Date: 20-23 June, 2022
Venue: Digital

The Water and WASH Futures series of forums continues the WASH Futures series of conferences, targeting WASH, and now also water resources, practitioners working in international development. The Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with the International Water Centre at Griffith University, and the Conference Committee have built on the success of past conferences by expanding the scope from WASH to also include Water Resources Management, and by adding two virtual symposiums in the lead-up to the in-person conference.

The first of these virtual symposiums – Water, WASH and Climate Virtual Symposium – will take place on 20-23 June, 2022. The event will explore key issues and success in our efforts to integrate WASH and water resources management for resilience to, and mitigation of, climate change.

The symposium runs over four days; presentations include an opening and closing panel, five thematic sessions, a session designed for Early-Career Professionals, semi-structured networking and for the first time ‘This is Water & WASH Climate: stories from practice’ where water and WASH professionals will share their experiences relating to water management, WASH and climate change.

For more information or to register, visit the event website. Also, Pacific Symposium Hubs have been set up to live-stream sessions from the Water, WASH and Climate Virtual Symposium and provide opportunities for in-person networking. Register and find out more about the hubs here.

AWP at Water and WASH Futures

Session on Building Equality into Climate Resilience – The Critical Case for Gender and Social Inclusion in WASH and WRM

Date: 21 June 2022, 2:30- 4:30pm AEST
Location: Online, register
Conveners: DFAT, Water for Women and WaterAid

AWP will take present and be part of a panel discussion focusing on how women and girls, and other marginalised groups, are experiencing greater inequality and are at the forefront of the climate crises. The gendered burden of household water and WASH work increases; incomes and livelihoods are less stable; weak water and WASH services are impacted by climate-related disasters, all which will greatly impact women, girls, people with disabilities and other marginalised groups and they are less likely to be in decision-making roles. It is essential that our work to improve the climate resilience of water and WASH systems and services responds directly to the needs and interest of women, girls, and marginalised groups. The session will focus on:

• Why is a focus on gender equality and social inclusion critical as we seek to adapt WASH and WRM systems to the impacts of climate change and to build more resilient communities?
• What are key lessons and insights of women and girls, and other marginalised groups, at the forefront of the climate crisis?
• What strategies have proven successful in both building climate resilient WRM and WASH systems and advancing gender equality and social inclusion? What are the main barriers? What are the main opportunities?

Findings from Water for Women’s research and a subsequent learning initiative focusing on partnerships between WASH actors and rightsholder groups will be shared at the session, together with preliminary findings from Water for Women’s upcoming guidance on changing norms in, and through, WASH.

Session on Water Resource Management to Alleviate Water- Mediated Disasters

Date: 22 June 2022, 12:00- 2:00pm AEST
Location: Online
Conveners: SPC, AWP and Alluvium Consulting

Water is the link through which most countries and communities will feel the impacts of climate change. Water mediated disasters – floods, landslides, tsunamis, storms, heat waves, cold spells, droughts and waterborne disease outbreaks – are directly impacting (e.g., damage to buildings, crops and infrastructure, and loss of life and property) and indirectly impacting (e.g., losses in productivity and livelihoods, increased investment risk, indebtedness and human health impacts) communities globally and particularly in the Asia—Pacific region.

The occurrence and severity of water-mediated disasters will be worsened by climate change. According to the latest IPCC report (2022), an increase in global temperatures will result in higher chances of heatwaves across Asia and increased intensity of storms and tropical cyclones in small islands of the Asia-Pacific Region. Sea-level rise in the Asia-Pacific region has already impacted coastal cities and rural communities and will continue to cause land loss leading to food and water insecurities.

The session will explore the role water resources management can play in alleviating water-mediated disasters. It will adopt a blended approach of speakers, panels and opportunities for participation from the (virtual) audience and use the disaster risk management cycle (prevention, preparedness, response and recovery) as a frame to guide the discussion.

Storytelling Session on This is Water, WASH & Climate: Stories from Practice

Date: June 22, 2022, 2:30- 4:00pm AEST
Location: Online
Conveners: AWP and International Water Centre

In this session we will hear from a range of ‘Story Hosts’– water and WASH professionals on their experiences relating to water management, WASH, and climate change. The session will explore the themes of:

• Practices and policies operating at a diversity of scales – from local community to national level actions
• Emerging practices and/or research about approaches to improving water management and/or WASH in relation to climate change
• Community experiences of climate change relating to water management or WASH systems.