B-WaterSmart Lisbon Living Lab Event

On the Word Water Day 2024, the Municipality of Lisbon, the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC) and Water Europe organised a B-WaterSmart event focused on the B-WaterSmart Lisbon Living Lab. We showcased multiple aspects demonstrating how water professionals actively contribute to peace by offering practical solutions that benefit societies, economies, and the environment.

We commenced by highlighting the work carried out in the Lisbon Living Lab of B-WaterSmart.

Lisbon, being a coastal city with limited local freshwater sources and facing increasing pressure on water demand due to tourism and the necessity for more green areas to mitigate climate change effects such as heatwaves, the Lisbon Municipality is highly committed to utilizing water resources intelligently to reconcile these conflicting factors. The European project  BWS facilitated the development of a Strategic Agenda for Lisbon, encompassing strategic objectives and strategies for the entire city, along with a Strategic Plan for the Lisbon Municipality as the owner of the Living Lab. Building upon these foundations, a cohesive array of products was developed, ranging from a matchmaking tool to assist in selecting the most suitable water sources for non-potable water demands to corresponding risk assessment in the use and risk management in the distribution tools, and an alternative comparison tool aim to assist decision making. Other relevant products to highlight are the protocol for the use of treated wastewater for food industry, the climate readiness certificates and the Urban Water Cycle Observatory.

LNEC serves as the scientific mentor for the Living Lab, employing our co-production approach to foster innovation. The work undertaken by B-WaterSmart forms the basis for establishing a Water-Oriented Living Lab in Lisbon, aligning with the criteria set forth by Water Europe and embraced by European Water4All.

Fortunately, both Water Europe and LNEC are involved in BWS and Water4All. One of Water4All’s initiatives was the creation of the European Atlas of Water-Oriented Living Labs (WOLLs), with Lisbon being one of the 20 WOLLs featured in the new Atlas.

This transitioned into the post-lunch session where we were honoured to have Arian Blum, coordinator of Water4All, Andrea Rubini, from Water Europe and leader of Pillar D, demonstration activities of Water4All, and coordinator of the Atlas, alongside Catarina Freitas, representing the Municipality of Lisbon.

Following these presentations and discussions, Catarina de Albuquerque, the first United Nations rapporteur for the Human Right to Water and Sanitation, and CEO of the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA), offered her experience and insights on the theme of this year’s World Water Day, Water for Peace.  To finalise, we visualised a video expressly produced for this event, where eight water associations shared their perspectives on Water for Peace.

It was indeed a remarkable day!

It is interesting to note that Water4All serves as the platform’s name, represents the primary strategic objective set forth in BWS, and embodies SWA: Sanitation and Water for All — a crucial element for peace!

But our journey doesn’t end here: a snapshot of today’s events will be shared in Bali at the World Water Forum, in May, during an event at the Water4All Pavilion. Additionally, it will be revisited in Lisbon again, during the Special Session that Water4All will host at the 8th European IAHR Conference in June. We hope to see you all there!

The Organising Committee

of B-WaterSmart Lisbon Living Lab Event,

Word Water Day 2024 – Water for Peace