International Workshop on Water Scarcity Taking action in transboundary basins and reducing health impacts

Transcription

1 Internatinal Wrkshp n Water Scarcity Taking actin in transbundary basins and reducing health impacts T be held in Geneva, December 2017 Palais des Natins, Geneva, Switzerland, starting at a.m. n Tuesday, 11 December 2017 I. Backgrund INFORMATION NOTICE Water scarcity is f grwing cncern in many parts f the wrld. Ppulatin grwth, urbanizatin, increased demands in irrigated agriculture and inadequate water management are imprtant determinants f water scarcity, accelerated by the effects f climate change which result in an increase in the frequency and intensity f drughts. Tday, already abut 2 billin peple are living in water stressed areas. By 2025, half f the wrld s ppulatin is expected t d s. Glbally, each 1 C f temperature increase caused by glbal warming is prjected t result in a 20% reductin in renewable water resurces. Scarcity has serius cnsequences fr sciety and threatens sustainable develpment. Fr example, water scarcity can negatively affect water supply and sanitatin services and may impact health. A lack f sufficient amunts f safe drinking-water can cmprmise hygiene behaviurs and increase the risk f diarrheal disease. It may als limit ecnmic grwth due t a decline in agricultural prductin, affect the envirnment and bidiversity by reducing envirnmental flw needed fr vital ecsystems, lead t cnflict within and acrss cuntries and exacerbate migratin. Persistent drught cnditins can result in fd insecurity, lss f livestck, famine, malnutritin and stunting with children and wmen being the mst vulnerable. With the existing climate change scenaris, water scarcity in sme arid and semi-arid places may displace between 24 millin and 700 millin peple by In recent years, the tpic f water scarcity has attracted mre and mre internatinal attentin. Target 6.4 f the Sustainable Develpment Gals requests cuntries t substantially increase water-use efficiency acrss all sectrs and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply f freshwater t address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number f peple suffering frm water scarcity. Target 6.5 requires implementing integrated water resurces management at all levels, including thrugh transbundary water cperatin, as apprpriate. Member States f the WHO Eurpean Regin cmmitted t strengthen and advance actins tward imprving envirnment and health at internatinal, natinal and subnatinal

