IWRA Proceedings

Alignment with Congress5. 5. Establishing Sustainable Water InfrastructuresSession descriptionFor centuries, traditional practices have guided our interactions with water, land, and agricultural practices. Theexploitation and development of nature-based solutions (NBS) could provide a sustainable solution for waterengineering and technology. The Early Career and Youth Professionals (ECYP) Task Force of the International WaterResources Association (IWRA) proposes a panel discussion for the World Water Congress under subtheme 5:Establishing Sustainable Water Infrastructures, focusing on subtheme 5.1: Exploitation and development of naturebased solutions in water engineering and technology. Objectives: The main objective of this session is to present naturebased solutions and discuss how they can be exploited and developed. The session aims to highlight the nexus betweenNBS, ecosystem services, and urban ecology and discuss the challenges associated with their implementation. Thesession will also provide a platform for youth participation to discuss innovative ideas on NBS, knowledge, andinformation dissemination. Modality: Virtual event (unless funding was secured for in-person participation) PanelDiscussion: The panel discussion will consist of field experts and young professionals who will explore theintergenerational dialogue and indigenous knowledge on NBS. The panel discussion will focus on the following topics:Exploitation and development of NBS The nexus between NBS, ecosystem services, and urban ecology and thechallenges associated with their implementation Youth participation for innovative ideas on NBS, knowledge, andinformation dissemination The panel discussion will provide an opportunity for the participants to exchange knowledgefrom the experts and share their innovative ideas. The session will encourage a participatory approach to discusspotential solutions to the challenges associated with the exploitation and development of NBS. It will also open anspace to sharing the necessary skills needed to promote career opportunities in this domain. Prospective panelists andcontributors ECYP Task Force Climate Change Task Force (Gauravjeet Singh, Oscar Alvarado and MihretabGebretsadik) Land4Flood Network (Carla Sofia Ferreira) AWC (Andy Guitard) Way Forward: This session willprovide a platform for intergenerational dialogue and knowledge exchange between young professionals and field