Summary report from Hong Kong workshop (17 January 2007)

A U21 technical session on Urban Water Management was held on 17 January 2007 at the University of Hong Kong, following on from an International Symposium on Sustainable and Safe Water Supplies which took place over the preceding two days. The U21 meeting provided an opportunity for the key drivers of the U21 Sustainable Water Initiative to present the U21 sustainable water vision to and interact with key stakeholders in Hong Kong and the region. Members of the U21 Sustainable Water management team presented a number of lectures that addressed the unique sustainable water issues and challenges in different cities engaged by U21 universities:

• U21 initiative: water futures for sustainable cities
  (Professor John Langford, Melbourne)
   

• Vulnerability of two estuaries subject to climate change pressures
  (Professor Alan Ervine, Glasgow)
   

• River restoration: challenges and opportunities in the urban environment
  (Professor Nicholas Clifford, Nottingham)
   

• Real time hydro-environmental modelling and visualisation system for public engagement
  (Professor Joseph H W Lee, HKU)
   

• Using urban aquifers: an examination of issues and opportunities
  (Professor Rae Mackay, Birmingham)
   

• A statistical approach to downscaling of sub-daily extreme rainfall processes for climate-related impact studies in urban areas
  (Professor Van-Thanh-Van Nguyen, McGill)

The U21 session was widely publicised at HKU with the aim of engaging academics from different disciplines to embark on the U21 vision and engendering research collaboration.

A meeting of the Management Team of the U21 water initiative followed immediately after the Technical Session. Several U21 researchers were invited to present their research and interact with the Management Team at the meeting. It was then followed by a lengthy and fruitful discussion among the Management Team members on a range of issues including a review of its strategic plan, financial arrangements for regional nodes and formation of a North American node, and mounting of future activities to advance the U21 water vision.