Scientific Symposium & Annual General Meeting 

“Traditional Water and Land Management Systems”

The Future Food Institute (FFI), the Villa Montepaldi Living Lab, the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Water and Heritage (ISC Water), the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) and the Fondazione Romualdo del Bianco (FRDB) are delighted to announce a Scientific  Symposium and Annual General Meeting on 24-26 November 2025.  We invite scholars, water managers, engineers, architects, landscape architects, heritage professionals, planners and policy makers to contribute to this event. Contributions, including research papers, case studies, and reflections are sought to align with the Symposium’s objectives and themes. We aim to bridge disciplines and institutional silos; ground the conceptual objectives of the Symposium in operational, place-based strategies; expand outreach across education, youth, civic, gender and cultural sectors; and catalyze scalable models for inclusive water heritage governance.

Submit your abstract for a session, paper or poster sending an email entitled ‘Abstract Symposium Submission‘ to:

iscwater@icomos.org

The call for abstracts will close on 15 October 2025.  

Proposed topics are listed below: 

  1. Threats to traditional terraces and water governance: Preserving terraced agriculture and water related heritage amidst the threats of depopulation, development/encroachment, climate change, economic pressures, and water management that challenge the livelihoods of long-term stewardship and sustainability of agrarian communities and ecosystems. 
  2. Developing assessment methodologies of the cultural, socio-economic and environmental values of traditional water management systems as living assets/living heritage for present-day and future livelihoods.
  3. Water and Public Health: Integrating One Health approaches showing how the health of ecosystems and communities is deeply intertwined with water access, quality, and traditional food systems.
  4. Water and ‘territorial’ Governance: Exploring how water heritage can inspire innovative, inclusive governance models for rural areas, coastal landscapes and underwater regions.
  5. Water and the regeneration of marginal areas: Demonstrating how water-centered cultural practices can unlock sustainable development and resilience in peripheral regions often left behind by mainstream state policies.
  6. Future Lands/Terre Future: Regenerative land governance and bio-cultural resilience; supporting goals linked to landscape preservation, traditional practice and livelihood-centered land use.
  7. Venice Water Declaration: shared water governance and water consciousness. Direct alignment with the Symposium’s conceptual foundation (“Water is life”) and cultural political framing. 
  8. Blue Communities Initiative: coastal regeneration and adaptive governance; operationalize the concept of water related heritage as living heritage for community resilience. 
  9. World Heritage Irrigation Structures (WHIS): ICID launched a process for recognizing historical irrigation structures similar to World Heritage Sites as recognized by UNESCO.
  10. Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS): The United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) honors living heritage systems inhabited by communities, marked by agro-biodiversity, traditional knowledge, intangible heritage, and cultural heritage landscapes that support livelihoods and food security. 

ABSTRACT KEY DATES and GUIDELINES

Key Dates

  • Submit papers by 15th October 2025
  • Abstract authors will receive a decision by the 30th October 2025
  • Paper submissions must be received by 31st December 2025

Guidelines

  • Participants are welcome to submit abstracts in English.
  • Participants are welcome to submit more than one co-authored paper and/or poster abstracts, and session proposals. 
  • The 2025 Symposium organizers reserve the right to reclassify submitted abstracts into the most appropriate theme or program. 
  • Abstracts must be submitted via the online abstract submission portal. 
  • Abstracts will be reviewed as submitted by the abstract deadline of the 15th October 2025. 

Abstracts can be submitted for session, paper or poster proposals:

  • Session Proposals: For Session proposals, please provide a text of up to 750 words in English detailing the proposal. You have the option to present a session proposal in various formats including panel discussions and/or debates (which may include short presentations) and dialogues (roundtable discussions). 
  • Paper Abstracts: For individual paper abstract submissions, please submit a text of up to 500 words in English using the 2025 Symposium Submission Portal (insert text). During the seminar, presentations will be restricted to 10-15 minutes, followed by a 5-minute discussion period. Sessions will be managed by session chairs and timekeepers. All required equipment, including software for Powerpoint/PDF presentations, will be provided. 
  • Poster Abstracts: For poster abstract submissions, please provide a text of 250 words summarizing the overall content to be presented in the poster. If preferred, this text can be presented in a bullet point format,. 

Please use the following link to submit your abstract: abstract template (download). 


SELECTION PROCESS and EVALUATION CRITERIA

The Scientific Symposium Committee will peer-review all abstracts and selections will be made as per the evaluation criteria set below:

  • Bearing of the subject with the symposium theme/topics.
  • Scientific relevance.
  • Originality of the subject or the approach (methodology, innovation, impact).
  • Clarity of abstract drafting and key concept.
  • Geographic/regional, ethnic and gender diversity


PRESENTER AGREEMENT

By submitting an abstract, the presenter acknowledges and agrees to the following conditions:

  • Agree that if the abstract is accepted, ISCWater/FFI/ICID/FRDB have permission to publish the abstract in printed and/or electronic formats.
  • Agree to submit a full draft paper or poster as per the finalized format, length and within the proposed submission date before the Scientific Symposium and agree to the paper or poster being copy-edited.
  • Agree that ISC Water/FFI/ICID/FRDB has permission to publish the full paper or poster in printed and/or electronic formats.
  • Agree to register for and attend the ISCWater/FFI/ICID/FRDB Symposium in Florence to present in person or present online.