Bridging Water and Climate Agendas

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change most updated reports confirm that climate change has already altered freshwater ecosystems leading to diverse adverse impacts on human systems. This highlights the connection and interdependence of water resources management and the provision of essential services such as water and sanitation.

In areas impacted by increasing droughts, water services and water for livelihoods is compromised, raising huge stress, especially for those that are already facing marginalization. Less water available and less nutritious food because of limited crop production make productivity decline due to illness or weakness. In rural areas children and women will often have to walk long or longer distances to collect water, missing out on other important activities (i.e., education and/or economic livelihood activities). In urban areas, drought may mean spending much more on water and potentially food, reducing funds available for other expenditures. When drought persists, families are forced to migrate to areas with more resources and economic opportunity, leading to displacement at best, and, in some cases, conflict within households or across demands for water usage.

Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) Partnership, which is a global multi-stakeholder partnership that includes 71 national governments and other key constituencies is strategically positioned to mobilize its partners to advance strongly towards adapting to the impacts of climate change and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. SWA’s Mutual Accountability Mechanism (MAM) provides a mechanism to governments and other stakeholders to make SMART commitments based on national plans and facilitate reaching consensus on specific actions each actor will take to achieve their short- to medium-term targets on the road to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. SWA is working to make this mechanism a vehicle for bridging climate priorities (e.g. those included in Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans), water-sanitation adaptation and mitigation priorities, and climate financing through the submission of MAM climate-related commitments.

For the first time since its inception, SWA convened in 2022 a High Level Sector Ministers’ Meeting that included ministries of water and sanitation, and also ministers of environment, climate, and economy to discuss joint solutions for climate change resiliency and increased economic development.

During the event, ministers of environment and climate were provided with opportunities to collaborate with water and sanitation ministers so that agreements could be forged to make sure that water adaptation needs as well as mitigation opportunities are introduced in national climate plans.

The meeting was preceded by a 6-month-long preparatory process, composed of multi-stakeholder discussions at national and regional levels. During those discussions, water and climate stakeholders jointly analyzed national progress on water-sanitation identified bottlenecks and successes and agreed on joint action.

As a result of this water-sanitation and climate collaboration a set of 25 commitments by country governments and other constituencies were formulated. The list of climate and water MAM commitments has recently increased to 37. An example is the commitment made by the Ministry of Water and Sanitation in Malawi, that closely working with climate stakeholders has committed to increase alignment to sector strategies such as the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the Water Policy.

The outcomes of the meeting are being followed up through national level processes, contributed to the preparatory process of the recent 2023 UN Conference on the Water Action Decade Conference, and COP28. Partners working with the interphase of climate, water and food security are welcome to make new commitments through the MAM portal! 

José Gesti works with the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) Secretariat as Senior Advisor on Climate Action, providing support to policy and strategy, as well as country engagement on climate action, water supply and sanitation services. Previously Jose worked for UNICEF as Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in UNICEF Jordan Country Office, and as Advisor in the UNICEF Headquarters office, focusing on sustainable groundwater development, cost-effective approaches to water provision and climate resilient water, sanitation, and hygiene services. Prior to that, Jose served at the Ministry of Water Resources and Environment in Spain where he worked on integrated water resource management approaches at the Ebro River Basin Authority.