In-person and Virtual Modalities

 

19–21 March 2025

What is IWaST?

The partnership between the Universidad Católica Boliviana San Pablo and the Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña · Barcelona Tech leads to the creation of the International Congress of Water Sustainability and Technology (IWaST) to be held in Cochabamba, Bolivia from 19 to 21 March 2025. This high-level academic event will allow the presentation of communications and posters in hybrid, in-person, and online modes. Keynote presentations will enrich our thematic areas that will open up debate and exchange of knowledge. The congress will have a book of abstracts and the best communications will have the opportunity to be published in high-impact journals allied to the congress.

The IWaST congress is born from the brotherhood of two recognized international congresses: the International Congress of Integrated Water Management (Universidad Católica Boliviana San Pablo – Bolivia) and the International Congress of Water and Sustainability (Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña · Barcelona Tech – Spain). The IWaST is a new event that seeks to contribute to the area of water management and sustainability and its wide range of topics.

Why IWaST?

Due to the constant and crucial need to recover and strengthen spaces to talk and relate to water as a common good, it is necessary to establish specific scenarios in which space is given to the development of studies and strategies related to the topic, at the local, national and global level.

IWaST Objective

Disseminate the results of scientific research carried out by researchers around water management, and sustainability in order to encourage, promote, and generate synergies between research centers, public, and private organizations.

Themes

Water Security can be understood in different ways: (1) As a development process, which is primarily referred to in terms of securing water for humans, (2) As a process of collective security, and (3) As a process of the ecosystem or the entire planet Earth. All these dimensions can overlap depending on the contexts. “Water Security is the ability to guarantee a population sustainable access to adequate quantities of water of acceptable quality to sustain livelihoods, human well-being and socio-economic environments, to ensure protection against pollution and water-related disasters. water, and to preserve ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability” (UN – WATER, 2013).

Seeing water as a resource, but also as a common good of human populations and as a support for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, leads to treating “water quality” as something relative and that is important not only if it is related to its use. The “natural quality” of water depends on the physical, chemical and biological characteristics, given by the geological and climatic conditions of the place where they are found. This condition, however, is being rapidly altered by anthropogenic activity, caused by accelerated population growth and economic activities that make intensive use of it, causing a process of disturbance and degradation of water sources and aquatic ecosystems. Thus, “One Health is an integrated and unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems. It is recognized that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent” (WHO)

This line includes, on one hand, all the most cutting-edge scientific-technical experiences related to purification, water treatments, waste treatment and environmental analysis.

On the other hand, it includes all the aspects that refer to water management models, taking into account all the relevant elements in public/private water transition processes, as well as the strengths and weaknesses.

This line of work encompasses a comprehensive approach to sustainability, collecting and analyzing sustainable experiences in various areas. One of the fundamental pillars is the evaluation of indicators, which provides a clear and quantitative vision of the impact of the actions and policies implemented. In addition, a life cycle analysis (LCA) is carried out, which allows to understand the environmental impact of a product or service throughout all stages of its life, from the extraction of raw materials to its final disposal.

In addition to these technical approaches, an analysis is also carried out on the perception of sustainability, which considers the opinions, attitudes and behaviors of different actors involved. This analysis provides valuable information on how sustainability is perceived and valued in society, which can influence the effectiveness of sustainable initiatives.

Together, this line of work integrates different perspectives and tools to understand, evaluate and promote sustainability in various contexts, thus contributing to the construction of a more equitable and environmentally friendly future.

Along this theme, classroom experiences or success stories are sought, where implementations of case studies, challenging projects and practical challenges are carried out in collaboration with students. These projects carried out will be focused on water treatment, covering both the management of industrial and domestic wastewater and the purification of water. In this theme, systematized awareness-raising experiences and information transfer processes related to water management and sustainability are also contemplated.

Presentation Guidelines and Templates for Speakers

Oral Presentation Template

Scientific Posters for IWaST

Location