2 levels thrugh the Declaratin f the Sixth Ministerial Cnference n Envirnment and Health (Ostrava, June 2017). 1 Implementing these ambitius bjectives will require increased attentin and effrts at natinal level n amending plicies and/r institutinal arrangements, as well as technlgical aspects. While cncrete measures at natinal level are crucial t deal with water scarcity cnsequences and mitigate health impacts, transbundary cperatin ffers pprtunities fr synergies thrugh cperative, basin-wide appraches. Mre than 60% f all freshwater resurces wrldwide crss natinal bundaries. Many f the 286 transbundary rivers and ver 500 transbundary aquifers are particularly vulnerable t the effects f climate change and increasing water scarcity. There are already examples when melting and disappearing glaciers, ver-explitatin f grundwater and drying rivers resulted in water shrtages and water stress dwnstream. In many regins f the wrld, increasing water scarcity may lead t tensins and even cnflicts between riparian cuntries and sectrs ver hw t share scarce water and hw t address drughts. Transbundary legal and institutinal arrangements fr cperatin are ften nt flexible enugh and d nt include prvisins fr lw water flws. Transbundary cperatin in addressing water scarcity and climate change impacts can enable mre efficient and effective slutins. Mre and mre transbundary basin rganizatins wrldwide therefre recgnize and address the challenge f water scarcity and drughts. Against this backgrund, a glbal wrkshp n water scarcity and climate change adaptatin with fcus n transbundary cperatin and health impacts will be rganized jintly under the UNECE Cnventin n the Prtectin and Use f Transbundary Watercurses and Internatinal Lakes (Water Cnventin) and the UNECE-WHO/Eurpe Prtcl n Water and Health t the Cnventin. The wrkshp will be held n December 2017 under the leadership f the Netherlands and Switzerland (as lead Parties fr climate change activities under the Cnventin) and Spain and Italy (as lead Parties under the Prtcl). II. Objectives and tpics f the wrkshp The wrkshp aims t accelerate actins t address water scarcity and thereby reduce the related health, scial, ecnmic and envirnmental risks, by sharing practical slutins, in particular frm the perspective f transbundary water cperatin and health impacts. It will review measures t prevent scarcity and mitigate its cnsequences taken in transbundary basins and at natinal level, identify gd practices and lessns learned and frmulate sme cnclusins fr further activities. Mre specifically, the wrkshp has the fllwing bjectives and will cver the fllwing issues: - Clarify the difference and linkages between water scarcity and drughts; review the challenges related t scarcity and climate change: health, scial, ecnmic and envirnmental impacts f scarcity, current situatin and future scenaris, relevant internatinal cmmitments - Discuss hw t address water scarcity in legal, institutinal and plicy framewrks fr cperatin in transbundary basins: 1 The Ostrava Declaratin stipulates ensuring universal, equitable and sustainable access t safe drinking-water, sanitatin and hygiene fr all and in all settings thrugh prviding sufficient amunts f safely managed drinkingwater, ensuring safely managed sanitatin frm cllectin t dispsal r reuse f wastewater, and sustaining the availability and quality f freshwater resurces, especially in regins that experience water stress, high-usage patterns and cmpeting demands accelerated by the cnsequences f climate change. Annex 1 t the Declaratin prpses, amng thers, building climate-resilient WASH services that are respnsive t the effects f climate change impacting variability, availability and quality f freshwater resurces, as well as t extreme weather events (i.e. drughts, trrential rains and flds).

3 Hw d the Water Cnventin, the United Natins Cnventin n the Law f Nn- Navigatinal Uses f Internatinal Watercurses (Watercurses Cnventin) and internatinal water law mre bradly help address water scarcity? Hw can water scarcity be addressed in transbundary agreements, if apprpriate and needed? Hw t ensure flexibility? Hw can cuntries deal jintly with water scarcity in river basin rganizatins and basins in which agreements d nt address water quantity issues, if needed? - Review pssible measures t address water scarcity frm the health perspective, such as: Hw t safely reuse wastewater while prtecting health? Hw t increase resilience f water and sanitatin services t extreme drught events and lnger-term scarcity? - Identify the ptential f transbundary water cperatin fr reducing impacts f water scarcity n health and ther related sectrs: Which measures are beneficial and effective frm a transbundary perspective (such as upstream ecsystem restratin, grundwater recharge, revised crdinated reservir peratin, water efficiency increase, ensuring minimum flw, infrmatin exchange, cmmn infrmatin campaigns, drught mnitring systems)? Hw t increase cperatin at basin level amng institutins respnsible fr transbundary water management, health prtectin and water and sanitatin services? Hw t integrate health aspects in transbundary cperatin? - Discuss hw t build synergies and avid cntradictins between strategies, plicies and measures t address water scarcity at the transbundary, basin, natinal and sectral level: River basin management plans Natinal drught management plans and strategies Water safety plans and sanitatin safety plans Sectral natinal plicies in particular n health, energy and agriculture/fd safety Other relevant natinal plicy and planning dcuments n develpment, climate change and disaster risk reductin - Share experience n financing measures t address water scarcity and drughts and experience the scietal csts f impacts f scarcity and drughts - Identify pririties fr pssible future wrk n the tpic f water scarcity under the Water Cnventin and its Prtcl n Water and Health The wrkshp will cntribute t the thinking under the Water Cnventin n emerging challenges f transbundary water cperatin. It will build n the results f the glbal wrkshp n water allcatin in transbundary basins, t be held n 16 and 17 Octber 2017 in Geneva, as well as n ther previus wrk n climate change adaptatin and in ther related areas, in particular the water-energy-fd-ecsystems nexus. The wrkshp will als build n the relevant prvisins f the Prtcl n Water and Health and wrk under the Prtcl, fr example with regards t hw t ensure equitable access t water and sanitatin in situatins f water scarcity and drughts r hw t ensure the resilience and safety f water and sanitatin services under extreme cnditins, including in small resurce-limited systems.

