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The importance of water and its impact on society is one of the key challenges for future generations struggling with droughts, floods and the availability of clean drinking water.

A UWA team recently presented their innovative cross-disciplinary research in this area at an international conference in Canada.

The Institute of Advanced Studies at UWA is part of an international consortium of University-Based Institutes for Advanced Studies( UBIAS ) whose 2013 biannual conference was held at the Peter Wall Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of British Columbia last month on the theme of Scientific and Academic Knowledge .

This conference is an initiative by the UBIAS network to spread knowledge globally. Participants from all over the world and across disciplines participated in the three-day conference.

The Institute of Advanced Studies at UWA sponsored a cross-disciplinary panel at the conference: Water and Society: How do We Achieve Social Transformation ?

UWA was represented by: Associate Professor Anas Ghadouani, School of Environmental Systems Engineering and Regional Executive Director for the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities ; Professor Michael Burton , School of Agricultural and Resource Economics; Associate Professor Alex Gardner , Centre for Mining, Energy and Natural Resources Law; and Winthrop Professor Carmen Lawrence , Director of the Centre for the Study of Social Change, School of Psychology, and  Chair of the Australian Heritage Council.

"The importance of water and its impact on society will continue to be one of the key challenges for future generations struggling with droughts, floods and the availability of clean drinking water," Professor Ghadouani said.

"The need for cross-disciplinary strategies to deal with the global, financial, ecological and societal issues was the focus of this panel, which explored the social transformations needed to support water sensitive cities, including community attitudes and behavioural change, governance and economic assessment practices, management systems and technological innovations. "

Professor Burton discussed the acceptability of water restrictions and recycling on a drying continent as responses to the growing potable water shortages in Australia.

Professor Gardner discussed regulatory renovation for risk management of alternative water sources and managed aquifer recharge from an Australian perspective.

Professor Ghadouani's chaired the panel and also discussed water engineering and science in a changing world that requires more focus on integrated and multifunctional systems that can respond to diverse demands.

Professor Lawrence explored how normative feedback can reduce household water use, identified as an important policy goal, especially in regions, such as Western Australia, where climate change is producing lower rainfall and higher evaporation rates.

After the panel presentation and the lively discussion that followed, a Performance on Water, sponsored by the Peter Wall Institute Arts-Based Initiatives project provided an entertaining presentation of music, art and poetry including a performance of Water Dance by Tsatsu Stalqayu (Coastal Wolf Pack), an Indigenous dance company.

The Institute of Advanced Studies also sponsored a presentation of the panel at UWA in May for more than 175 people.