Toward Sustainable Groundwater in Agriculture
                                                - Linking Science and Policy

June 17-20, 2024
Burlingame/San Francisco, California

Click here to view the conference program 

This three-day international conference with a pre-conference workshop day will bring together leading scientists, policy analysts, policy and decision makers, and agricultural and environmental interest group representatives from around the world to define and highlight the science of and the challenges in groundwater resources management and groundwater quality protection within and related to agricultural landscapes. The conference will also offer a forum to identify promising technical and policy solutions that provide a sustainable future for groundwater and food production at regional, national, and global scales.

Around the globe, groundwater is the lifeline for many rural and agricultural regions and their associated cultures and populations. It is also a cornerstone of global food production. Groundwater constitutes nearly half the world's drinking water and much of the world's irrigation water supply.  In many regions, groundwater provides significant resilience to drought.  Climate change, population growth, overexploitation, salinization and nonpoint source (diffuse) pollution from agricultural activities (including animal farming, ranching, and forestry activities) have exacerbated groundwater quality and quantity conflicts within agricultural regions, at the urban-rural interface,  at the agriculture-environment nexus, and extend to the groundwater-surface water interface. Loss of drought resiliency, increased groundwater production costs, falling water tables, well outages, land subsidence, seawater intrusion, loss of groundwater-dependent ecosystems including entire wetland, lake, and stream systems, and extensive surface water pollution from groundwater return flows have reached global dimensions and threaten the health and livelihood of this planet. Within the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus, this conference specifically highlights the real world challenges, science frontiers, solutions (technical, regulatory, management, financial), and emerging policies centered around the multi-faceted, inter- and transdisciplinary interface between groundwater and agriculture.

Conference Themes include:

• Toward Sustainable Groundwater Supplies in Agricultural Landscapes
  • Best Management Practices to Sustain Groundwater Supply (agricultural practices)
  • Climate Change Adaptation (within the groundwater-agriculture nexus)
  • Groundwater Governance
  • Groundwater Management: Data, Monitoring & Modeling 
  • Groundwater Management & Policy: Design, Challenges, and Insights
  • Groundwater-Surface Water Interaction in Irrigated Regions
  • Irrigation and Sustainability
  • Managed Aquifer Recharge in Agricultural Landscapes
  • Recharge Mapping
• Toward Sustainable Groundwater Quality in Agricultural Landscapes
  • Agrochemicals (incl. Phosphorus, Pesticides) Monitoring, Modeling, Policy
  • Best Management Practices to Protect Groundwater Quality (agricultural practices)
  • Emerging Contaminants at the Groundwater-Agriculture Nexus
  • Nitrogen Losses to Groundwater - Characterization and Monitoring
  • Nitrate Monitoring, Modeling, and Policy 
  • Nonpoint Source Pollution in Animal Farming (incl. Pathogens, Pharmaceuticals)
  • Policy, Regulations, and Management of Agricultural Groundwater Pollution Sources
  • Salinity Assessment, Monitoring, and Policy
• Cross-Cutting Themes at the Groundwater-Agriculture Nexus
  • Artificial Intelligence at the Groundwater-Agriculture Nexus
  • Economic and Policy Challenges to & Opportunities for Sustainable Groundwater in Agricultural Regions
  • Energy/Biofuel – Groundwater Nexus
  • Environmental Justice and Groundwater in Rural/Agricultural Regions
  • Global Food Security - Groundwater Nexus
  • Globalizing Actions in the Groundwater-Energy-Food-Environment Nexus
  • Groundwater and Livelihoods
  • Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs)
• Sustainable Groundwater Policies for Agricultural Landscapes - Lessons Learned
  • EU Water Framework Directive Upcoming 25 Year Anniversary
  • National and Global Examples
  • Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) 10 Year Anniversary

Conference Registration

Conference registration is now closed. The conference registration fee of $795 includes coffee services, sponsored lunches, and two evening receptions.

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