On Monday, November 16, Matthew Heberger of the Pacific Institute will be the guest speaker at the World Affairs Council of the Monterey Bay Area’s monthly luncheon on the topic “What Californians Can Learn from Other Water-Scarce Countries.”

California is in the midst of the fourth year of a severe drought, with reservoirs drawn down, groundwater over-drafted, and eco-systems devastated. Many believe that we have reached the point where we have to fundamentally rethink our infrastructure, our water use, and our institutions in an effort to bring our over-stressed water system back into balance. California is not alone in facing water challenges. The drought offers an opportunity to draw on lessons from other parts of the world, including Australia, Singapore, Israel, and Latin America, that have tackled the problems of water scarcity and a growing population. Mr. Heberger, a hydrologist and water policy analyst, will begin his presentation with a brief overview of the global impact climate change is having on water resources followed by a discussion of how other water-scarce nations and regions are coping.

Matthew Heberger is a Senior Research Associate with the Pacific Institute based in Oakland, California. The institute is an independent, science-based organization that creates and advances solutions to the world’s water challenges. He joined the Pacific Institute in 2007 and conducts research on a range of issues in water resources policy, planning, and management. He has spent the last 18 years working on water issues as a hygiene and sanitation educator in West Africa and as a consulting engineer and policy analyst in Washington, D.C., and California. He holds a B.S. in Agriculture and Biological Engineering from Cornell University and an M.S. in Water Resources Engineering from Tufts University in Boston.

The talk will be from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Rancho Cañada Golf Club on Carmel Valley Road in Carmel. If you would like just to listen to the lecture (audit), there is no charge, and no reservations are required.  Auditors should be seated by 12:40 p.m.  Lunch will be served before the talk begins. If you also would like to have lunch at noon, the cost is $25 per person for World Affairs Council members and NPS students (a special rate for students) and $35 for others.  For lunch reservations, please fill out the attached reservation form and send it in by the deadline of Thursday, November 12.

In addition, the World Affairs Council has monthly discussions that are free and open to the public.  The topic for November is “Syrian Reverberations.” On Monday, November 9, the discussion will be at Monterey Peninsula College, Room 101, Social Science Bldg., at 4 p.m.  That topic and others will also be discussed on November 2, 3, 16, 17, at the OLLI Office at CSUMB, 6^th Avenue and Inter-Garrison Road, at 4 p.m.