Making Adaptation Work

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Making Adaptation Work

• Reflections from the Third Workshop on
  Transboundary Adaptation
• Geneva, Switzerland 25-26 April 2012

John Matthews Conservation International
AGWA j.matthews_at_conservation.org
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ASSESSMENTS
DECISIONS

• Vulnerability assessments are essentially tools
  to inform decision making processes
• Shifts from an assumption that there is a single
  type/methodology VA for hydrologically defined
  systems
• Relatively uniform framework for vulnerability
• Technical/scientific water assessments are
  shifting into institutional/governance/management
  assessments
• Get started assessing vulnerability you will
  learn how

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WATER SECTOR
WATER CONNECTOR

• Transboundary means crossing many borders
• disciplines
• sectors
• ecosystems
• communities
• economies
• governance systems
• Transboundary means we all own the water (and
  the problems)

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Data consensus
POLITICAL CONSENSUS

• Technical agreement about flows, quality,
  monitoring is a prerequisite for political
  dialogue
• but technical agreement does not mean that
  political agreement will follow

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FLEXIBLE FRAMEWORKS
LONG-TERM FRAMEWORKS

• Mechanisms for regularly updating transboundary
  allocations are necessary for agreements to endure

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Unresolved Evolving

• Climate versus climate change
• Are we confident in the projections of global
  circulation models (GCMs)?
• DRR, WASH, and ecosystems moving to the center?
• Environmental flows and flow-regime centered
  agreements
• Integrating cost-benefit analyses and financial
  mechanisms
• Translational gaps in ecosystem-based
  adaptation between ecology and engineering,
  politics, and finance
• How do we communicate adaptation effectively?

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Where should transboundary voices be heard?

• Regional water dialogues are critical
• Sectoral/thematic areas energy, agriculture,
  DRR, protected areas, healthcare
• Adaptation dialogues UNFCCC Nairobi Work
  Programme, Asia Pacific Adaptation Forum

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the AGWA network alliance4water.org
Development banks and capacity-building
groups. The Asian Development Bank, European
Investment Bank, KfW, the Inter-American
Development Bank, GiZ, the Cooperative Programme
on Water and Climate, and the World
Bank. Non-governmental Organizations The Delta
Alliance, International Water Association, the
Swedish Environmental Institute (IVL), the Global
Water Partnership, Deltares, Environmental Law
Institute (ELI), Stockholm Environmental
Institute (SEI), Organization for European
Cooperation and Development (OECD), Stockholm
International Water Institute, Wetlands
International, IUCN, The Nature Conservancy,
ICIMOD, WWF, Conservation International.
Governmental CONAGUA, Seattle Public Utilities,
US State department, NOAA, US Army Corps of
Engineers, UN Water, UN Habitat, UNECE, Water
Utilities Climate Alliance, WMO The Private
Sector Ceres, UNEP FI, World Business Council for
Sustainable Development Key partners Water
Climate Coalition, the Adaptation Partnership,
the Global Environment Facility, Nairobi Work
Programme
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Merci!
j.matthews_at_conservation.org