This summer, I took part in the Potsdam Summer School (PSS). This science school was cooperatively organized by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), the Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam – GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), and the University of Potsdam in partnership with Geo.X and the City of Potsdam. With the Hydrosphere at its core, the eight day long programme covered climate change, the role of the cryosphere, water as a hazard, the interaction between water, land and humans, hydrological modelling, and oceans, as well as economy, management, governance, and stakeholder engagement.

            Virtually united

            This year was the first time that the PSS occurred in an online format due to the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, I have to say that the PSS was a wonderful experience. One could tell that the whole structure of the summer school was carefully planned to provide all the participants with the best experience possible. And they surely succeeded!

            Personally, I was impressed when I logged in for the first on the SCOOCS platform. There, we had the lectures (already available for us two weeks prior to the event!), the weekly schedule, networking tables, participants profile, and study cases. We had to prepare ourselves beforehand by watching the lectures, reading suggested materials, and making our questions for the discussion sessions. The 2021 edition of the school occurred from August 9^th to August 20^th.

            The eight day event kicked-off with a warm welcome from Prof. Dr. Ortwin Renn, scientific director of the IASS. This was followed by an interactive session with Dr. Thomas Bruhn, where we were put in break-out rooms and met our fellow colleagues to talk about ourselves, our backgrounds, and motivations. The afternoon brought a talk by Prof. Dr. Johan Rockström regarding water within planetary boundaries in light of the most recent released IPCC report. We got to have the first meeting of our working groups, to which we were assigned prior to the event.

            I was assigned to the working group about modelling hydrology. Within our working group, we had small lectures which nurtured the discussions in break-out rooms and in the plenary. We also had the opportunity to present our own work related to the study case that we submitted as part of our preparation for the school. This allowed us a place to share our projects, ideas, and different realities, as well as to receive valuable feedback, insights, and suggestions that we could try to implement to further improve our research. At the working groups, we also had the chance to get to know our colleagues further and develop a presentation to be given in the plenary in the last of the school.

            I always was looking forward to the beginning of another day of the summer school. The first moment would always be the welcome and 15-minute interactive session, as well as a moment of reflection within ourselves. After connecting to the others, we began a discussion of the talks. Finally, we joined our working groups. I particularly liked how they structured the programme, the topics covered and how they were presented in light of current research and new technologies. This included bringing awareness to climate change, natural hazards, food-water-energy-ecosystem nexus, international cooperation, and water governance. Another highlight was the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals, how they interact and how they are grounded in four SDGs that are particularly important: SDG 6 (Clean water and sanitation), SDG 13 (Climate action), SDG 14 (Life below water), and SDG 15 (Life on land).

            I feel very grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Potsdam Summer School, for the new knowledge, exchange of information and experience, as well as new insights on current research and even self-discovery. I would like to show my appreciation for everyone that made this summer school possible, and particularly for the organisation team that was always very present, friendly, and helpful. A special shout out to Angela Borowski (IASS) who has always been kind and welcoming to all of us! Thank you!

            There is so much to share about the PSS that a short blog post cannot cover. But you can visit their website (https://potsdam-summer-school.org/ ) and get to know more about the program, the wonderful speakers, and participants of this 2021 PSS Edition. It was a pity that we could not meet in Potsdam for this amazing event, but I myself cannot wait to visit this incredible city! Finally, if you are looking to expand your horizons, have access to current research and networking, I can only recommend this summer school. So, be attentive for the application process that should start in the beginning of next year, good luck, and maybe I will even see you there in 2022(?)!

The post Potsdam Summer School 2021: Water Our Global Common Good appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Emily was cleaning bicycle when her father arrived. “Please turn off the tap Emily you don’t need this amount of water for cleaning”, he requested.

“Dad we have plenty of water in the pipe”, Esther replied sweetly.

“Not always my dear, some cities in the world don’t have enough water for drinking or cleaning bicycle like this”, he explained. “Really? Where in the world is there less water?” she asked.

“Let me tell you a story“- her father said.

“I always like your stories dad please start”, girl said impatiently.  “Please turn off the tap”, he said and started..

Terry Burner the owner of several Real Estate business and Car Washing facilities in Southern California was enjoying his Easter Holidays in Barcelona. He was a man who had inherited his grandfather’s small garage and had doubled the profit over the past decade. Known for his excellent money-making schemes, Terry was walking around the beach in his polo hotel t-shirt, when he saw a man in his mid-thirties coming towards him.

“You seem like a rich man”, the man prompted.

“Certainly I am”, Terry affirmed.

“If you don’t mind, can I get some water”, he asked.

“Yes, why not, please have it”, Terry offered his half filled metal bottle.

