On World Water Day, 22 March 2010 - which this year communicates messages on water quality, ecosystems and human well-being - the UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science at the University of Dundee will be hosting an interactive online event focused on Hydrology, Environment, Life and Policy (HELP) river basins in Scotland, supported by Be2camp.

The University of Dundee will lead discussions with respect to the Tweed; and the Macaulay Institute will provide comparisons regarding the Dee. There will also be an international comparison of the Tweed and Thames HELP river basins, led by the University of Dundee HELP Centre. The focus throughout will be HELP and the interface between land use and water management, and how we crystallise a stakeholder driven agenda for effective river basin management in Scotland.

This innovative event will be a collective gathering of knowledge, expertise and opinion from amongst HELP stakeholders primarily in Scotland, but also globally. Everyone attending the event, online or face-to-face, will be the beneficiaries of the project. These people will primarily be practitioners and stakeholders in the public and voluntary sectors in the Tweed and Dee river basins - often distributed across many small towns and smaller settlements in often remote parts of the country. Hence the use of an online environment to support the day.

Agenda

The Policy Context

13:00 – 13:20: Chris Spray, UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science at the University of Dundee, giving policy context, purpose and parameters for the day.

13:20 – 13:40: Shahbaz Khan. Chief of Water and Sustainable Development section, UNESCO Division of Water Sciences.

The River Basins

13:40 – 14:00: Tom Ball, UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science at the University of Dundee, comparing Tweed HELP basin with that of the Thames and beyond.

14:00 – 14:20: Susan Cooksley, Macaulay Institute, on the Dee HELP basin.

14:20 – 14:40: Simon Langan, Macaulay Institute, on stakeholder engagement within the Dee basin; final confirmation required.

14:40 – 15:00: Nicola Bissett, Tweed Forum, on the Tweed HELP basin

Focus on Water Quality and Flooding

15:00 – 15:20: Craig Macadam, Buglife, on water quality and bugs

15:20 – 15:40: Martin Marsden, SEPA, on water quality & regulation.

15:40 – 16:00: Lisa Webb, Land Use Policy Officer (Water) RSPB Scotland, on water quality and birdlife.

16:00 – 16:20: David Green, Scottish Borders Council, on flooding.

16:20 – 16:30: Chris Spray, UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science at the University of Dundee, wrap-up.