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The United Nations World Water Assessment Programme will contribute to the Climate Conference (COP21), with a side event organized on the occasion of Water and Climate Day, on Wednesday 2nd of December from 16:15-17:00 at the UNESCO Pavilion (Le Bourget, Paris). Key speakers will be Stefan Uhlenbrook (WWAP Coordinator), Engin Koncagul (WWAP), Alistair Rieu-Clarke (University of Dundee) and Juan Carlos Sánchez (IUCN).
 
 
 
During the event, WWAP will launch the book "Transboundary water governance and climate change adaptation: International law, policy guidelines and best practice application". This publication is the result of a collaboration with prominent partners such as IUCN Environmental Law Center, University of Dundee IHP-HELP Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science and Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research. The session will highlight the central role of water in climate change adaptation and zoom in on the critical role of water governance in a transboundary context, in a way that identifies best practice examples of effective policy guidelines, and ascertains the contribution that international law can make.
 
 
 
For transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers, the inherent nature of climate change means that international law should be able to grapple with the tension between the preservation of the status quo, and the needed flexibility to meet new demands and face new uncertainties. Various strategies, which are considered throughout the book, can be employed to enhance the flexibility of water arrangements. In addressing these issues, it is envisaged that this paper will benefit policy-makers, researchers, civil society and others who are interested in examining how transboundary water governance arrangements can be strengthened to better address climate change adaptation needs.
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