On Monday 3 December, the Water and Climate Coalition organized a water session at the “Mountain Day” back to back with the COP18. The seminar, which was titled “Building resilience in mountain water resources and closing the gap between policy and implementation”, drew an audience of both observer organisations and party members, and sought to highlight the importance of integrating discussions on climate and water, and to close the gap between policy and implementation.

Karin Lexén of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and the Water and Climate Coalition Secretariat opened the session by stressing the need for taking local knowledge on water management into account in decision making on climate adaptation and mitigation. She also outlined the Water and Climate Coalition priorities for COP18 which included suggestions on a thematic initiative on water under the Nairobi Work Programme, and a greater emphasis on water resources management under the Loss and Damages Work Programme.

Fred Boltz of Conservation International provided participants with an overview over the challenges which climate change imposes on freshwater ecosystems. Mountain regions, which make up 1/3 of the global surface, hold 2/3 of all freshwater resources. As such they are supporting the world population with water. Considering that climate change brings changes in water availability and variability, preserving freshwater ecosystems is key to climate resilience. In particular, Fred stressed the need for infrastructure to be flexible to climatic variation and to be designed so as not to disrupt ecosystems.

Mats Eriksson, also from SIWI, has previously worked in the Himalaya region. In his presentation he brought up the crucial issue of flood mitigation infrastructure. An often overlooked measure, many of the structures put in place are not adapted to local conditions and are poorly maintained and governed. This can have disastrous consequences – one example is the breach of embankments in Koshi Basin in 2008, an accident which killed 7000 people and displaced another 3,6 million. In order to create infrastructure that better protects lives and livelihoods, Mats highlighted the need to build on local knowledge and to strengthen capacities in order to ensure good and transparent governance.

“If the glaciers disappear, Pakistan is heading for disaster”. Those were the words of Pervaiz Amir of the Global Water Partnership and the Pakistan delegation to the UNFCCC. Pakistan is relying heavily on mountain water resources, and is as such vulnerable to climate change. It is estimated that the country’s water resources will decrease by 40% until 2050/2060 due to climate change. Pervaiz pointed out that there is a small number of countries in the world which are particularly vulnerable and needs support in order to be able to adapt to climate change. This is reflected in the UNFCCC process, which Pervaiz describes as “frustration with hope”.

Bai-Maas Taal of AMCOW warned that this event is speaking to the already converted, and that discussions on science and policy need to move out from side events and back to back seminars and into the UNFCCC process. He urged for the outcomes from today’s seminar to be transmitted to the negotiators at COP18. We cannot work in silos, and science needs to be translated into political language in order to be adopted in decision making.

This day might have been dedicated to mountains, but when it comes to water the world is interconnected. As Bai-Maas tall pointed out: The small island states struggling with rising sea levels might experience climate change very differently to mountain regions. But sea level rise is a consequence of melting glaciers. The world is facing a common challenge, and we should all speak with one voice.
 

During the recently concluded UNFCCC COP17 meeting in Durban, water was, partly as a result of intensive and excellent work by the Water and Climate Coalition and several other groups, included as part of the Nairobi Work Programme (NWP). In November 2011, at the request of parties, the UNFCCC Secretariat produced a technical paper on water and climate change impacts and adaptation strategies, to support the integration of water into adaptation action under the NWP. This paper served as a background document to the deliberations. Climate and Water issues were dealt with at two different official sessions: on December 1st at the Joint SBSTA/SBI (the Subsidiary Body for Implementation) workshop to "consider the outcomes of the Nairobi work programme, to highlight the scientific, technical and socio-economic aspects of impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change most relevant to the SBI" (FCCC/SBSTA/2011/CRP.1), and at the SBSTA session December 3rd when the Agenda item3, the Nairobi work programme was deliberated (FCCC/SBSTA/2011/L.26/Add.1).

At the SBSTA/SBI workshop parties highlighted both the importance of focusing on "sectoral approaches" where water, health and food security were specifically mentioned, and also the need for guidance "to consider trade-offs between sectors in the light of scarce resources" where allocation of water was specifically mentioned. The SBSTA, responding to the proposals and contributions made by parties, including written contributions¹, requested the secretariat to organize in cooperation with other relevant organizations, a technical workshop, before the thirty-seventh session of SBSTA on water and climate change impacts and adaptation strategies.

Among the most important Side events from a water and climate perspective was of course the Water, Climate and Development Day on December 3rd. The African Ministers Council on Water, AMCOW, in conjunction with the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank, AfDB, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UNECA, the Department of Water Affairs,  DWA South Africa, the Global Water Partnership, GWP, and the Water and Climate Coalition (WCC) organised the Water, Climate and Development Day as well as the High Level session that presented the key findings of the day to ministers and dignitaries to take into the Conference of the Parties’ High-Level segment.

The Water, Climate and Development Day that dealt with issues such as "Global Policy Solutions for Adaptation and Mitigation", "Infrastructure, Technical and Ecosystem Solutions", "Climate Change Information for Water Resources", and "Financial and Institutional Solutions", delivered during the day and at the High Level segment several key messages. Among these are the following action oriented messages of particular importance to the continuous intergovernmental UNFCCC-process:
 

• "Water knowledge expertise needs to inform the Adaptation Committee to ensure linkages between Nairobi Work Programme and the Cancun Agreement, emphasising importance of water as a key medium for adaptation. Qualified water resource management knowledge should be represented amongst the members of the Adaptation Committee. In addition links should be established between the Adaptation Committee and water institutions and organisation.
• We welcome the SBSTA draft decision to organise a technical workshop on water. This can be further strengthened by establishing a thematic focus under the Nairobi Work Programme, ensuring that climate interventions involving water resources are properly addressed.
• Establish water as a priority under the Green Climate Fund with a sub thematic funding window for water resources management.
• The Africa Green fund should include a dedicated thematic funding window for water resources and to be utilised for projects related to water management and climate change adaptation and mitigation."

Reference:
1. Such as the "Opinion of Republic of Uzbekistan on the research and systematic observations" in which they mention "assessment of performance of measures of the rational water use in irrigated farming and correction of irrigated norms" as one of the priority-driven tasks for implementation of mitigation and adaptation measures.

The water community has taken significant steps in the right direction at COP 17 in Durban. Despite a very small team, the Water and Climate Coalition was able to follow the discussions of our key issues; the continuation of the Nairobi Work Programme, the negotiations on the Adaptation Committee and the Green Climate Fund. We have had great help and support by members from FAN, CI and Green Cross and a very good collaboration with our partners GWP and CONAGUA. We have been able to support a major push by a number of parties, and we will most likely see Mexico, LDCs and African countries speak up for the cause of water.

On December 3rd and December 6th WCC, African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), African Union Commission (AUC), African Development Bank (AfDB), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Department of Water Affairs, (DWA) South Africa and Global Water Partnership (GWP) arranged Water, Climate and Development Day events. December 3rd was an all-day event and December 6th was a high level panel where key messages from the 3rd were highlighted and discussed. Both meetings took place in the Africa Pavilion at COP 17 in Durban.

Africa Pavilion, December 3rd

Both events were well attended, with over 100-140 persons in the audience, and we received numerous positive and spontaneous comments regarding the content and the value of the topic and discussions.

Water, and its interconnectedness with Climate Change and how this is addressed and managed on the development and funding agendas, is a theme which clearly is on the rise. The concluding statements of the dignitaries sent us off knowing that we had addressed the key questions that make waters case in the climate context AND that the collaboration between WCC and numerous African and international institutions had successfully ensured and, established, the issue of water on the climate agenda.

At the UN Climate Change Conference held in Bonn 6 - 17 June, with meetings in the working groups under the convention as well as in the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), water was not only discussed in the corridors but at the meetings with the SBSTA and during the Side Event "Water, Climate and Development: Towards COP 17".

The Side Event on “Water, Climate and Development” was co-arranged by the Water and Climate Coalition, WCC [1], www.waterclimatecoalition.org , Global Water Partnership and African Ministers Council on Water, AMCOW. It was the main activity focusing on how water related issues in relation to climate change could be better addressed in the UNFCCC-process. The Cancun meeting resulted in water being on the SBSTA-agenda as the Agenda Item 13 of the SBSTA on ‘Impacts of climate change on water resources and water management’. The WCC now is strongly advocating for the UNFCCC to “define a space for reporting and evaluation on how water is integrated and highlighted in different programmes and mechanisms under the UNFCCC”. The main goal is according to WCC for the UNFCCC process to establish a work programme on water under the Convention. The Executive Secretary of the AMCOW at the Side Event rightly pointed out that the water representation at the UNFCCC and the Convention on Biodiversity tend to run in separate tracks. The CBD has a programme on Inland Water Biodiversity, but the processes and the issues are not compatible although both conventions were opened for signatures at the Rio Conference 1992.

The discussions during the SBSTA 34 including the informal consultations undertaken by the chair of the SBSTA resulted in that the Parties agreed to discuss the issue of water under the Agenda Item 3, the Nairobi Work Programme. This was the formal agreement reached, but the discussion leading up to that included a request to prepare a technical paper on water and climate change impacts and adaptation strategies, as well as the need for a review of NAPAs and NAMAs with a view to strengthen and creating coherence in water dependent actions, which was put forward by a number of Parties to the Convention.

However, there might be something to use in the process to strengthen water in the UNFCCC process that may be learnt from what happened at the 10th COP to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Deriving from reviews of published assessments including the IPCC report on water, a set of Policy Agreements and Guidance on Water and Climate Change were proposed by the CBD Second Technical Expert Group on Biodiversity and Climate Change to the CBD. These policy statements and guidance were adopted by the COP of CBD in October 2010. 

References
[1] The SWH is a key member of the WCC