Ximing Cai, "From Wishes to Actions – Reflections on Aspiration for International Water Resources Management"
Time: 12:00 pm, Tuesday, Nov 12, 2026
Location: Coble 306 and Zoom
Abstract: Over the past 30 years, the world has seen no shortage of aspirations for international water resources management: water diplomacy promises cooperation across borders; virtual water trade suggests that food trade can alleviate local water pressures; SDG 6 establishes a global commitment to water and sanitation for all; and many other ambitious concepts and initiatives have emerged. Yet, evidence of successfully translating these aspirations into sustained action remains limited. This talk reflects on the persistent gap between aspiration and action, drawing on real-world efforts to implement these ideas, concerns raised by the water community, and Professor Cai’s thoughts on the barriers that stand in the way. It proposes a pathway of learning, adapting, and scaling up by pairing big ideas with operational pilots and engaging stakeholders through a shared-vision approach. Ultimately, however, even the best ideas and approaches cannot become reality without a collaborative world.
About the speaker: Ximing Cai is the Ben Yen Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. His primary research area is water resources systems analysis, with a focus on coupled hydrology-human systems; his interdisciplinary work bridges hydrology and economics to unravel complex environmental and water-resources systems and to inform management policies. He was elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in 2019 for forging a new science of hydrologic change that accounts for human interactions and advances water-resources management, and a Fellow of the International Water Resources Association (IRWA) in 2024 for outstanding research and leadership in global water-resources management. He currently chairs IWRA’s Task Force on Downscaling the SDGs to decision-making scales.