Water Talks Series - Edition 6 - High Stakes: Governing Hydropower in Mountain Regions and Beyond

The Geneva Water Hub is proud to announce the 6^th edition of the Water Talks Series. The speakers will have the opportunity to share a 12mn presentation on a topic related to "High Stakes: Governing Hydropower in Mountain Regions and Beyond".

Many of the world’s high altitude regions generate hydropower, and it has an important role to play in global transitions away from fossil fuel energy. However hydropower production is not automatically "green" and mountains are particularly sensitive ecological zones. From a governance viewpoint, there are complex tradeoffs to be made across different water, landscape, energy uses and sectors. In Switzerland, for instance, there is a growing need to reconsider residual flows in alpine rivers downstream from storage power plants, which for a long time seemed carved in stone following negotiations between hydropower producers and environmental protection organizations. Such processes call for further attention to the linkages between hydropower production and other sectors, and the complex arbitration across different levels and scales.

This edition of the Geneva Water Hub water talks series aims to explore these and other challenges. Co-organized with the Adaptation at Altitude program, scholars and NGO leaders will reflect on the current debates on hydropower in mountainous regions, and the politics behind difficult choices in terms of priorities and allocation.

For this edition we have the pleasure of welcoming the following honourable speakers: 

• Dr James Dalton – Coordinator of Global Initiatives for the IUCN Water Programme, IUCN
• Dr Hervé Piégay – Research Director at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), University of Lyon
• Ing Maria Güell i Pons – Dam Specialist, AFRY

Register to join this evening of discussion, networking, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. The session is free and open to the public, but prior registration is mandatory to enter the building. 

The poster of the event is available below.