Campus water reading initiative author to speak at Fresno State

(April 30, 2019) -- Fresno State students, staff, faculty and the public are invited to a “Chasing Water” book presentation by author Brian Richter at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 2, in Peters Business Building Room 191.

During the free event, Richter will discuss how communities must work together in new collective ways to create more successful and enduring water management programs to encourage better sustainable practices.

Pizza and refreshments will be available to the first 100 students at 5:30 p.m., and the author will sign copies of his book afterward.

The event is sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Water Cohort at Fresno State, and is part of a campus-wide reading initiative that includes 200 students in six classes and half of the university’s eight colleges and schools.

Richter’s book focuses on increasing global water scarcity demands, and how communities need to play a more active role and integrate other factors such as culture, economics, and varied interests into their dialogue about more sustainable natural resource management.

Richter is the director of Global Freshwater Strategies for The Nature Conservancy, where he works with governments, communities and corporations to create sustainable water use and management policies.

He has been an international leader in the area for more than 30 years and has previous served as the chief scientist for the Global Water Program of The Nature Conservancy. He has consulted on more than 150 water projects worldwide and has testified before Congress on multiple occasions. He also teaches a water sustainability course at the University of Virginia.

He has developed numerous scientific tools and methods to support river protection and restoration efforts, including the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration software that is being used by water managers and scientists worldwide.

He was featured in a BBC documentary with David Attenborough on “How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth?” He has published many scientific papers on the importance of ecologically sustainable water management in international science journals.

He also co-authored a book with Sandra Postel entitled, “Rivers for Life: Managing Water for People and Nature”.

For more event information, contact Laura Ramos at 559.278.7691 or lramos@csufresno.edu.