Join us for a dynamic pan el discussion exploring how international environmental agreements shape re al-world water management. This session brings together two distinguished e xperts:
T ogether\, they’ll unpack the relationship between two major international a greements—the Water Convention and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands—and ho w these frameworks influence policy and practice across borders.
Moderated by Professor Leila M. Harris\, a leading scholar in water governance and environmental justice at the University of British Col umbia. Her interdisciplinary research and global perspective will guide a t houghtful and engaging conversation.
Whether you're interested in env ironmental science\, international relations\, or sustainable development\, this session will offer valuable perspectives on how diplomacy\, science\, and policy come together to protect our planet’s water resources.
Speakers:
Sibylle Vermont is a Swiss envir onmental policy leader and former Deputy Head of Section Global Affairs (re tired). She represented Switzerland as focal point and head of delegation i n numerous UN conventions and regional agreements\, building bridges betwee n science\, policy\, and diplomacy. Ms. Vermont contributed to the Conventi on on Wetlands\, the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention)\, and sustainable f orest management international organizations such as the United Nations For um on Forests. She led the negotiations and conclusion of regional bilatera l agreements between Switzerland and France on the Rhone and Doubs rivers a nd the Lake of Geneva. Her leadership roles within international environmen tal bodies\, such as chairing the Task Force on Water and Climate of the Wa ter Convention\, underscore her commitment to effecting positive change on a global scale. Today\, she continues her conservation work at South Africa ’s Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Dr. Christian Bréthaut is an Associate Professor in water governance at the Department of Geography a nd Environment and at the Institute for Environmental Sciences of the Unive rsity of Geneva. He serves as Director of the Environmental Governance and Territorial Development Hub and Institute\, and co-leads the UNESCO Chair o n Hydropolitics at the University of Geneva. His work focuses on environmen tal policies and governance in general\, and water governance in particular . He concentrates on multi-level governance issues\, transboundary manageme nt\, and the challenges posed by intersectorality. His interests are water governance\, water-food-energy nexus\, commons governance\, multi-level gov ernance\, critical discourse analysis\, and science-policy interface.
The visits of these Swiss speakers has been gracio usly facilitated by the Consulate General of Switzerland in Vancouv er.
CATEGORIES:Featured Events,Featured Homepage,Featured News &\; Events LOCATION:Liu Institute for Global Issues - xʷθəθiqətəm (Place of many trees) GEO:49.268776;-123.199987 URL;VALUE=URI:https://sppga.ubc.ca/events/event/bridging-global-water-polic y-and-practice-a-conversation-with-leaders-in-environmental-governance/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sppga.cms.arts.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/10/Bridging-Global-Water-Policy_WEB3.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Vancouver BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 DTSTART:20251102T090000 TZNAME:PST END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR