Violent protests, involving thousands of people. have broken out in Isfahan, Iran, over the drying up of a river, with police arresting at least 67 people in recent days.

Drought and diversion of river water to neighbouring Yazd province are blamed by demonstrators.

Police General Hassan Karami told reporters 27 November "We have arrested 67 of the main actors and agitators behind the troubles," adding that there were about 2,000 to 3,000 "rioters" in the protests. Some media sources have reported higher numbers of arrests.

The 27 November protest in the central-Iran city (pop 2 million) was the biggest since the outbreak commenced 9 November.

"Thousands of people from Isfahan, farmers from the east and west of the province, have gathered in the dry Zayanderud riverbed with one key demand: let the river run," a state television journalist in Isfahan reported.

Protesters chanted "Plundered for 20 years" and "the water must return”.

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber said that he had "ordered the ministers of energy and agriculture to take immediate steps to deal with the issue”.

Droughts have been taking place in Iran for 30 years, but the frequency has increased recently.

The Iran Meteorological Organization says that an estimated 97 Percent of the country, one of the driest in the world, now faces some level of drought.

As Syria faces its worst drought in 70 years, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported that low levels of rainfall in the North of Syria and disruptions to service has left an estimated five million people without access to safe water.

This crisis comes on the back of a decade-old conflict, an economic crisis and struggles to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Operational reduction, particularly at the Alouk station that serves an estimated 500,000 people, and a general lack of electricity has affected water services. Safe drinking water is scarce and OCHA has raised concerns about the increased prevalence of waterborne diseases and the reduction of capacity to cope with COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the poor rainfall could worsen already high food insecurity and exacerbate malnutrition rates in the region.

OCHA has said “The loss of crops and of agricultural livelihoods as a result of poor rainfall, drought like conditions and reduced availability of water for irrigation in the Euphrates, stands to significantly worsen already high food insecurity and malnutrition rates in the region.” The organization also estimates that women and girls are being disproportionately affected by the crisis.

While the UN and its partners have a plan to provide 3.4 million with reliable access to safe water and to tackle larger structural issues, only $51 Million USD of the estimated $251 Million USD requirement has been funded thus far.

The continuing drought also prompted dozens of civil society groups to appeal to the UN to put an end to "weaponisation" of water associated with the Turkish occupation.

In the face of this crisis, OCHA has said “The UN continues to emphasize that access to adequate quantities of water and associated services must not be compromised. There is a human right to water, and it must be respected to ensure the safety and well-being of civilians at risk.”

UNICEF’s office in Iraq stated that children and young people are at the highest risk from water scarcity ahead of the commencement of COP26 in Glasgow.

The statement identified children’s health, education, and protection as most at risk as a result of unclean or unavailable drinking water. The organisation encouraged the country’s leaders to take urgent action. It stated: “The climate crisis is now a child’s rights crisis. It is an absolute injustice.”

However, Iraq’s President Barham Salih canceled his trip to Glasgow for the climate conference due to political instability in the country since last month’s elections. Other children’s charities such as Save the Children concur stating that leaders should be factoring water scarcity into their decision-making processes on climate change, to prevent further humanitarian crises. Ishtiaq Mannan, the Country Director of Save the Children Iraq, said: “The water crisis in Iraq shows that for so many of the world’s children, the climate crisis is already here. And the knock-on impacts, from hunger, to displacement, to health, are many.” Save the Children has identified the displacements caused by global warming as one of the leading causes of mental health issues for children and young people in the country.

This year tens of thousands of families were displaced due to reduced access to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, on which several communities rely for their livelihoods. In August, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, warned that nearly half of the drinking water stations along the Euphrates River had been ‘significantly or severely impacted by critically low water levels’ by late June. More than five million people rely on these stations for drinking water and electricity, and to supply irrigation networks.

UNICEF is calling on the federal and regional governments to increase their investment in water aid, sanitation and hygiene systems, and health and education services. They aim to include young people in all national, regional, and international climate negotiations and decisions, such as at future COP meetings.

The second edition of the Ecological Threat Report (ETR) from the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), released in October, confirms that there is a cyclical relationship between ecological degradation and conflict: degradation of natural resources leads to conflict and conflict leads to further resource degradation.