While the young man was fulfilling his metabolic needs Terry was staring at him in surprise.

The man finished and said, “Do you know Cape Town is getting dry?”.

Terry exclaimed, “What? I didn’t know. I am not following Africa lately”.

“You must know the story, rich guy”, the man replied.

The young man – who looked like a control freak – began: “The population of Cape Town in South Africa has roughly doubled in the last two decades whereas its water resources have increased very slowly. The city experienced indeed dry days in the past. But now, scientists believe climate change has intensified the recently experienced drought events, thus resulting in water shortage”. With this the young man stopped and asked: “What do you think Sir?

“I think Climate Change may be a reason for the drought events,  but the ignorance of the Cape Town City administration cannot be overruled. They could have prepared better infrastructure in fighting drought”, Terry responded.

“You are reasonably correct sir. Six dams were completely filled in 2014 and city administration assumed  future rainfall pattern would resemble past. However, three straight years of drought changed everything. No one in the government anticipated this”, said the man.

“But my dear friend” – inquired Terry – “Cape Town authorities could learn from California where $7.5 billion dollar water bond was approved with 67 percent vote. Century old laws were replaced and water usage was monitored”.

“I hope they learn from experience in California” – replied the man – “but do you think we are underestimating the impacts of climate change with a situation like this? Researchers from University of Cape Town acknowledged they had never expected such a rapid impact of climate change. What is your take on this?” the man asked Terry.

“Let me be very blunt here”, Terry said looking at him. “Climate Change is affecting all of us but we can’t simply blame all problems on it”

“For instance – said Terry – when I inherited my family business, it was running in debt. So I decided to change the system by creating a new customer base and by diversifying our spending from garage to car washing and real estate. I promoted also the use of technology and adopted efficient trade practices”.

“What do you mean by technology and efficient trade practices?” asked the man.

“Well, about 60% of my car washing facilities and other offices use treated wastewater, all our toilets are flushed with gray water and we reward employees for their water saving efforts. These are some initiatives, I assume people in other parts of the world – and Cape Town officials – are also doing this”, Terry pointed.

“Well, Cape Towners have successfully pushed Day Zero by reducing water consumption by 60%: people showered in 90 seconds avoided wastage of water, reused gray water. Moreover, Cape Town officials cut irrigation supply, constructed water collection points and rigorously worked for a water saving campaign”, explained the man.

“What is Day Zero? And I am sorry, are you a Cape Towner ?” Terry asked. “You seem to be very concerned about the city!”.

The young man replied: “Day Zero is when the city reservoir reaches 13.5 % of its total capacity, which means authorities have to cut off water supply to three quarters of population.”

Before the man could elaborate further, Terry’s phone beeped. Terry with open eyes said “I am afraid I have a skype call now. I have to go, but it was nice meeting you Mr…?

“Mr. Rigo Flech”, the young man answered.

They shook hands. Rigo added “And the answer to your last question is Yes, I am a Cape Towner and once I owned a car washing facility and a small motel in Cape Town”.

After having said this, the young man walked away. In some minutes Terry was back in hotel thinking about Rigo.

Next morning near an old Heritage garden of Barcelona, Terry saw a beautiful fountain but what stuck him was a small bird showering in water. Remembering the young Rigo he smiled and mumbled: “You have have left me numb Cape Town bird Rigo”.

“What did he do after?”, Emily interrupted.

“He googled “Cape Town drought”, dad smiled and said.

“Can we avert a crisis like this or people keep migrating from there?”, Emily inquired.

“Hope Terry has a solution”, he grinned.

“I got my answer Dad, not wasting water anymore”, she admitted.

“Every year thousands of bird migrate in search of food and nesting. While we may know the science but there is a always a story. Rigo was one of those birds who left Cape Town for a better life”. You can be next..

(Terry Burner, Rigo Fletch, and Emily are fictional characters and all the facts provided in the story are borrowed from articles listed.)

References

• https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/04/15/how-the-drought-changed-california-forever/
• https://www.npr.org/2016/03/18/469799456/in-california-dealing-with-a-drought-and-preparing-for-a-flood
• https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/02/cape-town-running-out-of-water-drought-taps-shutoff-other-cities/
• www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/cape-town-drought-water-shortage-luxury-five-star-hotels-day-zero-laundry-showers-toilet-flush-pool-a8191966.html
• https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/why-april-rainfall-is-key-to-stave-off-cape-towns-day-zero-20180409
• https://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-drought/cape-town-day-zero-pushed-back-to-2019-as-dams-fill-up-in-south-africa-idUSKCN1HA1LN

The post The Bird of Cape Town appeared first on Global Change Ecology.