HSE Water Workshop 'The Geopolitics of Water in Latin America'
The Centre for Water Resources Research at HSE University continues its monthly Water Workshop in an online format. During the seminar, we will discuss how the growing geopolitical interest in Latin America, including on the part of the United States, is linked to issues of access to fresh water and why control over water resources is becoming one of the key factors driving this interest.
Until a few years ago, it was understood that fresh water was an endless resource. Today, with the strong trend toward scarcity, it is known that the natural renewal capacity of reserves is limited. Global warming and intensive use, especially for industrial-scale agriculture and livestock, present a pessimistic outlook regarding the future availability of this vital resource.
Latin America possesses 30% of global water resources, concentrated in major rivers, lakes, and aquifers, primarily in the Amazon Basin and the Guarani Aquifer. In this lecture, we will analyze how the renewed geopolitical interest in Latin America, which mobilizes the US, has the guarantee of access to fresh water as one of its main components.
From debates on the possible internationalization of water to American geopolitical advancement, we will examine how real the chances of "water wars" in Latin America are and what viable responses the countries of the region can offer to protect these resources—preventing international greed, but also the processes of commodification and internal degradation by the agribusiness industry.
The keynote address will be delivered by Thiago Rodrigues, Professor at the Institute for Strategic Studies, Fluminense Federal University (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
The discussant will be Fyodor Alekseev, expert at the Centre for Water Resources Research, Institute for Economics of Natural Resources and Climate Change, HSE University.
The seminar will be moderated by Anastasia Likhacheva, Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at HSE University and Director of the Centre for Water Resources Research, Institute for Economics of Natural Resources and Climate Change, HSE University.
When: February 19, 6:00 pm (Moscow time) / 12 am (Sao Paulo time)
Where: Online (Zoom)
Working language: English
For any enquiries, please contact Fyodor Alekseev, the seminar organiser, at falekseev@hse.ru.
After registration, the Zoom access link will be sent one hour before the start of the event.