4 III. Participants The wrkshp will bring tgether water practitiners, health prfessinals, representatives f water-using sectrs and authrities respnsible fr addressing climate change impacts, at the natinal and transbundary levels, representatives f bilateral and multilateral dnrs, financing institutins and the private sectr. The target audience includes representatives f gvernments, nn-gvernmental and intergvernmental rganizatins, internatinal financial institutins, academia, the private sectr and ther experts. IV. Organizatin f wrk The wrkshp will be rganized n 11 t 12 December 2017, back-t-back with the ninth meeting f the Task Frce n Water and Climate (13 December 2017) which will review all climate change activities under the Cnventin and discuss pssible future activities n climate change adaptatin and water scarcity beynd The wrkshp will cnsist f a cmbinatin f plenary presentatins and discussins, smaller grup discussins and exercises. Wrking languages will be English, French, Russian and Spanish. A detailed prgramme will be issued in Nvember V. Partners invlved The wrkshp will be rganized under the leadership f the Gvernments f Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, with the supprt f the Water Cnventin secretariat and its Prtcl n Water and Health, serviced by UNECE and WHO-Eurpe. Activities n climate change adaptatin in transbundary basins under the Water Cnventin started in 2006 in cperatin with partners such as AGWA, INBO, OSCE, UNDP, WHO, WMO and included develpment f a Guidance n Water and Adaptatin t Climate Change in 2009, a cllectin f gd practices and lessns learned in 2015, a prgramme f pilt prjects and a platfrm fr exchanging experience. The latter was transfrmed in 2013 int a glbal netwrk f basins, facilitated in cperatin with INBO, which aims t enable cmparing methdlgies and appraches, fstering exchange f experience and prmting a shared visin between the participating basins. In 2016, wrk n financing climate change adaptatin in transbundary basins was initiated. Under the Prtcl n Water and Health, activities in this area aim at strengthening resilience f cmmunities t water-related disasters and ther effects induced by climate change, particularly in urban areas, fcusing n building awareness, evidence and capacities in addressing the issues f water scarcity and wastewater reuse in agriculture in the brader water resurce management cntext. The activities will build n and further expand the wrk previusly undertaken under the Prtcl in relatin t water supply and sanitatin in extreme weather events and adaptatin t climate change, namely Guidance n Water Supply and Sanitatin in Extreme Weather Events develped by a Task Frce n Extreme Weather Events under the leadership f Italy and adpted by the Meeting f the Parties during its secnd sessin in The wrkshp is rganized in cperatin with the Internatinal Netwrk f Basin Organizatins (INBO), the Eurpean Investment Bank (EIB), the Wrld Meterlgical Organizatin (WMO) and in particular the Integrated Drught Management Prgramme (IDMP) by GWP and WMO, the Glbal Envirnment Facility s Internatinal Learning and Exchange Netwrk (iw:learn), the Fd and Agricultural Organizatin (FAO) f the United Natins as well as UNECE and WHO-Eurpe: The GEF Prject Internatinal Waters Learning Exchange and Resurce Netwrk (IW:LEARN) exists t strengthen Transbundary Waters Management (TWM) by facilitating prtfli learning and infrmatin management amngst GEF IW prjects and partners:

