Joakim HarlinSenior Water Resources AdvisorWater Governance Programme

Bridging the Climate and Water Agenda

UNDP and UN-Water priorities

Barcelona, November 2009

A world rich in water for some

Source: Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, 2007.

…But millions of the world’s people lack access to safe water not because

of scarcity, but because they are locked out by poverty, inequality and failures

of governance.

UNDP Human Development Report 2006UNDP Human Development Report 2006

Multiple Drivers

Sector Oriented

Governance

Water Related Climate Change Impacts

TEMPERTURE, PRECIPTION, EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

Water Agriculture Health Infrastructure Energy

•Hydropower•Thermal Cooling

•Transportation•Urban Storm water•Flood Control•Dams, pipes and canals etc

•Malaria•Waterborne diseases

•Irrigation -Net Crop Water Demand•Rain fed• Yield Impacts

•Runoff•Water Supply/Yield•Floods & Droughts•Water Quality•Erosion

Mean annual changesChanges in seasonality

Changes in inter-annual variabilityChanges in intensity

Changes in extreme events

Ecosystem collapse

Storm intensification

Drought

Air, water pollution

Fires

Glacial outbursts

Flooding, inundation

Desertification

Heat waves

Monsoon change

Coral loss

Fisheries disruption

Hydrological, glacial changes

Warming, glacial retreat

Disease range expansion

Drought

Impacts on water resources affects the poor

• Water scarcity

• Floods & extreme weather

• Water related diseases

• Sea level rise

Towards adaptation apartheid

• 1 in 19 people in developing countries vs 1 in 1,500 in developed countries affected by disasters

• Poor predisposed to convert risk into vulnerability

• Long term effects –Indian women born during a flood in 1970s -19% less likely to attend school

• US$279 million pledged -10% delivered

Promoting coherence in and coordination of,UN system actions

• UN Agencies and ProgramsUN Agencies and Programs

• Non-UN PartnersNon-UN Partners

FAO, UNESCO, WHO, WMO,

UNEP, UNDP, UNICEF,

...24 Agencies

GWP, WWC, SIWI,

...and others

A strategic joint framework of activities, e.g.Focus Areas•Adaptation (collectively)•Technology Transfer (UNIDO, UN-DESA)•Reduction of emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) (UNDP, FAO, UNEP)•Financing mitigation and adaptation action (UNDP, World Bank Group)•Capacity Building (UNDP, UNEP)

Cross-cutting areas include:•Climate knowledge: Science, assessment, monitoring and early warning (WMO, UNESCO)•Support global, regional and national action (UNDESA, UN Regional Commissions, UNDP)•Public awareness (UNCG, UNEP)

The UN System Delivering as One....

Supporting Adaptation

anticipatory

ad hoc deliberative

reactive

Historical experience

Disaster response

Adaptation projects

Through adaptation interventions we are attempting to move from reactive and ad hoc toward anticipatory & deliberative adaptation

No-regrets

Climate change impact

Current climate variability impact on water resources

Current ability to cope with variability and manage water

resources

Adaptation response

Paradigm Shift

Climate change impact

Current climate

variability impact on

water resources

Current ability to cope with variability and

manage water resources

Adaptation response

Climate change impact

• Raise awareness of water and climate issues and integrate climate change consideration into water governance reform, participatory scenario planning and capacity building for WRM & WSS

• Enhance national capacities in the developing countries to mainstream climate change into water resource management and decision making processes

• Assess financing requirements, sources and flows for adaptation response measures

For CC-Water UNDPs role is to:

• Support vertically integrated development, coordination and implementation of water related CC adaptation strategies – transboundary, national, local scales (IWRM).

• Capacity building and knowledge management.

• Facilitate a coordinated UN system support at national level

UNDPs role, cont.

• A training manual on IWRM and Climate Change has been developed by Cap-Net with WMO, UNESCO-IHE.

• Training materials on urban flood management, community flood management, integrated flood management etc by Cap-Net.

• The UNDP adaptation portfolio is worth approximately 200 million USD of which 14 M USD are water related adaptation projects. 58 countries.

• UNDP supports 29 Least Developed Countries to prepare (NAPAs), & assists with the implementation of identified adaptation priorities.

Examples of UNDP CC-A actions

Some good news … Good investment!

Water and sanitation investments generate broad economic benefits that considerably outweigh the costs. The average economic benefit of a $1 investment in sanitation is $9.1 return and $4.4 on water

Global commitment to make rapid progress!Water and sanitation impacts all the MDG’s - goal 7 is about halving, by 2015, the proportion of people without safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

More sustainable water resources management – advancing IWRM

TO MAKE IT HAPPEN….

It is imperative to recognize the pivotal role of water in

adapting to climate change in order to increase resilience

and achieve sustainable development!