The study covers more than 2,500 subnational administrations in 178 countries and focuses on food and water risks as well as population growth, temperature anomalies and natural disasters. These factors were combined with indicators of socioeconomic resilience to determine which countries have the lowest capacity to cope with ecological threats.

The 2021 study highlights three geographical regions which are ecological “hotspots”:  The Sahel-Horn of Africa belt, from Mauritania to Somalia; the Southern African belt, from Angola to Madagascar and the Middle East and Central Asian belt, from Syria to Pakistan.

The IEP measures socioeconomic resilience by means of a set of 23 indicators across three domains, i.e. “ongoing domestic and international conflict”, “societal safety and security”, and “militarisation”.

The combination of high population growth and food and water insecurity have been stressors of political instability in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East historically, leading to tensions for instance between Turkey, Syria and Iraq over the waters of the Euphrates Basin or between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the waters of the Nile.

While currently some 2.6 billion people live under conditions of water stress, this figure is expected to rise to 5.4 billion by 2040. South Asia is the region with the highest combined score on food and water risk: 44% of the population is exposed to moderate food insecurity, but in addition to this the region is prone to natural disasters.

South Asia is followed by Sub-Saharan Africa, in which some 66% of the population suffers from moderate to high levels of food insecurity coupled with low levels of access to safely managed water resources.

Eleven of the 12 African countries in conflict were experiencing food insecurity and featured competition over access to natural resources such as clashes between farmers and pastoralists over land and water resources. The Sub-Saharan region is followed by the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and subsequently the Russian / Eurasian region with high scores on Ecological Threat.

The report further found that existing ecological threats such as food and water insecurity are exacerbated by climate change: rises in average temperatures have been shown by earlier studies to increase the risk of deadly conflict. Climate change is not a necessary condition for the emergence of conflict, but it does increase the risk of a potential conflict.                   

At the 35th UN-Water Meeting held in October this year, UN- Water Members, Partners and observers began the planning for the UN Water Conference to be held in New York from 22-24 March 2023. It will the first such gathering since the 1977 Conference in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

The 2023 Conference for the Midterm Comprehensive Review of Implementation of the UN Decade for Action on Water and Sanitation (2018-2028) (midterm review) has been mandated by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) which has also set a broad outline of content:

• An opening and closing session, six plenary sessions, and five interactive dialogues, as well as side events organized by participants; and
• Result in a summary of proceedings from the UNGA President that will feed into the 2023 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

UN-Water and its partners will work to determine the themes of the five interactive dialogues, which themes will be finalized at an additional preparatory meeting in November 2022. Regional preparatory meetings for the midterm review will take place in the first half of 2022, and feed into the 2022 HLPF session.

In preparing for the 2023 Conference, UN-Water Vice-Chair Kelly Ann Naylor emphasized that the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework is part of the UN Secretary-General’s work to deliver the SDGs by 2030. This framework fosters collaboration to address gaps, develop new initiatives, and focus on country- driven results. In this connection, it has been suggested to bring Indigenous Peoples’ perspectives on water into the process as early as possible, and to engage with a youth cohort as partners and not just beneficiaries.

Co-hosts for the 2023 Midterm Review are Tajikistan and the Netherlands.

“Expectations are high” for the review conference, according to Tajikistan’s representative at the recent UN-Water meeting. Sulton Rahimzoda, Chair of the Executive Committee of the International Fund for saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), Co-Chair of the Dushanbe Water Process, and Special Envoy of the President of Tajikistan to the High-level Panel on Water and Climate said the organizers are striving for concrete commitments that create impact and set a clear agenda for 2023-2030.

Rahimzoda has emphasized the need for interaction between the formal and informal processes. The Conference must be inclusive as well as build momentum to create broad ownership of its outcomes.

Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, the Netherlands, has stressed the need for other sectors to recognize that water is an enabler of respective agendas and that people need to value their water.

Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the UN 2023 Water Conference, linked UN-Water’s initiatives to the UN Secretary- General’s report, ‘Our Common Agenda.’ He said the Agenda is designed to accelerate implementation of existing agreements and initiatives. On SDG 6, such initiatives are the Decade of Water Action 2018-2028 and the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework.

