According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5), the effects of climate change will reduce renewable surface water and groundwater resources in most dry subtropical regions. These changes may intensify competition for water among all sectors, strain already water-scarce environments, and negatively impact water quality and quantity globally. Transboundary water basins are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts, says Sonja Koeppel, Secretary of the UNECE Water Convention, as she highlights the up-coming Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on freshwater security that GWP is developing together with partners.
Bangkok, Thailand (12/8/2017). Southeast Asia is particularly vulnerable to climate change for several reasons. First and foremost, in many of these countries large portions of the population live in poverty. The proportion of the population living below the poverty line ranges from the lowest in Thailand at 10.2% to 53% in Lao PDR (ADB 2008). The poor are particularly vulnerable to climate change, as they lack the resources necessary for many types of adaptive actions. With its extensive coastlines, Southeast Asia is also home to many millions of people living at low elevations that are at risk from sea level rise. Moreover, ongoing social and environmental challenges in the region – notably growing income inequality, rising food prices, and widespread deforestation – contribute to social vulnerability and make climate change more likely to bring significant harms.
On 17 September 2018, a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) entitled “Multi-party Recommendations on Water Resources Bill (RUU SDA)” was organized by Jejaring AMPL (Water and Sanitation Network) at Akmani Hotel, Jakarta. Water and Sanitation Network was formed on 8 October 2007 in Jakarta to address the issue of low service accessibility, weak coordination and synergy in the water and sanitation sector. Members of the Network comprises actors and observers in the water and sanitation sector in Indonesia. Discussions in the FGD produced inputs and revisions to the articles in the Water Resources Bill (RUU SDA). To follow up on the results of the discussion, a workshop with the same title was held to present the discussion results to responders and participants from the civil society, NGOs, government stakeholders, working partners and mass media. The workshop was held at The Park Lane Hotel on 20 September 2018.
The Summer School „Towards 2030 Agenda: A summer school for climate change, innovation and youth advocacy in water management“ took place on 1- 6 July 2018 at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Warsaw, Poland.
