AWP has held a presence and engaged with a range of water actors and stakeholders at a series of international water and climate events over the past few years. Below, we feature some of these events with play on-demand content related to water, climate, First Nations’ knowledge and stories from across the Asia-Pacific region.
COP27 was held in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt in November 2022 where 165 signatory countries gathered to progress the Paris Agreement and action to address climate change. Following the latest IPCC report recommendation to have scientific knowledge, cultural values, traditional and local knowledge alongside to play a role in effective adaptation, AWP has been engaging with partners to share Australian perspectives and experiences on this matter including cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. The event was preceded by Cairo Water Week where water actors and stakeholders from around the world gathered to present and discuss critical issues, policies, strategies, plans, and measures related to climate-water challenges. You can read reflections from COP27 and Cairo Water Week by Lucía Gamarra and watch recordings from our sessions at these events below.
This session discussed scalable integrated, Water, Agriculture, and Climate Nexus approaches that will contribute to FAO newly established Inter-Regional Technical Platform on Water Scarcity (iRTP-WS) Work Programme, by adopting interconnected systems thinking that embraces Complexity, Innovation, and Partnerships. AWP’s inputs focused on valuing localised nature-based solutions in South East Asia.
Demand for water is increasing rapidly, which is driven by population and economic growth, and associated trends in urbanization, industrialisation, and diet preferences. Climate change and the rise of water-related hazards, such as severe droughts, is exacerbating existing challenges. The aim of this session was to discuss areas of integration and cross-regional learning between the Asia-Pacific and the Near East North Africa regions on water scarcity.
This session at the Water Pavilion provided a platform for diverse voices including Indigenous perspectives from the Pacific and Australia to share their strong ethic of stewardship of natural resources. By doing so, it drew attention to the considerable work being done in this space and possibilities within national and global climate action.
The purpose of this session at the Climate Action Hub was to increase awareness of the linkages between water and climate and the importance of including diverse voices in how water resources are governed and managed. The session included case studies demonstrating how Indigenous Australians have adapted to natural climate regimes over the last 65,000 years, along with more recent agricultural, industrial and urban development and changing government policies.
This session at the Resilience Hub provided space for Indigenous voices from the Asia Pacific to share their knowledge and experiences on approaches for linking western science with traditional and Indigenous science, knowledge and management practices for water resource management and adaptation planning in the context of climate change.
This session took place at the Australian Pavilion and explored water and climate stories from Australia and the Indo-Pacific, highlighting community and traditional knowledge approaches for inclusive action on water and climate. It continues a conversation building momentum across global forums, from Stockholm to Cairo to the 2023 UN Water Conference, about the potential of applying such valuable knowledge in a changing climate.
The Murray-Darling Basin is Australia’s food bowl. Climate change has required a reset of how Australia manages the Murray-Darling Basin’s scarce water resources in the context of competing transboundary, sectoral and community interests. Panellists in this session at the Australian Pavilion explored different stakeholder experiences and key learnings in implementation, and what makes the Plan suitable as a climate adaptation tool.
At COP26, AWP hosted a virtual storytelling event to highlight voices and stories from the Asia-Pacific region. As a socioecological approach is needed to understand climate risk in our region, and design effective solutions, the session presented a series of case studies about locally-led adaptation in water.
In this session, water in the Murray-Darling Basin is examined through the lenses of the economy, the environment and Australia’s First Nations, helping policy makers to improve water-related outcomes in other country contexts. Australia’s largest river system provides valuable lessons that can inform good international practices.
This session focused on the diverse impacts of climate change in the Indo-Pacific region and the effects of water management in cities across a range of socio-ecological zones. The session included presentations from experts providing examples of tackling water-related climate impacts, adaptation strategies and building resilience from a large city a secondary city and a coastal urban area. These perspectives highlighted approaches to climate change adaption strategies across different geographies.