Turkish-backed armed groups have once again blocked the northeast of Syria’s water lifeline, preventing the flow of the Khabur River reaching rural communities. The blockade comes at a time when northeast Syria has faced its driest summer in history. Humanitarian agencies are reporting that over 12 million Syrians have been affected.

Annual rainfall in the Khabur basin ranges from over 400 mm in the north to less than 200 mm in the south. The Khabur River is the largest tributary of the Euphrates and is a vital water source for the region.

The blockages are exasperating an area already struggling with extreme water shortage – severely impacted by the three dams built upstream by the Syrian National Army (SNA) and by a brutal climate change-linked drought.

The latest blockade is another example of water being used as a weapon in war during the conflict in Syria. From the shutdown of Alouk water station, as well as limited flow into the Euphrates, the Khabur is an indispensable source for the survival of the civilian population. With the civilian population being denied their sustenance, questions are being raised as to whether the blockade violates international humanitarian law.

“Under International Humanitarian Law, included in the Geneva Conventions Additional Protocol I (Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts), attacks on ‘objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population’, (including water infrastructure), is prohibited” (PAX).

The consequences are serious. Over 84 rural towns and villages lack access to water for essential household and agricultural use and it is estimated that thousands of household’s livelihoods, and lives, are under threat.

Many farmers and pastoralists are struggling to irrigate land and livestock. The intense water scarcity has coincided with high diesel prices and has prevented many farmers from operating their pumps. Unable to irrigate, many farmers are being forced to leave vast tracts of agricultural land fallow. Many have simply abandoned the region.

With a recorded 70% decrease in water levels in Syria, communities depending on the Khabur River are faced with starvation and forced displacement unless the dams are removed and solutions relating to climate-linked degrading natural resources are discussed peacefully.

During COP26, international climate change risk analysts XDI (The Cross Dependency Initiative) released a first-of-its-kind report focusing on climate risks for all 34 million UK residential and commercial addresses. It is expected that this assessment will be expanded to other geographies.

According to the data, a half million properties are at risk of losing affordable insurance as a 5-fold increase in damages caused by extreme weather is expected by the end of the century, raising the total number of vulnerable properties to 1.9 million.

Climate change driven extreme weather is expected to depress property values by as much as 7.5 Percent (£525 Billion GBP or $705 Billion USD) by the end of the century. In many cases, the value of the property will be less than the value owed to mortgage lenders.

A sharp rise in sea levels will cause coastal flooding and will result in 6 Percent of all properties being highly vulnerable. By 2060, this will likely surpass the surface water flooding risk and become the greatest source of inundation in the UK territory.

These predicted consequences of climate change may have an effect on the housing market, making some properties “unmortgageable” due to their loss of value. XDI has developed an interactive platform that provides powerful, on-demand, quantitative insights for decision makers, financial managers and investors. The platform  combines data sets with extensive climate models to provide deep analysis of an organisation’s exposure to climate change and extreme weather risk.

The XDI report presents a number key suggestions to tackle these risks. Among them is the need for mortgage lenders to understand the specific risk of each property, depending on its location but also its physical characteristics.

This assessment will also help borrowers to calculate the risk of “affordability” of their insurance cove. As extreme weather events become more frequent and intense, mortgage rates will rise in proportion.

Additionally, real estate investors will now need to have a deep understanding of their portfolio’s exposure to climate change impacts and how that may affect its value.

The report underscores that climate risk is financial risk. It says: “Lenders and other financial and investment organisations in the UK are under increasing pressure to report financial impacts of climate change to their investments, including mortgage portfolios on residential and commercial assets. Climate risk to these assets presents significant financial exposure for lenders and their investors.”

Melting permafrost poses a risk of releasing "locked" viruses and radioactive material into the environment.

By conducting a systematic analysis of existing studies, the authors concluded that this phenomenon will likely have an impact on human health as well as in the local and global ecosystems.

Permafrost is the name given to land which, in normal circumstances, remains frosted throughout the year and the temperatures are never high enough for it to thaw. However, rising global temperatures are causing these regions to thaw and substances which were previously permanently captured are now being released into the atmosphere.

This process was already known to cause the release of greenhouse gases which, in turn, contribute to the warming of the globe. However, this study indicates that other, more immediately dangerous substances may be about to be released as well.

