university’s masters degree in Sustainable Development law, environment and urban planning is playing in addition to raising topics and issues which are discussed during the summit.

Prof. Anthony Chamboredon, Head of the Research Initiative in Sustainable Development Law and Associate Professor in the Law, Economics and Management Department at Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi said: “This year, I was invited to participate as a speaker in one of the panels that the International Water Summit is organizing as part of its activities to share my insight about the water cycle and its integrity. This is a great platform to talk about what we are doing at Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi in this field as well as to promote a comprehensive integration of water policies in the Gulf region”.

Prof. Chamboredon added: “In 2014, we launched a transdisciplinary research programme untitled‘Fresh Water, Law and Stakes in the Arab Countries of the GCC’. We presented the first outcomes of that research at the IWS in 2015 where we organized a three-hour workshop.

All the States of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are now seeking the best expertise and contributions available to outline current water management systems and to elaborate propositions to allow a comprehensive, fair, sustainable and efficient system to be put in place, under the guidance and control of the public authorities and with the acceptation of the populations concerned; hence, universities have a great part to play in such a programme. A comprehensive and transdisciplinary approach is required in order to provide the most suitable and adapted legal framework for public policies devised to allow a sound water resources management system. On the basis of a global survey, we have to come up with the best legal tools that could further promote an integrated water resources management policy. The IWS allows us to showcase the efforts we are doing in this field. We are keen at Sorbonne Abu Dhabi to enhance our research’s capacities and tools to add value to the market and to offer valuable expertise to our audience”.

The International Water Summit is a global platform that aims to encourage water sustainability in arid regions by bringing together world leaders, field experts, academics and business innovators to accelerate the development of new sustainable strategies and technologies.