Australia has history and experience to share, but the nature of climate change means that the past is no longer a reliable guide to the challenges we will face in future.
Our partnerships promote the skills and tools needed to manage adaptively, allowing decision-makers to manage risk and respond quickly to fast-evolving conditions.
Our work on water & climate resilience
The Australian Water Partnership has worked to support resilience of communities and ecologies since our inception, and in recent years we have stepped up our engagement on water and climate resilience. We are joining with international water experts to raise the importance of integrated climate, water, and development solutions as we confront the triple challenge of ensuring healthy people, decent livelihoods, and a healthy planet.
Our work emphasises the importance of a socio-ecological approach to understanding climate change and water security risk, particularly in the Indo-Pacific where climate impacts are being felt first through water.
AWP at international water & climate events
AWP has held a presence and engaged with a range of water actors and stakeholders at a series of international water and climate events, including the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change hosted by Egypt in November 2022. Recordings from these events are now available online.
Water in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report
Professor Scott B. Power (Director of the Centre for Applied Climate Sciences at the University of Southern Queensland) talks about the latest climate change findings from IPCC’s sixth assessment report released in August 2021—focusing on Working Group 1: The Physical Science Basis—and the implications/net consequences to water. View the presentation below and an overall summary of what the IPCC report is.
Sharing Water & Climate Stories – Dialogue Series
As part of our focus on Water and Climate, AWP hosted a dialogue series on Sharing Water and Climate Stories to bring together water managers across Australia and the Indo-Pacific, Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to share stories of their water resource management and climate adaptation journey.
These participatory dialogues were held to encourage sharing, listening and conversation on the opportunities, challenges, and possible solutions for improving the integration of western science with traditional and indigenous science and practices for better water adaptation planning across the region.
Dialogue 1
Our first dialogue was held on 25 August 2022, where we discussed linkages between water and climate including Indigenous and traditional WRM approaches. A recording of the webinar and presentation slides are below.
Dialogue 2
Provided further opportunities for sharing stories about the complexities of applying traditional, Indigenous and community knowledge with western science into climate resilient water resource management. This dialogue sought to provide participants with the opportunity:
- to dig deeper into where traditional, Indigenous and local knowledge is being applied with western science;
- to share what has worked well in different contexts;
- to unravel some of the complexities in working across different cultures and knowledge systems; and
- to share ideas on possible opportunities for progressing in this space across Australia and the Indo-Pacific.
View the slides from the presentation and recordings below.
Dialogue 3
The objective of the third dialogue was to link First Nations, local and traditional water knowledge to SDG6. We aim to understand the role that First Nations, local and community knowledge can play in international water development.
Resources
Corporate Documents
Climate
Climate Resilience Strategy, AWP Phase 3
Annual Reports
Climate
AWP Annual Report 2024-2025
Briefs and Summaries
Climate
Understanding Indo-Pacific Climate Resilience – The contribution of water
Briefs and Summaries
Climate
River Basin Planning as a Measure for Climate Adaptation
Videos
Climate
Implications of Climate Change on Indigenous Communities
Videos
Climate
COP26 – Water for Climate Adaptation: Asia-Pacific Perspectives
Videos
Climate
COP27 – Murray-Darling Plan as a Climate Adaptation Tool in a Cross-Boundary Context
Videos
Climate
Cairo Water Week – Scaling-up Water Action to Tackle Food and Climate Security
Videos
Climate
COP28 | Landscapes for water – Scaling up locally-led climate action
Videos
Climate
COP28 | From sea to source: Stories of climate adaptation and resilience connected by water
Framing Papers
Climate
Building Resilient Economies and Communities Through the Effective Management of Water Scarcity and Drought
International Publications
Climate
Climate change and water security in the Indo-Pacific region: Risks, responses, and a framework for action
News
We are featuring water and climate stories to showcase how the Australian water sector is taking climate action in Australia and the Indo-Pacific region. These stories cover adaptation, mitigation and cross-sectoral integration, and contribute to demonstrating Australia’s efforts towards international commitments.
Events
Making inclusion stick: tools, strategies and water law – Webinar series – Part 2
October 15, 2026
AWP Partners Workshop 2026
May 29, 2026
UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
July 17, 2024
