August 2020 Newsletter Essay
Ten years ago this month, Diego Rodriguez and I met for the first time in person in a hotel in Stockholm. We had been chatting for about six weeks about organizing a meeting to gauge the state of the science and practice of water and climate.
In a story I’ve told many times now, we invited 25 or 30 people — about 40 showed up. The hotel asked us to leave about two hours after the meeting was supposed to end, so we adjourned to a bar and then a restaurant (and then a bar). We had a lot to say to each other: think tanks, governments, development banks, professional societies, NGOs, companies. We recognized we needed each other — that no one person or institution really knew very much about water and climate. Insight was scattered and incoherent. Policy encouraged weak and regressive practices. Water was a house, divided by climate against itself. Three days later, we had a charter and momentum.
Ten years later, we are a network of some 2000 individuals and organizations, active and engaged — a motivated members-based institution that produces results collectively. Those results have changed how water and climate are seen, funded, and managed over the past decade. Thank you — as members, we are strong, working to erase boundaries for shared knowledge and action.
Our annual member meeting will occur later this month, discussed below, but we will also send out a separate note with our annual report and instructions on how to participate remotely.
Two issues are important for us to hear your insight this year:
We are proposing a three-part strategic plan for the coming two to three years. Details about this plan will come shortly in the Annual Report.
We are adding two new positions to the AGWA Board, and we need your nominations and participation in choosing new members.
Our Board has been a critical source of strength and resilience. Eight of the nine members are finishing a term, and all eight have chosen to renew for the next period. However, the Board has recognized that our diversity must be increased.
As a result, we have chosen to add two more seats, for a total of 11 members. The Board has asked that we receive nominations from outside of the US and Europe — prioritizing Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
We need your nominations by 17 August. Please email your nominations to Alex Mauroner, Network Director. Please reach out if you have questions about roles and responsibilities, beyond what is listed in our charter.
John H. Matthews
Corvallis, Oregon, USA