Resilient Policies: Achieving SDG and UNFCCC Goals Through Water Management

Agenda 2030 and the UNFCCC have developed as independent but necessary bodies of global and national policy to guide sustainable development and climate change mitigation and adaptation across the 21st century. However, many SDGs do not recognize the enabling role of water or the threat of uncertain climate impacts in reaching these goals, while the UNFCCC makes little explicit guidance about which indicators of economic development should be used to mark progress for both climate mitigation and adaptation. The risks of unresilient development, policy incoherence, and ineffective investments are very high. Utilizing the Pacific tradition of Talanoa, the official format of the UNFCCC’s 2018 facilitative dialogue, our session features stories and conversation among practitioners working to demonstrate that resilient water management can be a powerful organizing principle to reconcile these policies at global, national and local levels. Our panelists also suggest how investment and finance processes, national policy vehicles such as NDCs, and new planning tools can promote a coherent and effective vision that binds these critical bodies of knowledge and policy.

Venue: Norra Latin Music Hall
Venus URL

Programme

14:00 Welcome: Dogan Altinbilek, Vice President, World Water Council

14:05 Opening Statement: Torgny Holmgren, Executive Director, Stockholm International Water Institute

14:15 Moderator Introductions: Moderator: Blanca Jiménez-Cisneros, Director, Division of Water Sciences, and Secretary of the International Hydrological Programme, UNESCO

14:20 Talanoa Dialogue: Challenges / opportunities for linking climate and development goals through water. Where are we in terms of linking sustainable development and climate change goals? Where would we like to be in 2030? How will we get there?

Panelists:

• James Dalton, Director, Global Water Program, International Union for the Conservation of Nature
• Jan Cassin, Director, Water Initiative, Forest Trends
• Nevil Muncaster, Director of Asset Management, Yorkshire Water Services, Hull, UK pilot programme for the City Water Resilience Framework (CWRF)
• Cate Lamb, Global Director, Water Security, CDP
• Lindsey Aldaco-Manner, President, World Youth Parliament for Water

15:20 Wrap-up and closing statement: Raha Hakimdavar, Hydrologist, U.S. Forest Service

15:30 Event concludes

Organiser

• ClimateIsWater Initiative
• Alliance for Global Water Adaptation
• World Water Council
• UNESCO International Hydrological Programme
• International Union for Conservation of Nature
• Stockholm International Water Institute
• Arup