Interview With Meisha Hunter, President of the International Scientific Committee on Water and Heritage

Meisha Hunter, FAAR, AICP, ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Water & Heritage President is an award winning historic preservationist, a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and global leader in the conservation of historic water infrastructure.

In her professional work in New York, she serves as Director of Preservation and Planning at Li/Saltzman Architects. Her early public sector experience included working for the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission.

She also serves as the President of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Water and Heritage (ISCWater). Her career bridges the technical worlds of water management and cultural heritage to address modern environmental and climate challenges. As President of ICOMOS ISCWater, Ms. Hunter champions the recognition, protection, rehabilitation and maintenance of historic water management systems—such as aqueducts and traditional irrigation networks as living assets that sustain livelihoods. Her work focuses on:

Climate Change Risk Adaptation and Mitigation: Promoting historic water management systems and stewardship practices to aid in modern climate adaptation, sea level rise mitigation, and UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 targets.

Cross-Disciplinary Dialogue: fostering critical collaborations between water managers and historic preservation professionals.

Policy Frameworks: Contributing to global heritage policies, including working with international colleagues to propose water-related amendments to the Venice Charter; and collaborating with colleagues and partners on the New York Statement and Commitments delivered to the United Nations in 2023.

Ms. Hunter was awarded the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts Rome Prize in Historic Preservation by the American Academy in Rome. During her fellowship, she extensively researched and mapped Roman hydraulic infrastructure. She is a frequent international lecturer and has authored or contributed to foundational texts on water heritage, including:

Adaptive Strategies for Water Heritage (Springer, 2019)

Water Infrastructural Heritage: Management and Governance. The Institution of Civil Engineers' Themed Journal on Water Heritage

- “Revisiting the Venice Charter: Critical Perspectives and Contemporary Challenges”. Co-authored with Henk van Schaik and Nupur Prothi. ICOMOS Ouro Preto Ptoceedings, 2025.

- “Terraced Agriculture, Traditional Knowledge and Disaster Risk Reduction”. Co-authored with Henk van Schaik, Ning Liu, Kevin Lane and Tomeu Deya. ICOMOS Lumbini Proceedings, 2026.

By Selva Ozelli Esq, CPA, Author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally

 

1. Tell us about your journey with the ICOMOS ISC Water.

My first connection with ICOMOS Netherlands Water and Heritage Initiative’s 2016 conference in Delft opened the door for collaborations with Sir Diederik Six and Henk van Schaik, and eventually to the ICOMOS ISC Water. Both Diederik and Henk have been inspirational for me, and our ISC Water owes a great debt to them for their leadership, water diplomacy and vision. I have also been extremely fortunate to learn from and collaborate with Dr Naima Benkari, Dr Ave Paulus and Sara Roversi. I am also grateful for the inspiration of Chief High Akagi of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and also Pope Francis’ Encyclical Laudato Si.

2. As President of ICOMOS ISCWater, you champion the recognition and protection of historical water management systems and stewardship practices —focusing on livelihoods, Climate Change mitigation/adaptation and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Tell us about your initiatives in this regard.

The invitation to participate in the 2026 UN ECOSOC Partnership Forum with panel moderator Neil dev Patel spurred me to collaborate closely with Dr Naima Benkari of the ICOMOS. SDG Working Group.

Sara Roversi’s generous invitation to speak at the 2026 Venice Climate Week Planet Aqua Planet Peace was a deeply humbling experience to learn from expansive thinkers and water diplomacy actors, and to advocate for traditional water management systems rehabilitation as critical for sustaining livelihoods, helping to meet SDG6 targets, mitigate/adapt to climate risk, and as instruments of peace building.

Our ISC Water has been extremely fortunate to participate in critical conversations at the nexus of traditional water management systems, climate risk and SDG6 targets including the World Heritage Committee ICOMOS China Side Event, the World Water Week with Dr Ave Paulus, and forthcoming events such as the Convivium at New York Climate Week with Future Food Institute, World Monuments Fund, Past Water Futures, ARTE, and IAX. We were recently accepted for Engagement Level II with the UN Water Conference Academic Hub. Our program of agents for the fall 2026 also includes a side event at the ICOMOS General Assembly in Kuching, and side events at the COP31 in Antalya. We aha also submitted a proposal for a side event at the UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi.

3. Tell us about your programs and collaborations for COP31 Antalya.

We are very grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with esteemed colleagues for the COP31 in Antalya. We will have a session on water, heritage and climate risk at Belim University, and another side event at the Architecture Center in the downtown historic district. Our programmes will include lectures, round table discussion, poster exhibition, chamber music by the composer Evan Fein, and a documentary film about pre-Incan micro dam rehabilitation by film maker Pierre de Parscau of ARTE.

4. Tell us about your programs and collaborations for the 2026 United Nations Water Conference December 8–10, 2026, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), co-hosted by the UAE and Senegal. A primary objective of the conference is to accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) on clean water and sanitation.

We have submitted a proposal for a Scientific Symposium side event to the UN Water Conference organizers and await their decision.

5. Do you collaborate with artists in designing your programs for various conferences?

For the 2023 UN Water Action Decade Midterm Review in New York, the composer Evan Fein was engaged to prepare a score called Archimedes Dreams. This was performed by the UN Chamber Music Society. His piece was also performed at the Ribiera Sacra in Spain in 2024. We hope to have this work performed in Antalya as well.

Pierre de Parscau’s film about pre-Incan micro dam rehabilitation will be have its world premiere at the Future Food Institute Convivium at New York Climate Week. Pierre has agreed to share the film for the COP31 event as well.

6. How can people reach you?

ICOMOSwater at icomos.org