Six countries call for water to be included in UN climate negotiations
Six countries from around the world at COP16, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, have called for water to be put on the climate agenda, a statement issued after a press conference held by a Water and Climate Coalition at the conference on Monday December 6 titled “Putting Water Security First” has said.
The countries, made up of Ecuador, Sudan, Syria, Chile, El Salvador and Sierra Leone, say their call was informed by the fact that climate change stands to have a significant impact on water resources, and stressed the need for further discussions on how this issue can be addressed within the climate framework.
Initially put forward by both Ecuador and Sudan, the call was further supported by Syria, Chile, El Salvador and Sierra Leone. According to the six countries, water should be put on the agenda for the next meeting of the body, which provides scientific and technical advice to the climate convention, the SBSTA.
Advancing the request of Ecuador, the representative of the country, Undersecretary Tarsicio Granizo said they feel that water should be addressed more prominently at the climate change negotiations.
“Climate change impacts will primarily be felt through water, and the way we manage our water will be critical to our resilience. This issue has long been neglected at the intergovernmental level and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss it at greater length in the future,” the representative of Ecuador said, noting also that his country has recognised that water is a human right.
On his part, Lumumba Di-Aping who represents Sudan said “Sudan understands the challenges facing countries through the impacts of climate change on water resources. Yet so far we have not addressed this issue adequately through the climate change negotiations. Getting water on the agenda will help us to identify these challenges and propose solutions.”
The proposal was much welcomed by the Water and Climate Coalition, an alliance of twelve international organisations and research centres which works to raise the profile of water issues in the context of the climate negotiations.
Also commenting on the call, Hannah Stoddart of the Water and Climate Coalition and the Stakeholder Forum said “Water has previously been more or less absent from the discussions at the climate negotiations,” adding, “The fact that several countries formally addressed this issue today is a big breakthrough.”
Meanwhile, in the run up to COP-16, the Water and Climate Coalition proposed the establishment of a work programme on water under the Convention, which would develop policy guidelines, provide advice to the climate change funds and promote action on water related issues at a country level.
Explaining the importance of the proposal, Karin Lexen of the Water and Climate Coalition and the Stockholm International Water Institute said climate change will have a drastic impact on the world’s water resources.
She added that an increased global temperature will lead to changes in the water cycle that will affect people’s livelihoods and development opportunities, while millions more people will face water scarcity, and will have to deal with water hazards including floods, droughts and glacier-melt.
To Natalie Seguin of Freshwater Action Network however, “To help communities and countries deal with climate change challenges, water should be integrated in the climate convention processes, not as a sector but as a cross cutting natural resource,” adding “It’s crucial to strengthen water aspects on adaptation processes but also understand the relations with mitigation.”
The members of the Water and Climate Coalition are: Cap-Net, Chartered Institute for Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Freshwater Action Network (FAN), Green Cross International, International Water Association (IWA), Progressio, University of North Carolina (UNC) Water Institute and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Collaborative partners are: Co-operative Programme on Water and Climate (CPWC) and the Global Water Partnership (GWP).
The secretariat of the Water and Climate Coalition is run by Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future and the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).
By Edmund Smith-Asante