#79 - Aaron Wolf, Water Conflict Management

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In this conversation, Dr. Todd Votteler, Editor-in-Chief of Texas+Water, talks with Aaron Wolf about managing and resolving water conflicts. Wolf is a Geography Professor at Oregon State University, a Professor of Water Diplomacy at the IHE-Delft Institute for Water Education, and a trained mediator/facilitator.

Wolf directs the Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation at Oregon State University, through which he has offered workshops, facilitations, and mediations around the world. He is also a Professor of Water Diplomacy at the IHE-Delft Institute for Water Education. Wolf authored The Spirit of Dialogue: Lessons from Faith Traditions in Transforming Conflict (Island Press, 2017), which he uses to bring facilitation and capacity-building to a variety of conflict settings, notably between entities who share water resources, and also in faith and interfaith communities, and within and between government agencies.

Wolf was awarded the 2016 American Association of Geographers Gilbert R. White Distinguished Public Service Honor “in recognition of his work on seeking peaceful approaches to international competition over water resources” and the 2015 Heinz Award for Public Policy for “applying 21st-century insights and ingenuity, as well as ancient wisdom, to complex problems for the security of the planet.”  

Finally, in the interest of full disclosure, Wolf and our Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, are both partners at Four Worlds Consulting, which delivers science-based, innovative approaches to heal disputes that arise, ranging from water and other natural resource conflicts to faith-based tensions. They work in a variety of settings, from urban and rural to domestic and international to public and private sectors.

Take a deep dive into the world of water with those making waves.