Building Climate Resilience: Putting Water Management at the Centre

1. Building Climate Resilience: Putting Water Management at the Centre Dr James Dalton Water Management Adviser IUCN Water Programme Gland, Switzerland Water Day Bonn June 2010

2. Water, ecosystems & climate change • Water is at the centre...and is critical for building resilience • Ecosystems provide vital services… the ‘natural infrastructure’ for adaptation • What has IWRM taught us about adaptation and the role of ecosystems? • what needs to be done • how it needs to be done • Where does EbA fit into climate resilience – through building resilience of socio-economic and ecological systems...to withstand shocks and re-build

3. Resilience in practice • economy • livelihoods • nature & services • Tacana • Attapeu 1. Diversity 2. Sustainable Infrastructure & Technologies • engineering responses • natural infrastructure • sustainable & adaptable mgt • Pangani • KYB / L Chad • participatory governance • empowerment • adaptive institutions • Volta • Mekong 3. Self-Organisation • knowledge & skills • climate information • new adaptive strategies • Okavango • BASIM 4. Learning

4. Climate vulnerable basin • weak hydrological buffering • narrow economic & livelihood dependency • infrastructure that can’t cope • infrastructure that impairs hydrological buffering and livelihood diversification • vulnerable people not empowered to act: centralised decision making • conflict destroys coordination • ossified institutions • new information & knowledge not available or in use

5. Resilience shift: KYB / Lake Chad • drought aggravating poverty • failed dam & irrigation projects • siltation & weed infestation • rising conflict • paralysis • shared information • consensus management plan • pilot ecosystem & livelihood restoration • conflict resolution • water charter: participatory governance

6. Climate resilient river basin • buffering moderates the hydrograph • diverse livelihoods and economy • sustainable infrastructure portfolios: engineered & natural • infrastructure management for watershed services and economic diversification • vulnerable people empowered to act: governance enables self organisation • adaptive institutions, set up for learning • accessible information, knowledge & skills

7. Resilience shift: Tacanà, Guatemala • deforested watersheds • degraded farming systems • social upheaval • downstream disaster • weak coordination • local coordination of priorities • landscape restoration & diversification • social entrepreneurship • municipal – provincial liaison • disaster planning

8. Key Messages • Build supporting mechanisms now for traction on-the-ground: • Preparation – capacity building, institutional readiness • Improve cross-sectoral coordination using water and IWRM approaches • Develop implementation partnerships • Support absorption by the Parties • Support the planning agenda with learning and demonstration – turn the Nairobi Guiding Principles into action • Work to support the Parties on building resilience as outlined in the Chairs Text on Adaptation • Focus on adaptation within wider development frameworks - • adaptation will be more effective where it uses and builds on lessons from WRM • resilience is built on diversity

9. 5.Policy coherence 6.Programme coordination & communication Our Developing Approach GOAL Ecosystem-based strategies for climate resilience implemented 1.Resilient development & climate adaptation 2.Adaptive governance & self organisation 3.Learning, leadership & networking 4.Infrastructure economics

10. Thankyou