Managing California's Water: From Conflict to Reconciliation

In much of the world, water has become a source of increasing conflict. Current policies are failing to meet the economy's demands for water supply reliability, water quality, and flood protection; meanwhile, freshwater aquatic ecosystems are in sharp decline despite several decades of well-intentioned, but insufficient and poorly coordinated policies designed to protect them.  Climate warming is expected to increase these challenges in the coming decades.  California – a growing economy with a highly variable climate and a large agricultural sector - is at the forefront of many of these conflicts.  Drawing on a new book by an interdisciplinary team of experts, co-author Ellen Hanak will explore new approaches to managing water in an era of increasing scarcity and competing demands.  How can available management tools, such as markets for water supply and quality and easements for flooding, improve performance and reduce costs?  And what kinds of changes in water management institutions and regulations are needed to better reconcile diverse management objectives?

Speaker: Ellen Hanak, Public Policy Institute of CA

Room 315A