25 July 2019
UN-Water Urges Managing Water for Climate Resilience
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The brief calls for managing water through the lens of climate resilience.

It recommends policies that will ensure the representation, participation, behavioral change, and accountability of all stakeholders, as well as adaptation plans that will assist lower-income populations and those who are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change.

UN-Water calls for more investment in producing better hydrological data, strengthening institutions and governance of water resources, conducting risk assessments, sharing knowledge, educating water users, and building capacity for better water management.

12 July 2019: UN-Water has launched a policy brief on the topic of water and climate change that presents a case for taking an integrated approach to climate change and water management, in anticipation of greater variability in the water cycle, periods of water scarcity, and increasing competition from various quarters for water resources. Overall, it argues for managing water through the lens of climate resilience.

The 20-page Water and Climate Policy Brief as launched at a side event organized during the 2019 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). The brief anticipates that the impacts of climate change will be felt in the increased demand for water for energy, agriculture, industry, and human consumption. Making reasonable trade-offs will be essential; thus, the UN consortium calls for policies that will ensure the representation, participation, behavioral change, and accountability of all stakeholders, as well as adaptation plans that will assist lower-income populations and those who are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change. The policy brief further calls for more investment in producing better hydrological data, strengthening institutions and governance of water resources, conducting risk assessments, sharing knowledge, educating water users, and building capacity for better water management.

Water is both an enabling and a limiting factor in mitigating and adapting to climate change.

At the global and regional levels, UN-Water recommends, inter alia: getting a broader set of national and local government agencies and ministries to participate in the UNFCCC, such as those from water, health, energy, and agriculture sectors; setting global priorities for climate-resilient water and sanitation interventions that will serve the most vulnerable populations, including in areas where there is large-scale human displacement; and ensuring that climate discussions and agreements recognize the role of water in mitigating the impacts of climate change. UN-Water also calls on existing and new climate funds to support resilience building through improved water governance and management.

At the national and sub-national levels, UN-Water recommends, inter alia: updating existing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), national adaptation plans (NAPs) and other climate-related strategies to incorporate risk-based approaches to water provision and management practices that align with climate targets where appropriate; fostering dialogue among various ministries; and supporting academic research into low-regret, climate-resilient and context-specific water and sanitation infrastructure and technology.

The policy brief concludes that water is both an enabling and a limiting factor in mitigating and adapting to climate change. [Publication: UN-Water Policy Brief: Climate Change and Water] [Policy Brief Webpage] [Key Messages] [UN-Water Announcement]

 


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