13-17 February | Brisbane, Australia

The Water and WASH Futures Conference 2023 is part of the Water and WASH Futures knowledge forums – a series of knowledge sharing and learning activities for practitioners and professionals in the international water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and water resource management (WRM) sectors. The conference also encourages and welcomes participation by those working on water and WASH in connected sectors such as health, education, environment and climate change, agriculture and production, economic development, governance, GEDSI and finance.

The Water and WASH Futures Conference 2023 will bring together WASH and WRM professionals and actors from connected sectors, to discuss the challenges facing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 targets, in the context of a changing climate. Not only are our weather and climatic systems changing, but so too is our society, as demographics and populations change, urbanisation increases, technology advances and water-use behaviours change.

Registrations are now open for the Conference on the Water and WASH Futures website, where you can also view the Conference Program.

 

AWP at Water and WASH Futures 

Addressing increasing water scarcity in the Asia Pacific Region 

Monday 13 February 2023 | 11:00am – 12:45pm 

Session: A1 Using information to guide water security decisions  

Presenter: AWP Strategy & Partnerships Lead Katharine Cross  

The Asia Pacific region faces a significant intensification of water scarcity over the coming decades due to increasing population growth, rapid economic development and urbanisation, demand for more and more varied food, and a rapid escalation in water pollution. There is an urgent need to improve water monitoring and allocation capacities at the national and local level across different water using sectors as a step to adapt to climate variability and uncertainty. This requires long-term support and commitment by governments as stewards of water resources.  

FAO is working in partnership with Australia on the Asia Pacific Water Scarcity Programme (WSP) to support countries in taking practical steps to address and manage water scarcity in a changing climate.  

This presentation will provide an overview of findings to date and how diagnostic activities to better understand water scarcity in the region combined will further engagement with stakeholders across sectors will assist the next stage of the WSP. This includes working with national governments in developing ‘Water Scarcity Action Plans’ and ‘National Water Accounting Roadmaps’. These will guide future water accounting and allocation practices in the Asia-Pacific region.  

Launch of Community Voices publication  

Tuesday 14 February 2023 | 7.30 – 8.30am 

Presenters: Authors Hon Karlene Maywald and Ms Leith Boully, eWater Group CEO Michael Wilson

By invitation only 

The Community Voices publication co-authored by Hon Karlene Maywald, Ms Leith Boully, Mr Daryl Day, and Mrs Michelle Campbell will be launched at the Water and WASH Futures conference through a breakfast session organised by AWP.   

Community Voices was commissioned by AWP to provide an Australian context of the complexity and challenges of water reform from a community perspective. The publication shares insights about how the authentic engagement of people whose lives and livelihoods rely on access to water resources can enhance decision-making and build resilient communities.  

Australian water policy reform has historically been led by government decision-makers utilising biophysical science and complex modelling with very low stakeholder visibility of the assumptions and inputs. This can create a knowledge and cultural divide, leading to stakeholder mistrust of the modelled outputs and the process, leaving communities in fear of their future and feeling powerless to influence the reform agenda and outcomes.  

The high potential for conflict among stakeholders over a limited resource like water requires leaders that create an environment where all voices can be heard. The Community Voices authors found that successful water reform happens when leaders from across the stakeholder landscape come together and work with a shared purpose. From their lived experiences, the authors share their definition of leadership and the principles that underpin successful processes that lead to improving relationships and water management. 

This publication will be published on our website soon. Access the Community Voices Summary Report. 

Showcase of Valuing Water publications 

Monday 13 February 2023 | 3:30pm 

Presenters: World Bank / Global Water Security and Sanitation Partnership Program Manager Joel Kolker, eWater Group CEO Michael Wilson, and Alluvium General Manager Simon Tilleard

The Valuing Water publications are a series of four reports that examine how the diverse values placed on water have shaped the development and management of water resources in the Murray Darling River Basin.

The synthesis report summarises the three case studies that tell the story of valuing water in the Basin through the primary lenses of economics, environment and Australia’s First Nations cultural values of water.

The insights from these reports are intended to inform and improve water management in other country contexts and are the result of a collaborative effort between the World Bank and the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with support from the Australian Water Partnership.  

Download the report here or from the World Bank website.