The Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) is sponsoring a special two-part webinar series by India’s Centre for Science and Environment, the CRCWSC and Alluvium International this month. The series aims to increase awareness and advocate for the planning and design of water sensitive cities in India, and to share experiences from both countries.

We invite Australian urban water sector practitioners to participate in the webinar series to gain valuable insight into the state of play and opportunities in India.

Webinar 1: Towards water sensitive cities in Australia and India – 18 November 2020
Time: 10.00–11.30 AM (IST), 6.30–8.00 AM (CEST), 3.30–5.30 PM (AEST)

The first webinar will be an opportunity to learn from the experience in Australia, with a particular focus on Victoria. It will explore research, policy and implementation over the past two decades, as well as recent advances in India.

Webinar 2: Recent adoption of the ‘water sensitive cities’ approach in India – 25 November 2020
Time: 10.00–11.30 AM (IST), 6.30–8.00 AM (CEST), 3.30–5.30 PM (AEST)

The second webinar will explore exemplar projects and programs that have adopted water sensitive principles and technologies both in Australia and India.

The webinars include speakers from the Indian Government who will discuss the current landscape for water projects and opportunities for water sensitive approaches. Webinar participants will join from across India.

About the webinar series

As India embarks on ambitious plans to transform its urban environments, India’s Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) recognises that a water sensitive approach can enhance liveability and other outcomes in cities across India.

CSE, the CRCWSC and Alluvium entered into a Knowledge Partnership in 2020, to share research and practical experience on water sensitive cities between Australia and India. CSE regards the CRCWSC and Alluvium as two lead contributing organisations in Australia which envision future cities and towns and their regions as sustainable, resilient, liveable and water sensitive.

Guiding the discussions will be the CRCWSC publication, Transitioning to water sensitive cities: insights from six Australian cities, which identifies the strategic priorities for Australian cities to achieve their water sensitive cities’ visions, and India’s first Practitioner’s guide on water sensitive urban design and planning, produced by CSE’s School of Water and Waste in 2017, as part of its knowledge support to the Indian Government’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, in the area of sustainable urban water management.

The webinars also build on the CRCWSC's recent experience with Alluvium International, Realm Studios and Morphum Environmental of applying water sensitive strategies in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. This work was funded by the Australian Water Partnership and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Chris Chesterfield, Project Leader IRP3, and Malcolm Eadie, Commercial Manager, will present Australia’s water sensitive cities experience during the webinars.

You’ll find more information and a link to register here.

Last updated: 10th Nov 2020