A call to action to mainstream water adaptation

Submitted by Nitya Jacob | published 21st Jul 2022 | last updated 7th Apr 2023
A parched land

Water shortages can be overcome with nature-based solutions
 

Summary

Mainstreaming of water adaptation is necessary to accelerate a system-wide coherence on water across multiple agendas. Many adaptation practices and approaches exist already, but as IPCC observes, the effort is fragmented and inadequate. At the same time many policy actors and platforms are available to drive a transformative change, such as the COPs and the upcoming UN Water 2023 Conference in New York.

The Water Adaptation Community is working to promote mainstreaming of water adaptation and to accelerate understanding and action in policy and in practice.

These three videos are a call to action to mainstream water climate adaptation at a series of international events such COP27, the UN 2023 Water Conference and COP28. 

Further resources

  • Urban areas are hotspots of risks and impacts but also an important part of the solution.

    For thousands of years, human beings have farmed the earth and built great civilizations. But we have failed to take care of the planet. Our actions have negatively impacted the water cycle and with climate change, things are getting worse. The GCA State and Trends on Adaptation contain frightening statistics and warnings. Water has the potential to trigger progress throughout society. Take the example of Rotterdam. Today it is a city transformed by innovation with water resilience as part of its DNA.

    You can view the video here: https://youtu.be/H6-9TuOAHLk

  • Connecting water and climate needs to be a top priority

    Climate change impacts the water cycle and everything else that depends on water.  But often the climate conversations exclude the importance of water. Well-integrated National frameworks for Climate Change Management can help bridge the climate and water conversation. Connecting water and climate needs to be a top priority at COP27 and COP 28 and at the UN Water Conference 2023.

    You can view the video here: https://youtu.be/_omq3J_hJE4

  • Investing in adaptation is the smart thing to do

    The 2021 IPCC report was clear. We have no time to waste. The windows of opportunity for climate action are closing fast. And we have no Planet B. For many countries it is adapt or die. We need to scale up and accelerate adaptation. Africa needs at least US$336 billion per year to secure lives and livelihoods of the African people. Investing in adaption is not only the right thing to do. It is the smart thing to do.  The cost of inaction is 15 times higher than the cost of taking action.

    You can view the video here: https://youtu.be/3Xrap4zLq38

  • Putting Climate at the Heart of Water Treatment- an Interview with Rick Bacon CEO of AMS

    Unsustainable approaches to water treatment are pervasive, partly due to a lack of real-time data. Water treatment and waste water treatment plants can make informed decisions if they know the quality of your water, and determine how to reuse more of it, reducing net intake. Monitoring also provides an early warning system for contaminant outbreaks, which improves compliance and reduces pollution downstream. Overall, it helps water managers, both in industry and municipalities, to optimize the entire system and reduce carbon emissions. [This article appeared in The Water Network and the full text is available here.]

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