2006 Conference Program

Water Resources: Continental Systems, Regional Project Development

April 20-21, 2006

The Third Annual Conference of the Center for M a cro Projects a nd Diplom a cy a t Roger Willi a ms University focuses on Water Resources: Continental Systems, Regional Project Development. Concerns regarding water management following Hurricane Katrina in the United States, continuing problems around the world in managing water resources within and across national boundaries, as well as centuries-old achievements in the Netherlands and elsewhere point to ways we might rethink how we dwell in vulnerable areas, and frame future water management agreements and project proposals.

Following an overview of global and continental water situations, the Macro Conference will explore project proposals at a regional scale in three areas: in the US Gulf Coast, Southern New England and in the Middle East, with particular attention to water scarcity amid the unfolding Israeli-Palestinian situation.

The Conference provides a forum that allows governments, institutions, organizations and individuals from the fields of diplomacy, architecture and planning, engineering, law, management and the arts to collaborate in large-scale planning and implementation of projects, at global, continental and regional levels. Follow-up Study Groups may be formed from the gathering to pursue further project development.

The Macro Conference is co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Roger Williams University's Institute of Public Policy.

Conference Outline

 

Day One

April 20 Public Session: Panel Presentations and Discussion Location

8:00-5:30 Registration Arch 131

8:30-9:00 Introductions Arch 132

Roy J. Nirschel, President, Roger Williams University

Fr a nk P. Davidson, Founding Advisor, Center for Macro Projects and Diplomacy

Stephen White, Director, Center for Macro Projects and Diplomacy

Movie: “The Center for Macro Projects and Diplomacy”, 2005

produced by Karl Sabbagh, Belinda Aird; Skyscraper Productions, London


Session 1 Continental Water Systems in a Global Context
Arch 132


9:00-10:30 Morning Keynote Address: “ Why Having a National Water Policy Makes a

Difference: Learning Lessons from Katrina”

Gerald Galloway, P.E., Ph.D., Glenn L. Martin Professor of Engineering, University

of Maryland ; former Vice-President, Geospatial Strategies, Titan Corporation

“Global Water Policy, Institutional Trends, and Water Infrastructure”

Jerome Delli Priscoli, Board of Governors, World Water Council; Senior

Advisor, US Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources;

Editor in Chief, Water Policy

“Effects of Climate Change on Freshwater Distribution”

Mead Treadwell, Senior Fellow, Institute of the North

Commissioner, U.S. Arctic Research Commission

“Macro Perspectives on Continental River Systems”

Mark Sawoski, Professor of International Relations, Roger Williams University

Associate Director, Center for Macro Projects and Diplomacy

Discussion

10:30-10:45 Break

April 20 Public Session: Panel Present a tions a nd Discussion Loc a tion

 

Session 2 Designing the Delta
Arch 132


10:45-12:30 “ A Framework Plan for New Orleans ”

John Beckman, AICP, Principal, Wallace Roberts & Todd LLC, Philadelphia

“Environmental Change and the Future of Deltaic Cities”

Elizabeth Dean Hermann, Professor, Rhode Island School of Design;

Co-Founder/Co-Director, Institute for Sustainable Urban Societies

“Water: If You Can't Beat it, Learn to Love it:

Learning to Appreciate Water in Planning and Design”

Matthijs de Boer, MDB Stedenbouw, Rotterdam

“ Mississippi Floods: Designing a Shifting Landscape”

Anuradha Mathur, Dilip da Cunha, University of Pennsylvania

“ New Orleans Water Edges”

Charles Hagenah, Patrick Charles, Roger Williams University

Discussion

12:30-1:40 Lunch

Exhibition: Designing the Delta: Student work in Landscape Architecture Exhibition

and Architecture; Rhode Island School of Design, Roger Williams University , Gallery

University of Pennsylvania

1:40-5:00 Architecture and Landscape Design Studio Review

Attendees, with students Arch 102-107




Session 3 Panel Discussion: Southeastern New England Water Supply
Law 283


1:40-2:45 How does Rhode Island Protect and Expand this Important Resource?


Panel Discussion

Pamela Marchand, Chief Engineer, Providence Water Supply Board

Juan Mariscal, Director, Rhode Island State Water Resources Board

Michael McMahon, Executive Director and CEO, RI Economic Development Council

W. Michael Sullivan, Director, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

Harald Frederiksen, Water Resources Consultant, Eugene , Oregon

2:45-3:00 Break


Session 4 A Rhode Island Emergency Management Plan
Law 283

3:00-4:45 Natural Disasters : Has New Orleans ' Disaster Become Rhode Island 's Dilemma?

