Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2015GU293B

Second Conference on Water Resource Sustainability Issues on Tropical Islands

Institute: Guam
Year Established: 2015 Start Date: 2015-03-01 End Date: 2016-02-29
Total Federal Funds: $6,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: Not available

Principal Investigators: Shahram Khosrowpanah

Project Summary: Islands Region of the National Institutes for Water Resources are faced with a unique set of environmental and cultural issues pertinent to the management of water resources. Due to geographic isolation, limited physical resources, unique ecosystems, and susceptibility to natural disaster, tropical islands face immediate challenges in meeting the demand for safe and adequate drinking water supplies. The great distances that separate most island states from larger centers of academia and government mean that there is less frequent exchange between researchers on the islands and their colleagues in the major population centers. Enhanced communication and collaboration between island researchers can provide a vital, synergistic link which will strengthen all the researchers programs. In response to these needs, the Island Institutes (Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands) will convene a conference in Honolulu, Hawaii during December 2015. The conference will be a follow-up to a conference held by the institutes in November 2011 (Water Resource Sustainability Issues on Tropical Islands Conference, November 14-19, 2011, Honolulu, Hawaii) to provide a platform for discussion between water resources researchers and others on existing water resources issues facing tropical islands and those issues that are likely to develop in the future particularly due to the anticipated changes in climate.