June 2015 - n°23
Newsletter
The Ministers present at the 7
th
World Water Forum, through this official statement,
acknowledged the paramount importance of a basin approach to address the pressures
on freshwater resources that will be increased by population growth and the effects of
climate change.
In national or transboundary river basins, climate change will quickly lead, if
not already the case, to a significant alteration of hydrographical cycles and
intensificationof extreme floodanddrought events.Wemust act quicklybefore
it is too late and urgently take adaptation measures to ensure sustainable
water resourcesmanagement around theworld.
In the context of preparing
COP21,
the major world Climate Conference to be held in
Paris, France, at the end of this year,
INBO,
with its experience and expertise acquired
over several years, wants to contribute through practical actions already undertaken by
itsmember organizations.
In January 2010, the final declaration of ourWorldGeneral Assembly inDakar gave the
alert to
the risk that freshwater would be ”one of the first victims of climate
change”
and proposed emergency measures to be taken and to increase upstream-
downstream solidarity in the basins of all the great rivers of theworld.
UNECEand INBOaredevelopingaplatform for pilot basins to test andpromote
effectivemeasures toadapt to theclimatechange impactsonwater resources,
including the
”NaturalWater RetentionMeasures”,
inventoriedwith the support of
the EuropeanCommission, which seem immediately applicable.
Thiswork has recently led to the joint publication, by theUnitedNations and INBO, of
a
collection of good practices and recommendations for adaptation to climate
change in transboundarybasins,
that waspresentedduring an ”Interregional Day on
Adaptation toClimateChange inBasins” at theWorldWater Forum in Korea.
INBO
and
LANBO
are developing with IOWater the
”ECO-CUENCAS”
project, funded
by the European Union under the
”WaterClima”
program for Latin America and the
Caribbean.
INBO
also supports the creation of
Water Information Systems (WIS),
which are
essential to assess the situation in basins and follow up their evolution.
But wemust gomuch further, and launch a generalmobilizationon freshwater, which is
why
INBO proposes to itsMembers to commit themselves, as part of COP 21,
to introducequickly achievablemeasures in their ”BasinManagement Plans”.
Everybody’smobilization is essential!!
Fortaleza - Brazil - August 2013
Dakar - Senegal - January 2010
Morelia -Mexico -March 1996
Adaptation to climate change:
”IntegratedBasinManagement is crucial
toguaranteewater resources sustainability”
Daegu - SouthKorea - April 2015