This is the case, startlingly, the case with radioactive, nuclear waste. Once a region used to conduct nuclear tests by the Soviet Union and the United States, there are now concerns that waste produced by those tests as well as by decommissioned nuclear submarines, may have been trapped in permafrost until now.

This “abrupt” melting may also cause bacteria which have been trapped for hundreds of years to be released. Because they were never exposed to antibiotics, this means that they may be resistant to existing treatments for infections.

There is also the risk that byproducts from fossil fuel mining in the region have been trapped since the start of the industrial revolution and may now be released into the atmosphere.

Talking to the BBC, one of the study’s authors, Dr. Arwyn Edwards of Aberystwyth University, said: “Changes in the Arctic's climate and ecology will influence every part of the planet as it feeds carbon back to the atmosphere and raises sea levels.”.

With world leaders about to convene in Glasgow to discuss the climate, he added: “"It is imperative demonstrable action is taken at (the) COP26 summit as these findings should concern anybody. As well as fulfilling the targets of the Paris Agreement and reducing the increase in the global climate temperature to 1.5 Celsius, there needs to be a strong and immediate commitment to funding research in this area.”.

A team of scientists under the direction of researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have developed a low-cost, nature-based, sustainable solution to filter and purify seawater. Key ingredient: coal.

The new technology utilises pulverised coal fragments that are combined with cotton fibres and then moulded into a block to form carbonised compressed powder (CCP).  The block is placed above a container of seawater and heated with sunlight. As the water warms, it flows through the block. Upon reaching the surface, the water evaporates into steam, and is condensed into drinking water.

Marcella Bonifazi and Valerio Mazzone, from co-partner University of Zurich said: “To assist water flow into and through the CCP, the team incorporated cotton fibres through the material. The CCP’s raw materials are abundant in nature and low cost, as well as light-weight, [and] versatile,” adding, “The device produced fresh water at a record-breaking 12-15 litres/day/m², three times more than a traditional solar still and around one-third the cost of current state-of-the-art solar desalination technologies.”

The UN estimates that by 2025 1.2 billion people will be unable to access freshwater, and a further 1.6 billion people will live in countries which, “lack the necessary infrastructure to take water from rivers and aquifers.”

The key feature of this new desalination technology is that it is simple and low-cost. It has been demonstrated that a simple 16 m2 D system installed at a family farm can produce enough water to meet the drinking, cooking, and vegetable-watering needs of a typical rural family of four.

Not only has this system proved to be more efficient than other water desalination systems, it also harnesses a nature-based solution which discharges fewer pollutants into the oceans.

PERA Complexity, a Dutch company assisting in commercializing the technology, has commented: “D-SAL [the system] is more cost-effective and sustainable than existing technologies, as it offers a solution that is less capital intensive, simple to operate, doesn’t require electricity, or chemicals, and generates less brine discharge.”

Aluizio M Cruz, also from PERA Complexity added: “By using a 100% sustainable non-thermal fabrication process, we achieved a highly efficient and cost-effective relation between carbon atoms, surface area, solar energy, and water, all interacting in a complex coal structure.”

The team now plan to implement a pilot trail in rural parts of Northeast Brazil in the near future.

Unprecedented rainfall hit the Northern Chinese province of Shanxi in recent months with an estimated 1.76 million being affected. Landslides have been reported causing at least 17,000 homes to collapse and requiring the relocation of more than 120,000.

Just three months after the neighbouring province of Henan was impacted by extreme floods that killed 300 people, the coal mining province has now been affected and an economic shockwave is feared.

Shanxi is responsible for 30 Percent of the country’s energy supply. Twenty-seven coal mines were closed on 4 of October due to heavy rains and, as a result of the new floods, 60 more coal mines have had to shut down. Local authorities have also ordered the temporary closure of 372 non-coal mines and 14 dangerous chemical plants. There are fears that possible coal shortages in the Winter and will also reduce productivity in steel, chemicals and cement-making by as much as 30 Percent, with a knock-on effect throughout the economy.

Already facing an energy shortage, Chinese authorities have curtailed energy usage at factories and the ports and have ramped up efforts at additional coal production.

The coal futures market in particular, has been highly unstable. Large companies trade coal futures, which sets a steady price for coal in future periods in order to avoid constant fluctuations and more reliable budgeting. However, fears of shortages have caused coal futures to reach an all-time high earlier this month.