5 Internatinal Netwrk f Basin Organizatins (INBO): is gathering at wrld level basin rganisatins in rder t exchange gd practices fr better water resurce management at basin scale, including the cnstraints related t the glbal changes, namely climate change: The Wrld Meterlgical Organizatin (WMO): is the UN specialized agency in the areas f meterlgy, climatlgy and hydrlgy, furthering the applicatin f meterlgical, climatlgical and hydrlgical data and infrmatin fr the verall benefit f the sciety. WMO has launched the Glbal Framewrk fr Climate Services (GFCS) as a glbal partnership f gvernments and rganizatins that prduce and use climate infrmatin and services. Water has been identified as ne pririty area fr GFCS implementatin: The Glbal Water Partnership (GWP) and the Wrld Meterlgical Organizatin (WMO) launched the Integrated Drught Management Prgramme (IDMP) at the High-Level Meeting n Natinal Drught Plicies in March IDMP wrks with ver 30 expert rganizatins n drught management with the bjective f supprting stakehlders at all levels. The IDMP s Integrated Drught Management Help Desk prvides plicy and management guidance thrugh glbally crdinated generatin f scientific infrmatin and sharing best practices and knwledge fr integrated drught management. It especially seeks t supprt regins and cuntries in develping mre practive drught plicies and better predictive mechanisms. This wrkshp cntributes t that bjective. FAO is the UN agency specialized in Fd and Agriculture. With specific reference t water scarcity, FAO launched at COP22, the Glbal Framewrk n Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG) which brings tgether partners wh are cmmitted t cllabrate in finding slutins t the increasing threat t agriculture and fd security in the face f water scarcity, aggravated by climate change, while the ppulatin t be nurished cntinues t increase. WASAG is received increasing attentin, with a grwing number f Partners cnsisting f FAO Member States, reginal bdies, research and academic institutins, internatinal NGOs and private sectr platfrms. The Eurpean Investment Bank (EIB) is the Eurpean Unin's bank and the wrld s biggest multilateral lender. The nly bank wned by and representing the interests f the EU Member States, the EIB wrks clsely with EU institutins t implement EU plicy and mandate. EIB finance and expertise backs sustainable investment prjects in small and medium-sized enterprises, innvatin, infrastructure, and climate and envirnment. Thugh 90% f EIB business is in Eurpe, it is a majr lender arund the glbe. In the water sectr, the EIB is the largest IFI lender t the glbal water sectr, having prvided EUR 64 bn t 1400 water prjects t date, cntributing t investments amunting t EUR 200 bn. VI. Practical infrmatin The wrkshp will start at a.m. n Mnday, 11 December and end at 6.00 p.m. n Tuesday, 12 December It will be held in the Palais des Natins, Geneva, in rm XII. The wrkshp will be fllwed by the ninth meeting f the Task Frce n Water and Climate, which will be held n 13 December 2017 in Geneva. The wrking languages will be English, French, Russian and Spanish. Eligible participants frm cuntries with ecnmies in transitin and develping cuntries may apply fr financial supprt t facilitate their participatin in the meeting using the financial supprt request frm available n the meeting website. Requests fr financial supprt shuld be submitted t the UNECE secretariat (mayla.lidme@unece.rg) as sn as pssible, but nt later than Mnday 30 Octber N applicatin will be accepted after this deadline. Participants requiring entry visas shuld infrm the UNECE secretariat as sn as pssible. Since Switzerland is part f the Schengen Zne, btaining a visa might take up t 5 weeks. Participants needing a visa are therefre requested t submit their applicatin as sn as pssible and initiate visa prcedures at least fur weeks befre the meeting. Delegates attending the meeting are requested t register by 1 December 2017 using the fllwing link: In case f difficulties, please cntact the secretariat by (mayla.lidme@unece.rg). On their way t the meeting, participants

6 shuld btain an identificatin badge at the Pass and Identificatin Unit f the United Natins Office at Geneva Security and Safety Sectin lcated at the Pregny Gate, 14 Avenue de la Paix (see map n the UNECE website). Please allw enugh time fr this. Practical infrmatin n the Palais des Natins, as well as n transprt and accmmdatin in Geneva, is available nline at: Further infrmatin and relevant material will be made available n the fllwing website in due curse: Fr the Task Frce: