World Wildlife Fund: The Stockholm International Water Institute joined governments, NGOs and United Nations agencies this week in calling on negotiators working to develop a climate change deal in Copenhagen later this year to recognize the critical role of water in climate change adaptation.
Participants in a special Water Day event on Tuesday called for recognition that water is the primary way that climate change will impact people, society and ecosystems, due to predicted changes in its quality and quantity.
The way that water is managed in and between countries will be a critical component for the success of any efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change, according to the Stockholm International Water Institute. It will also be a vital consideration for many mitigation activities, including hydropower, agriculture and forestry projects.
However, negotiators meeting this week in Barcelona for the last round of UN climate talks before a big conference in Copenhagen next month are working on negotiating texts that have no reference to water and its management as tools for climate change adaptation.
“It is imperative that negotiators recognize the crucial importance of wetlands and freshwater as key factors in any climate adaptation plan,” said Denis Landenbergue, WWF International’s Manager of Wetlands Conservation. “To ignore the role of water is to cripple any climate change adaptation plans.”
Landenbergue said he encouraged negotiators to follow in the steps of their colleagues from the Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Last year, they adopted a resolution promoting the conservation and proper management of wetlands and their natural resources – including water – as key requisites in national climate change mitigation and adaptation plans.