Subsequently, the Chinese government has intervened and prices have plummeted while there are undergoing efforts to bring stability to the market.

An estimated 190,000 hectares (470,000 acres) of crops have been damaged by the floods and many more have been affected. Dragged by strong currents, a bus has fallen into a river causing 3 dead and 11 missing. As thousands struggle to get out of harm’s way, the persistent heavy rains and storms have made rescue efforts particularly difficult.

The Finnish company Solar Water Solutions (SWS) has reached an agreement with Kitui County in Kenya to use solar power to desalinise brackish coastal water.

Desalination is a viable option to provide access to water for coastal settlements in areas where freshwater is scarce, but it is a technology usually associated with high energy costs and a high carbon footprint. SWS technology promises freshwater supplies based on zero emissions and zero running costs: the desalination plants are containerised and use reverse osmosis technology powered by solar panels.

The units are linked to an automated teller machine (ATM) which enables payment by phone, a payment system used widely in Kenya.  The project is financed by Climate Fund Managers, a blended finance fund manager created through a joint venture between Dutch development bank FMO and South African financiers SANLAM group.

Under the project, valued at $15 Million USD, up to 200 containerised units will be transported to Kitui in south-eastern Kenya, a county with a population of 1.1 million. Upon completion it is envisaged that the installed systems will have a joint capacity of 1,500 m³ per day, enough to supply water to some 400,000 residents. Currently, approximately 42% of the population draw water from unprotected sources such as local streams and rivers, and 13 % of the population access water from boreholes, which is contaminated by fluoride and salts.

All the coastal counties in Kenya have levels of water demand that far exceed local supply. Despite progress in infrastructure development, population growth and urbanisation provide challenges for county water managers. Desalination of brackish water from boreholes or of sea water is commonly used in the Middle East and along the Mediterranean, but it does also have adverse environmental effects. The primary environmental consequence is the production of highly concentrated brine which needs to be disposed of. As such, scientists have pointed out that planning and monitoring of pilot phases of such projects can be key in determining the safest means of brine disposal.        

Examination of new data from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope has revealed signs of water in a distant galaxy - located over 12 billion light years away from Earth. This is currently the most distant detection of water and its discovery is ground-breaking.

Over 12.88 billion light years from Earth, in the biggest galaxy in the early Universe, carbon monoxide was also discovered alongside the water. Experts have said that the discovery of these two molecules in abundance suggest the Universe was going strong – just after the elements were forged in the early stars. According to Sreevani Jarugula, an astronomer at the University of Illinois and the principal investigator, “the molecular forms of carbon monoxide and water […] are critical to life as we know it.”

Jarugula went onto add: “This study not only provides answers about where, and how far away, water can exist in the Universe, but also has given rise to a big question: How has so much gas and dust assembled to form stars and galaxies so early in the Universe? The answer requires further study of these and similar star-forming galaxies to get a better understanding of the structural formation and evolution of the early Universe.”

Although travel to the water-dwelling Early universe planet is not imminent, the discovery is important as it helps add new information and context to other findings. Discovery of water in a galaxy over 12 billion light-years from Earth will help scientists learn more about the birth of the universe, the Milky Way and Earth.

Joe Pesce, an astrophysicist and ALMA Program Director at the National Science Foundation said: “This exciting result, which shows the power of ALMA, adds to a growing collection of observations of the early Universe.”

“These molecules, important to life on Earth, are forming as soon as they can, and their observation is giving us insight into the fundamental processes of a Universe very much different from today’s.”

The United Nations has marked this year’s World Toilet Day, 19 November, through the launch of its global campaign to value toilets.

“Who cares about toilets? 3.6 billion people do. Because they don’t have one that works properly.“

The purpose of the annual campaign is to raise awareness that an estimated 3.6 billion people live without access to safely managed sanitation. Poor sanitation contaminates drinking water resources and food crops and contaminated water spreads diseases. When some people in a community do not have safe toilets, everyone’s health is threatened

This year’s theme of valuing toilets draws attention to the fact that toilets – and the sanitation systems that support them – are underfunded, poorly managed or neglected in many parts of the world. The consequences for health, economics and the environment, particularly in the poorest and most marginalized communities are devastating.