“ New England 's Threat of a Major Hurricane Strike Grows”

Joe Bastardi, Senior Forecaster, Accuweather


Panel Discussion

Reginald A. Centracchio, Maj. General (retired), Rhode Island National Guard

Robert Warren, Director, Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency

Tom Hodgson, Sheriff, Bristol County , Rhode Island

Nicholas Logothets , Rhode Island Chapter, American Red Cross

Gerald Galloway, University of Maryland

4:45 Break

5:00-6:00 Afternoon Keynote Address

James Lee Witt, James Lee Witt Associates

Former Director, US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Reception Exhibition Gallery

7:00 Dinner

Day Two

April 21 Public and Working Sessions Location

8:30-5:00 Registration Arch 131

 

Session 5 Macro Projects for Gaza and the Middle East following Israeli Withdrawal
Arch 132


9:00-10:30 “The Urgency and Potentials for Regional Planning in the Middle East ”

Timothy Rothermel, Special Representative, UNDP Programme for the Assistance to the Palestinian People (retired)

Overview and Updated Proposals for Gaza Development,

2004 New Land for Peace: Constructing Prosperity in the Middle East .

Mark Sawoski, Charles Hagenah, Patrick Charles, Roger Williams University

“Pre-fabricated Relocatable Port Facilities for Gaza ”

Ernst Frankel, Professor Emeritus of Ocean Engineering and Management, MIT

Discussion

10:30-10:50 Break

 

Session 6 Water Resources and Rights in the Middle East
Arch 132


10:50-12:30 “A Proposal for Shared Water Rights in the Middle East ”

Harald Frederiksen, Director, Water Resources Unit, Middle East and Asia

The World Bank (retired), Water Resources Consultant, Eugene , OR

“Macro Water Projects for Palestine , Water Rights for all Jordan River Riparians”

Mark Zeitoun, Department of Geography, King's College, London

Discussion: Fred Moavenzadeh, James Mason Crafts Professor of Systems Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT (Moderator); Hala Taweel, President, University of the Middle East; Jerome Delli Priscoli, World Water Council

12:30-1:40 Lunch Exhibition G a llery




Session 7 Macro Study Group Working Sessions

1:40-3:00 Working Session: Macro Proposals in the Middle East Arch 239

Water, Port, Land Reclamation Proposals

1:40-3:00 RWU Macro Seminar Discussion

Attendees, with Roger Williams University International Relations students Arch 104

Topics include: Global Climate Change and Continental River Systems; The UN Millennium Development Goals with Respect to Water; Case Study:  An Example of a Successful/ Failed International Water Project; Hydro Power on the Ganges: A New Model; International Management of the Nile; The Concept of "Virtual Water" and the Arab-Israeli Conflict; Case Study:  A Snapshot of a Palestinian Village and its Water Use; The New US National Emergency Plan and its Critics; Lessons Learned About Emergency Management from New Orleans and Dhaka; The Providence Hurricane Barrier:  An Assessment

3:00-3:30 Closing Arch 132

4:00-5:30 Advisory Meeting: Center for Macro Projects and Diplomacy Arch 239

Discussion of Futures

Christoph von Braun, Technology Consultant, Munich ;

Author, The Innovation Wars

About the Center

The Center for Macro Projects and Diplomacy at Roger Williams University fosters the interdisciplinary formulation, design, demonstration and debate of large-scale project proposals that can contribute to human progress through the improvement of world habitat. With invited leaders, faculty and students concentrating on clearly defined issues of importance to the world community, the Center in annual events, coursework, a nd publications follows through on steps needed to display and debate proposals that can provide advances on pressing issues of the day.

2004: The Center's First Annual Conference, New Land for Peace: Constructing Prosperity in the Middle East in April 2004 explored the benefits of establishing new economic initiatives in conjunction with land reclamation from the sea and the desert, as steps forward toward progress in Israeli-Palestinian relations. The Center's follow-up Study Group created a four-part Preliminary Proposal under consideration for fe a sibility funding, involving:

•  the establishment of a joint “Free Industrial Zone” at the border between Egypt and Gaza

•  Construction of an offshore deepwater seaport and large artificial island within Palestinian jurisdiction off RafahandKhan Younis – connected by causeway to the mainland

•  Construction of a secure rail link connecting G aza and the West Bank, designed for the transport of commercial containers headed for the se a port a swell as for the secure flow of passengers and messages

•  Strengthening of regional planning a nd development processes to promote broad oversight of the project and also to guide implementation of other related projects, including major infrastructure improvements a nd the development of cultur a lly-sensitive, sust a in able housing communities.

 

2005: The Center's 2nd Annual Conference: Post-Conflict Reconstruction: Re-Connecting Sites, Nations, Cultures in April 2005

•  Creation of a regional watershed plan, including settlement design proposals for Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan . Submitted to the Provincial Governor, Maidan Wardak Province and the Director, Afghan Red Crescent