Water Insecurity Across Borders

The Water Insecurity Across Borders series for the Forum on Global Affairs will explore the impacts of water insecurity and how they are being addressed. The series is composed of 4 panel discussions that will occur over zoom. More information and the registration for each event can be found below

April 30, 12pm

Dialogues Without Borders: Community Sciences in the Face of Socio-Hydrological Crises

Marlene Brito-Millán, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Environmental Sustainability, Loyola University Chicago

Water crises addressed through top-down, technocratic solutions are often dismissive of situated ways of knowing, maladapted to local contexts, and misaligned with community self-governance. Solidarity science recognizes the agency and scientific praxis of local communities that are part of interlinked water-life systems, while creating possibilities for long-term horizontal relations across local, regional, and transborder scales. In this webinar, a collective of Indigenous campesino scientists, grassroots organizers, and academics from Mexico share how both community science and western science can inform and support life-centered socio-hydrological realities. Join us to share in this dialogue on science without borders in the defense of territory to promote buen vivir for people, water and earth.

April 3, 2024, 2PM CT

Following the Lithium Frontier: Water, Global Inequality, and Green Extractivism

Maria Akchurin , Assistant Professor of Sociology, Loyola University Chicago

Lithium is widely recognized as a critical part of the renewable energy transition, yet its extraction affects water resources and the communities that depend on them. In this discussion, moderated by Dr. Maria Akchurin, we will bring together perspectives informed by research and activism to discuss the socioenvironmental implications of intensifying lithium mining in Chile's Atacama Desert, reflecting on how the supply chains that stretch across borders to produce green technologies raise broader questions about global environmental justice.

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November 13, 2023

A Heating Climate, Extreme Water Events and Health Outcomes among Vulnerable Populations

Panel moderated by Lara Dugas, PhD, MPH, FTOS, University of Cape Town and Loyola University Chicago

Robust evaluation of the environmental, health and socio-economic outcomes of the heating climate and catastrophic outcomes such as extreme flooding and drought are limited, but especially among vulnerable populations such as those living in Africa. In this webinar leading experts from Chicago, USA and Cape Town, South Africa will share their recent work exploring extreme water events and health outcomes, increasing nighttime temperatures and sleep health, the impact of climate change on diabetes prevalence and a heat adaptation intervention among 4 vulnerable populations in South Africa and Ghana. The speakers bring a range of expertise from the graduate level through international recognition.

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October 17, 2023

Water Insecurity and Gender-Based Violence: A Linked Public Health Threat

Panel moderated by Paula Skye Tallman, PhD, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, Loyola University Chicago

Globally, scientists are finding an alarming link between water insecurity and gender-based violence. In this webinar, students and researchers leading the way in documenting the effects of water insecurity on women’s lives and health will discuss their work on the topic in South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. They will also share how they are using their research results to promote gender equality and environmental sustainability in local communities, advocating and raising awareness for women’s rights to water. Join us to learn more about working across disciplines, countries, and career stages to promote environmental and social justice through action-oriented research on issues of contemporary concern.

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