The UN points out that there are significant advantages to investment in adequate sanitation systems. Every $1 investment in basic sanitation returns up to $5 in saved medical costs and increased productivity, and jobs are created along the entire service chain. Women and girls especially benefit from toilets at home, school and work particularly during menstruation and pregnancy.

The data is supported by WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene report –  Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000 - 2020 – which presents estimates on household access to safely managed drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services over the past five years, and assesses progress toward achieving the SDG 6 (“Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030”). For the first time, the report also presents emerging national data on menstrual health.

In 2020, around 1 in 4 people lacked safely managed drinking water in their homes and nearly half the world’s population lacked safely managed sanitation. The global spread of COVID-19 highlighted the urgent need to ensure everyone can access good hand hygiene. At the onset of the pandemic, 3 in 10 people worldwide could not wash their hands with soap and water within their homes.

“Handwashing is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, yet millions of people across the world lack access to a reliable, safe supply of water,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Investment in water, sanitation and hygiene must be a global priority if we are to end this pandemic and build more resilient health systems.”

The UN is calling for a quadrupling of investment across the entire sanitation “value” chain to stimulate progress from the collection, transport and treatment of human waste in order to achieve the goals of SDG 6 by 2030.

In the run-up to COP26 in Glasgow, the Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) approved a record- breaking 13 new projects for mitigation and adaptation action, with $1.2 Billion USD in GCF resources allocated for climate action.

Over 59 Percent of the funds have been allocated for adaption projects in developing countries. A little over 50 Percent of the funding will go to Small Island Developing State, Least Developed Countries, and African States and 35 Percent will be directed to entities working at a regional or national level. Approved funding proposals include programmes to catalyse private sector climate finance and investment.

Co-Chair José De Luna Martínez, from Mexico, stated: “This has been a record year for GCF, with nearly USD 3 billion approved by the Board for urgent climate action. As we head into the crucial COP 26 meeting, the Green Climate Fund is fulfilling its role to deliver support for climate action in developing countries.”

GCF Executive Director Yannick Glemarec stated: “GCF has accelerated the programming of climate finance in 2020-2021 to maintain climate ambition in the context of COVID-19. We are now allocating funds to new projects as soon as they are received, in response to increasing demand from developing countries. The Secretariat is also moving those funds more rapidly and efficiently to implement climate action on the ground, and our report to the Board reflects the increases in the speed of project review and in project implementation that have allowed us to disburse over USD 2 billion to date.”

Of particular importance is the allocation of an additional $17.5 Million USD for enhancing climate resilience in Thailand through effective water management and sustainable agriculture. This 2016 program, jointly undertaken with United Nations Development Programme and the Government of Thailand targets an estimated 25 million indirect beneficiaries in the Great Chao Phraya River Basin. Generally, the programme is directed to improve climate risk-informed planning in the water and agriculture sectors; strengthen water management infrastructure for greater resilience to projected climate change; and, increase resilience of agriculture livelihoods in drought and flood prone areas.

Additionally, a $9.5 Million USD grant has been allocated for enhancing community resilience and water security in the Upper Athi River Catchment Area in Kenya. This new financing will aid an estimate 4 million people in the least water-secure region in the country. Many of the river’s tributaries have either been significantly reduced or dried up completely. Due to the reduced availability of surface water, reliance on groundwater has increased exponentially. The programme will boost integrated water resources management practices and investment in water supply infrastructure in four vulnerable counties. Interventions include hydrological and meteorological information management; installation and rehabilitation of water infrastructure; and strengthening planning and regulatory frameworks for water resource management.

The UK has pledged during COP26 to send $74 Million USD to Pakistan to help tackle climate change.

The British High Commission in Islamabad disclosed that part of the money will specifically fund a five year water governance programme that will aim to achieve fairer access to water across the country, as around 85 Percent of people in Pakistan are currently without access to clean drinking water.

The British High Commissioner, Christian Turner, said: “This £55 Million GBP new funding will ensure Pakistan becomes more resilient to [the] impacts [of climate change]. More sustainable water use will improve lives and livelihoods.”

Pakistan is ranked as one of the top 10 countries in the world with the lowest access to safe, clean water and about 40 Percent of all deaths in the country are attributed to drinking contaminated water. 

