Paris summit brings $1 billion to protect world's water

By Hajer M'tiri

LE BOURGET, France

A group of countries, NGOs and businesses have come away from the UN climate change summit in Paris having secured $1 billion to save the world’s water resources from global warming.

The Paris Pact on Water and Climate Change Adaptation has outlined projects to protect water systems against devastating climate change.

More than 290 river basin organizations -- the groups that play a key role in managing lakes and rivers that span national borders -- have joined with 23 nations, including 11 African countries, as well as funding agencies, companies and civil society to set make global water resources "more resilient" to environmental adjustments.

Noting that water systems are the "very foundation of sustainable human development", the pact aims to tackle climate change and unsustainable water use that cause disasters such as floods and droughts and ultimately leads to deaths.

Failure to protect water systems jeopardizes sustainable economic, social and environmental development, the pact said.

Edouard Boinet, a project manager at the France-based International Office for Water, said the projects funded by the pact would help climate experts and businesses understand the dangers facing water resources, allowing them to manage and adapt to climate change better.

Such risks are present around the world, in both developed and developing nations. In California, a four-year drought has led to $2.7 billion in economic losses and put nearly 21,000 people out of work.

On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, floods in southern China have caused hundreds of deaths and $18.4 billion worth of losses this year alone.

In Brazil, the worst drought in 86 years is threatening the country’s already struggling economy.

Wide range of projects

To counter problems like these, governments, aid organizations and international finance agencies have agreed to fund a wide range of projects.

India has committed funds to improve groundwater management and in Africa nine countries have launched a 10-year investment plan to strengthen the Niger Basin’s resilience to climate change, supported by the World Bank and other backers.

Jordan, Lebanon, Monaco, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia have given a seven-year commitment to assess water resources in the Mediterranean region, supported by the European Commission.

Elsewhere, improved irrigation, water resource management and monitoring is expected to benefit hundreds of millions of people.

The pact also establishes a platform for 10 megacities around the world -- with a combined population of 85 million -- to share best practice.

Boinet said technical assistance included using sensors to assess water quality and quantity to identify trends or to manage water resources at "basin level" among the users of a particular lake or river.

Developing alternative resources through the reuse of treated waste water, rain water harvesting and wetland conservation or the creation of artificial wetlands also play a key role in the pact’s vision, Boinet added.

"The list is rather long and technical," he said.

Among the coalitions created by the pact is the Business Alliance for Water and Climate Change, the Delta Coalition that aims to improve water resilience for 250 million people in 12 countries as well as civil society groups such as the World Water Council and the French Water Partnership.

It also focuses on the world’s seas and oceans, which hundreds of millions of people depend on for their livelihoods.

The commercial shipping sector is taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent within five years and by 50 percent by 2050.

There are plans for more marine protected areas as well as solutions to rising sea levels, coastal erosion and flooding.