The IPSL’s “Water Cycle” theme organized a one-day seminar on Water-Society Relations on March 4, 2025, at the Sorbonne, bringing together approximately forty people in person.

This theme brings together IPSL researchers who study the different components of the water cycle using an integrated approach, addressing the challenges of climate change and anthropogenic pressures. Its objective is to promote inter-laboratory research projects.

The organization of this day was born from a simple observation: the water cycle has shaped our societies, and this dependence is today at the heart of the impacts of hydroclimatic changes and their extremes. In turn, human activities—urbanization, land use planning, energy production, pollution—are increasingly disrupting this cycle. There is therefore a strong demand within our community for a broader dialogue with the social sciences, and this seminar responded to this desire to exchange perspectives on water.

The day offered an overview of recent work on the interactions between water and society, through cross-presentations by hydrologists, climatologists, geographers, sociologists, and economists. Its success encourages the IPSL’s “Water Cycle” theme to consider a follow-up.