The Commissioner added: “For Pakistan, climate change could be catastrophic.” Further, it has been announced that climate change had been responsible for drying up the valley in Parachinar City, which iscurrently providing water for the surrounding towns.

The droughts have been attributed to a lack of snow over the winter 2021, which, in turn, is attributed to rising global temperatures. This has been the record lowest snowfall in Parachinar in 60 years.

Ten Million USD will be sent to Pakistan by the UK before the end of this year to help the country achieve its climate change objectives.

The World Bank approved $400 Million USD in recent weeks for new funding for the Integrated Water Security Platform in Niger.

The project, which will affect about 3 million people, is designed to strengthen the management of water resources: increase access to services and improve resilience to climate-induced water variability in select areas of Niger. Its focus is “participatory” management to harness scarce water resources that will contribute to food security.

More specifically, it will develop improved monitoring systems, promote sustainable use across all sectors, restore the environment to improve the resilience of agricultural and rural livelihoods to drought and flood. The program will also expand rural development services, including small-scale irrigation, water-usage related activities for pastoralists, and aquaculture; and improve of access to drinking water and sanitation services with low-carbon and resilience considerations.

The funding has been arranged through the International Development Association (IDA) the World Bank’s fund for the poorest. The fund provides grants and low- to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives.

In Niger, as of 2017, only 50 Percent of the population had access to basic water service. Climate change has led to shorter but more intense rain patterns which affect agricultural productivity and in turn food insecurity. Poor water resource management and widespread land degradation due to excessive agricultural and grazing practices, have limited access to water and arable land.

"Access to equitable basic social services for all Nigeriens is fundamental to improve human capital and livelihoods," says Joelle Dehasse, World Bank Country Manager for Niger. "This is a landmark investment to improve access and management of scarce water resource in a country grappling with the impacts of climate change. From small scale irrigation, livestock watering and fodders transformation, expansion of water supply services and public sanitation facilities, to promoting good hygiene for better health outcomes and institutional reforms, this project will help Niger to raise the quality and sustainability of critical water services."

In the face of growing global water stress, the Extraordinary World Meteorological Congress has pledged to prioritise water security efforts with the endorsement of a new hydrology action plan, a Water Declaration and the establishment of a new Water and Climate Coalition.

The Water Declaration sets out aspirations to combat water scarcity - which will continue to be further exacerbated by rising global temperatures – and accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (water and sanitation).

On 2 November 2021, Water and Climate Coalition leaders gathered at the United Nations Climate Change conference, COP26, where they stressed the urgent need for an integrated approach to water-climate management, based on increased sharing of data and information to meet SDG 6 and 3 (climate).

"Without good data, climate and water policies are only empty words. Effective action requires knowledge, knowledge requires information, information requires data," said H.E. Mr. János Áder, President of Hungary.

At the COP26 conference in Glasgow, Scotland,  Matthias Berninger, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs & Sustainability at Bayer highlighted the importance of the role of the private sector in combating water stress.

“To tackle the water crisis at a global level, there are three areas of action: first, we need commitment from the private sector. Second, we need overarching political action. Third, and most importantly, we need wide-ranging cooperation. We have a joint responsibility to make this work. If we fail, it is not just a failure for us, but also for future generations” Mr Berninger added.

To tackle future water-related challenges, the WMO’s new hydrology plan identifies target outcomes to WMO’s eight long-term ambitions.

After two years of development, the National Water Resource Strategy (NWRS) of Somalia was launched in October 2021, at a ceremony in the capital Mogadishu.

The process towards the development of the NWRS commenced in July 2019 at the request of the Prime Minister and followed an inclusive process based on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) principles. The current Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Hassan Abdinur, underlined the continued need to build capable and competent institutions at federal, state and local government levels that work collaboratively to address the existing problems.

Folllowing years of conflict and drought, institutional reforms since 2011 have ushered in a period of relative stability for Somalia, and development partners such as the World Bank have provided assistance for institution building and enhanced service delivery. Creating a national ‘water compact’, as proposed by researchers at Lund University, will help to overcome the fragmentation of water management by embracing water governance, water use and services, water resilience, and integrated water resources management. A broad-based national consultation process towards the development of the NWRS and national priorities, conducted throughout 2020, involved government ministries, development partners, experts and international and local non- governmental organisations.

