Women Plus Water Lecture Series

Leveraging Water for Peace

In honour of World Water Day (March 22), please join host Dr. Isabela Battistello Espindola and guests Commissioner Adriana Reséndez Maldonado and Dr. Zodwa Dlamini for a conversation on water diplomacy and management around the world.

Thursday, March 14, 2024
12:30-1:30 pm CST
Online (Zoom)

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Women Plus Water

Host

• Dr. Isabela Battistello Espindola
  Water Professional in International Relations and Environmental Issues

Guests

• Adriana Reséndez Maldonado
  Mexican Commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission
• Dr. Zodwa Dlamini
  Independent Consultant, Women and Water Diplomacy Network Leadership Council Member

More Info

Dr. Isabela Battistello Espindola
Dr. Isabela Battistello Espindola is a water professional with experience on international relations and environmental issues. With a Ph.D. in Human Geography from the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), Isabela is dedicated to transboundary water governance, sustainable development, and global youth and women engagement in the water sector. Her decade-long career spans international relations, hydropolitics, human rights, and environmental governance. Isabela’s active involvement in youth volunteer organizations inspires many in the realm of international relations.

Adriana Reséndez Maldonado
Commissioner Adriana holds a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering and Master's studies in Water Resources in Arid Zones, with a major in water use and quality, from Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. She is the first woman to hold the position of Head Commissioner of the Mexican Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (CILA). Commissioner Adriana previously spent 25 years at CILA, in the Departments of Operation and Engineering, as Principal Engineer of Operation and as Deputy Director of the Colorado River in the Engineering Department. During her career within the Commission, has participated in the negotiation of several Commission Minutes, as well as in joint inter-institutional and binational coordination for the development of key projects in the US-Mexico border region.

Licenciatura en ingeniera civil y estudios de maestría en Recursos Hidráulicos de las Zonas Áridas –con especialidad en uso y calidad del agua– en la Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. Es actualmente la primera mujer en ocupar el cargo de titular de la Sección Mexicana de la CILA. Cuenta con 25 años de experiencia en la Comisión Internacional de Límites y Aguas (CILA) en las áreas de Operación e Ingeniería, como ingeniera principal de Operación y como subdirectora del río Colorado en el Área de Ingeniería. Durante su trayectoria en este organismo ha participado en la negociación de diversas actas de la Comisión, al igual que en la coordinación interinstitucional y binacional para el desarrollo de proyectos de gran relevancia en la región fronteriza.

Dr. Zodwa Dlamini
Dr. Zodwa Dlamini is an independent consultant and seasoned international transboundary water management specialist, development professional, and senior infrastructure projects manager. As the former South Africa's Chief Delegate and Permanent Representative on the Lesotho Highlands Water Commission (LHWC) for 11 years, Dr. Dlamini oversaw the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) and its implementation. The LHWP is a binational project between the government of the Republic South Africa and the Kingdom of Lesotho responsible for delivering water from the highlands of Lesotho to South Africa and utilizing the water delivery system to generate 72MW hydro-electric power for the Kingdom of Lesotho at 'Muela Hydropower Station. LHWP is Africa's largest water transfer scheme to date. Dr. Dlamini has initiated a Rural Solar Project where six illiterate and semi-illiterate women from 4 villages within the LHWP area were selected by their villages to attend a solar engineering course at Barefoot College in Tilonia, India. Through this project they installed 400 solar panels in those four villages. During Dr. Dlamini's tenure, the LHDA appointed the first woman Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in over 20 years of its existence. Dr. Dlamini is also one of the founding members of Women in Water Diplomacy Network in the Nile Basin and currently serving on the Leadership Council.

Event Details

When:

March 14, 2024

Time:

12:30 PM - 01:30 PM CST

Location:

Online (Zoom)