Karin Lexén, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)
‘Climate change has made us realise that water is in fact the very centre of the life support system of our planet: water is simply the bloodstream of the biosphere.’
Professor Malin Falkenmark, Senior Scientific Advisor, SIWI
Greater numbers of stakeholders are realising the centrality of water to climate change adaptation, mitigation and effective sustainable development strategies. However continued and coordinated support from stakeholders and governments is needed to ensure this recognition is translated into action.It is of vital importance that we really understand the issues of water and its inseparable links to climate change. To this end, the notion that water is not just a sector but a cross-cutting resource has been important in explaining why water cannot be regarded under the UNFCCC as just another sectoral interest to deal with, but rather as one of the few basic fundamental resources. If the role of water in responding to climate change is not appreciated, solving climate issues are likely to be unmanageable.
2013 has seen a groundswell of consciousness on the links between water and climate change. The year was crowned the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation, indicating just how far water has come on the wider international agenda. In June, its centrality to sustainable development was recognised in the synthesis report from the UN facilitated Post 2015 Thematic Consultation on Water. In September, the first part (Working Group I) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report was released, reinforcing and strengthening previous findings that the warming of the climate is unequivocal and that human impact on it is clear. The report underlined the stark fact that water is the medium through which the majority of climate change impacts are most strongly felt.
Since 2005, Water and Climate Focus Days have been held at World Water Week in Stockholm and the 2013 Overarching Conclusions have recently been published. They echo the aforementioned realisations and document that global climate change can have severe impacts on water security, affecting the most vulnerable communities and instilling enormous costs on governments. It is our intention to assist in linking the experiences of local stakeholders, whom as ‘non parties’ have no direct channel to high level processes and decision makers. The development of mechanisms to enable the contribution of a ‘non parties’ perspective is imperative to future decision-making.
The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and the government of the Netherlands are convening the side event ‘From negotiations to action on the ground – Promoting coherence on adaptation’ to take place on Thursday 21 November at 18.30 at COP 19. The event is a collaboration between different actors, governments, international organisations, and NGOs. The event sets out to identify and strengthen methods of cooperation to support enhanced adaptation. A number of case studies will be presented in order to illustrate how global policies and mechanisms could support processes at regional, national and local levels to enhance climate adaptation capabilities.
Co-conveners include Colombia, Sweden, Vietnam, the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), Conservation International (CI), the French Water Partnership and the Global Water Partnership (GWP), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
About the author: Karin Lexén is Director of World Water Week and International Processes and Prizes at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).
