Climate Change and Water – 2020 World Water Day
World Water Day 2020, on 22 March, is about water and climate change – and how the two are inextricably linked. Adapting to the water effects of climate change will protect health and save lives. Using water more efficiently will reduce greenhouse gases. We cannot afford to wait. Everyone has a role to play.
Climate is water
The International Water Association (IWA) connects professionals across sectors to deliver water-wise climate solutions. Water is a connector that offers solutions to global challenges. It is everybody’s business and climate change affect ‘us all.
Water & Climate Change – an Online Discussion
22. March 2020 | 15h00 CET
On the occasion of this international day to celebrate water and raise awareness on the importance of a water-wise world and in the state of minimal travel, the IWA organises an Online Panel Discussion on the topic.
Climate change and water are inextricably linked. What we do with water in cities can impact climate change, and climate change can impact water and exacerbate water scarcity in cities where people are already lacking access to safe drinking water. Acting now has never had more meaning. There are a number of things we can be doing to take Climate Action in the Water Sector and the time to act is now.
What is a Climate Smart Water Utility and climate actions the water sector can be taking from various levels while engaging the community? Join the debate here>>
Moderator
- Jose Porro, CEO Cobalt Water Global
Panelists
- Diane d’Arras, President, IWA
- Corinne Trommsdorff, CEO, Water Cities
- Jared Genova, Adivisor, I See Change
- Ariane Brotto, Senior Carbon and Energy Consultant, Jacobs
- Alexandra Deeke, Senior Advisor, Waterboard De Dommel
IWA Blogs
Climate Change and Water – A Story from Denmark
Water is at the heart of the climate crisis
Climate change poses huge challenges for the water sector as water will become scarcer, more unpredictable, more polluted or all of the above. Our work is crucial to secure adequate adaptation to climate change but we must make the right choices at the right time. “We cannot afford to wait” and “Everyone has a role to play” – These two sentences are among the key messages from UN Water for the World Water Day on the 22 March this year and they reflect discussions in the Danish water sector.
Climate Change: A Threat To Attaining Sustainable Development
Growing up, I was very familiar with streams and wetlands as my family and I lived in an agricultural research area. My favourite delicacy as a child was taro, which grew all over the marshy areas within the community. I also recollect how the whole community came together to dig shallow dugouts and immediately groundwater built up in the dugout and was used for irrigation purposes. (…)
Read blog article here>>
Climate change most significantly manifests in disrupting the water cycle. Changing weather and water patterns are driving global water scarcity, and increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. The impacts transverse scales and resiliency at the basin, city and utility level need to be coordinated to ensure adaptation measures are effective.
Read more about IWA’s work on water and climate here>>
Free access to the Journal of Water & Climate Change
In celebration of UN Water’s goal to spread knowledge on the global water crisis, IWA Publishing offers free access to the Journal of Water & Climate Change for a fortnight, in celebration of this year’s theme. The complete archive of this important environmental publication will be free from the 15th–29th March.
Discover the journal here>>
World Water Day Quiz
How much do you know about water and climate change?
Click below to check your facts (and learn some more) with IWA Publishing’s special World Water Day quiz, in partnership with UN Water!
Nature for Water: A Series of Utility Spotlights
By 2025, two thirds of the world’s population will be living in water stressed conditions. Meanwhile, the degradation of water ecosystems is occurring at alarming rates. Water utilities and water regulators that choose to play an active role in catchment management with nature based solutions (NBS) are uniquely positioned to help. Building a robust knowledge base and supporting opportunities for cross-sector collaboration are fundamental to the mainstreaming of NBS.
The International Water Association (IWA) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) are working together to encourage and facilitate active utility involvement in NBS, as well as promoting stronger connections between water utilities and regulatory bodies. Implementation of NBS involves multiple, interdependent stakeholders at various governance levels, and consequently regulators a key role in creating the enabling environments for these interactions and negotiations.
Access publication open access here>>
Utility Spotlight
Skanderborg Forsyning – Climate Change adaptation using Nature-based Solutions
Skanderborg Forsyning affirms that when it comes to water security in a changing climate, using nature-based solutions at the local level was never a question. Climate change projects are an opportunity to adapt using nature to deal with increased rainfalls and prevent the flooding of urban areas.
Read case story here>>
IWA Climate Smart Water Utilities
Climate: Building resilience through adaptation and carbon neutrality
Climate variability and change is disrupting the water cycle. Changing weather and water patterns are driving global water scarcity, and increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, which has impacts across scales. Resilience is more than implementing the right technology or practice to assess and address risks of extreme events. It is an approach that should be part of a coherent and holistic strategy to ensure sustainable water resources and safe and secure water supply.
Resilience needs to be built and coordinated at the basin, city and utility level to ensure adaptation measures for water systems are effective and integrate with other urban services. With the aim of empowering professionals working at the utility, city or basin level to be at the forefront of climate smart water management, IWA offers the latest knowledge, resources and tools developed, co-designed and tested in collaboration with different end-users.
The Roadmap to a Low-Carbon Urban Water Utility
An international guide to the WaCCliM approach
The Roadmap to a Low-Carbon Urban Water Utility presents utility managers with an approach to address their most pressing challenges, while reducing carbon emissions through measures that either have a return on investment through energy or water savings, or that correspond to planned investments as part of the asset management plan to maintain or improve their services.
Download pulication here>>
What is World Water Day?
International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March, raising awareness of the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable resource management, highlighting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: sanitation and water. – find out more on the World Water Day website.
Be #waterwise and see you at the IWA #WorldWaterCongress & Exhibition in Copenhangen, Denmark, 18 – 23 October 2020 where the international water sector meets to shape our water future and to work on water for smart and liveable cities!
