31 July 2012
UNFCCC Holds Workshop on Water, Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation
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The UNFCCC Secretariat organized a technical workshop to discuss water, climate change impacts and adaptation strategies under the Nairobi Work Programme on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change.

The meeting was held in Mexico City, Mexico, and aimed at assisting parties in, inter alia: improving understanding of climate change impacts and vulnerability of water resources; and adaptation planning and developing practices for reducing water resources vulnerability.

UNFCCC20 July 2012: The UNFCCC Secretariat organized a technical workshop to address water, climate change impacts and adaptation strategies under the Nairobi Work Programme on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change. The meeting was held in Mexico City, Mexico, from 18-20 July 2012.

The workshop aimed at assisting parties, in particular developing countries, including the least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing Sates (SIDS), to improve and develop shared understanding of: climate change impacts and vulnerability of water resources; adaptation planning and developing practices for reducing water resources vulnerability; and data observation and identifying research needs and opportunities, including on communication and stakeholder engagement and knowledge sharing.

The technical meeting was organized in response to a request by the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the UNFCCC. It was also informed by Annex I to the SBSTA 34 report (FCCC/SBSTA/2011/2) and a technical paper prepared by the Secretariat (FCCC/TP/2011/5).

Discussions during the three day-meeting included presentations by key speakers followed by plenary discussions, which addressed, inter alia: transboundary, national and sub-national adaptation planning and practices related to water; the consideration of indigenous and traditional knowledge, including gender-sensitive tools and approaches for impact and vulnerability assessment at multiple levels; comparative vulnerability and resilience assessments; and practical cases on observational data in assessing climate change.

Participants learned from experiences in Mexico, the US, Costa Rica, Egypt, Haiti, Burkina Faso, the Rhine basin, West African, and Bangladesh. Participants also debated potential future work on water and climate change under the Nairobi work programme. Presentations are available at the workshop’s website. [Workshop Website] [Workshop Agenda]

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