The conference dates are 1-5 December 2008. The preliminary schedule is below; updates will be added as changes are made.
All events are held at the UCI Conference Center unless otherwise noted.

Monday 1 December

9:00am-6:00 pm Registration

1:30pm-5:30pm Opening Session Chairperson Dr M. Larsen, Conference Co-Chair, Chair US National Committee for IHP

1:30pm -5:30pm Opening Session

5:30pm-6:30pm Cocktail Reception

6:30pm-9:00pm Banquet

Tuesday 2 December

8:15am-12:00pm Thematic Session 1: Adapting to the impacts of global changes on river basins and aquifer systems

8:15am-10:15am Breakout workshops:

• Assessment of impacts of global changes on water quality and availability in river basins
• Assessment of impacts of global changes on water quality and availability in aquifer systems

• Water scarcity issues in water sectors, hydrological extremes and emergency situations, vulnerability and resilience
• Arsenic and groundwater
• Water-Energy Nexus
• Integration of geospatial data for modeling of hydrological extremes

10:15am-10:45am Coffee

10:45am-12:00pm Plenary (workshop reports, panel and general discussion)

12:00pm-1:45pm Lunch and Keynote presentation: Dr. Peter Gleick, Director of the Pacific Institute

2:00pm-5:45pm Thematic Session 2: Strengthening water governance for sustainability

2:00pm-4:00pm Breakout workshops:

• Economic, financial and planning issues supporting water governance
• National contemporary water policies and legislations and global environmental law
• Governance and public participation
• Transboundary large river and aquifer systems management in the world
• Transboundary large river and aquifer systems management: US-Mexico

4:00pm-4:30pm Coffee

4:30pm-5:45pm Plenary (workshop reports, panel and general discussion), Chairperson: Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of Cameroon

Wednesday 3 December

8:15am-12:00pm Thematic Session 3: Ecohydrology for sustainability

8:15am-10:15am Breakout workshops

• Groundwater-dependent ecosystems and new ecohydrological approaches
• Watershed management
• Augmenting scarce water resources and strategies to improve the quality of life
• Clean water scarcity and risk management
• Public Health

10:15am-10:45am Coffee

10:45am-12:00pm Plenary (workshop reports, panel and general discussion), Chairperson: Dr. Ali Saad Al Tolkhais, Deputy Minister for Water Affairs Saudi Arabia

12:00pm-1:30pm Lunch and Keynote presentation: Professor J. Ganoulis, UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Management of Water and Conflict Resolution, Thessaloniki, Greece

1:30pm-5:15pm Thematic Session 4: Water and Life Support Systems

1:30pm-3:30pm Breakout workshops

• Monitoring
• Modelling and forecasting and traditional management techniques
• Wastewater treatment and reuse and pollution control
• Emerging contaminants and treatment processes
• Desalination
• G-WADI

3:30pm-4:00pm Coffee

4:00pm-5:15pm Plenary (workshop reports, panel and general discussion), Chairperson: Professor S. Sorooshian, NAE (UCI)

Dinner at the Ocean Institute (with K-12 students’ presentation), optional

5:30pm Buses leave UCI

6:00pm-9:00pm Program and Dinner at the Ocean Institute, Dana Point

Thursday 4 December

8:15am-12:00pm Thematic Session 5: Communication, Education and Capacity Development

8:15am-10:15am Breakout workshops

• Integration of science, policy and practice
• Communication between governmental institutions, non-governmental organizations and individuals
• Examples of NGOs' realizations
• The Irvine Action Framework, an instrument of communication

10:15am-10:45am Coffee

10:45am-12:00pm Plenary (workshop reports, panel and general discussion), Chairperson: Dr. Olçay Unver, Director World Water Assesment Programme

12:00pm-1:00pm Lunch, Keynote Presentation Gil Garcetti

1:15pm-2:30pm The 70 year long Orange County, CA, integrated groundwater management experience, while growing by 2+million people in a semi-desert area

2:30pm-3:15pm Presentation of the Draft Irvine Action Framework and plenary discussion Chairperson: Professor J. Westphal, Senior Vice-President for Research and Provost, New School, New York Moderator: Professor J. Fried

3:15pm-3:45pm Coffee  

3:45pm-4:30pm Closing Session, Chairperson: Professor J. Westphal

• Finalization of the Draft Irvine Action Framework, Professor J. Fried
• Concluding remarks by UNESCO, Professor Abdin Salih, Chair IHP Bureau

Conference adjourns

5:00 pm Side Event: Screening of “The American Southwest: Are We Running Dry?” and “Running Dry: A Call to Action”; question and answer session with Director Jim Thebaut

Friday 5 December

8:00am-4:00pm Field trip to Irvine Ranch Water District, Orange County Sanitation District, and Orange County Water District (Box lunch included)

Side Event: NSF Workshop on olive oil wastewater treatment for agricultural re-use