Much of the north of Somalia is classified as arid or semi-arid land, unsuited to crop production and traditionally used as grazing land by pastoralists. Recent extensive droughts have significantly increased livestock deaths and reduced harvests, while an increased incidence of flash flooding has exacerbated soil erosion.

The south of the country has higher rainfall but is prone to regular flooding and there is a lack of impoundment structures to capture and use runoff effectively. Additionally, much of the south of Somalia falls within the Juba-Shebelle River basin, which is a transboundary river basin that is not covered by a legally binding treaty between riparian countries Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. Somalia is a downstream riparian, receiving 90 Percent of its flow from the Ethiopian highlands and from Kenya, and Ethiopia has objected to water infrastructure development by Somalia in the past.

Current trends indicate that Somalia can expect an increased frequency of precipitation as a result of climate change, and thus increased climate resilience is among the objectives to be pursued by the strategy.

The Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, has started legal proceedings to have the Border Rivers Water Sharing Plan 2021 ruled invalid, alleging it was made without properly considering the future impacts of climate change.

“As a consequence,” says Chris Gambian, Nature Conservation Council Chief Executive, “too much water has been allocated for extraction and too little for the environment and downstream communities on the Barwon and Darling-Barka Rivers.”

The case is the first of its kind in Australia – and possibly the world. The action comes after whole sections of the river system have completely dried up.

“The Menindee Lakes until recently were a dustbowl and the Macquarie Marshes and other wetlands across the state are on the brink of ecological collapse,” continued Gambian.

“This is a challenge for public administrators right now, and we believe the NSW Government has failed in its duty to meet that challenge. Climate change is not some abstract phenomenon that may occur in the distant future. River communities in NSW are bearing the brunt of that change every day, right now.”

Legal proceedings are being taken against the Water Minister Melinda Pavey, who approved the plan, and the Environment Minister Matt Kean, who provided concurrence.

Emma Carmody, the lawyer acting on behalf of the Nature Conservation Council, says that her client alleges that, by relying on historical climate data for the catchment, NSW Government ministers have failed to comply with their own laws.

“Our client will ask the court to find that the Border Rivers Water Sharing Plan is invalid and must be replaced by a lawful plan,” said Carmody.

If the case is successful, it will likely mean that future water sharing plans will have to take climate change into account, in particular in relation to the setting of catchment-wide extraction limits and environmental flow rules.

“Climate models used to predict climate change and its impacts are sufficiently robust and we claim they must be taken into account in determining the allocation of water,” added Gambian.

“If we fail to keep our rivers alive as a first priority, it doesn’t really matter what our second priority is. We will have lost the fight.”

Water-Related news from the Glasgow climate conference (a Special Issue of The Water Diplomat, 5 November, 2021

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The Glasgow Declaration for Fair Water Footprints, a step to transform the way the world’s water resources are managed, was launched at COP26.

The declaration has been developed in a partnership comprising of governments from the global north and south, the private sector, financial institutions and civil society signatories.

It calls for collaborative action to transform how the global economy interacts with the water environment and the resilience of local communities. Launching the declaration,

Nick Hepworth, Executive Director of Water Witness International, said that “it marks the beginning of the end for the abuse of water, nature, and people in our globalised supply chains, which pushes the most vulnerable further into climate catastrophe”.

Investors and multinationals currently influence as much as 70 Percent of the world’s water through farming, mining and manufacturing processes. This contributes to the over-exploitation and pollution of water resources, denying local people access to safe water and exposing them to climate impacts and disease.

Declaration signatories will be accountable for specific actions to improve water management and secure fair water footprints – the water used to produce the food, clothes and goods we consume – by 2030.

These actions include eliminating water pollution and over-extraction from rivers and aquifers, improving flood and drought risk management, and driving universal access to safe water, toilets and hand-washing facilities.

“Water sustains life on earth and is vital to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees,” said UK Minister of State Zac Goldsmith, who signed the declaration on behalf of the UK government.

“But how we manage our water to produce the food, clothes and goods we consume, shapes water and climate security for millions of people across the globe. Similarly, if we fail to protect the ecosystems that provide clean water, we will always be playing a desperate game of catch-up.”

Over 60 Percent of the water needed to produce the UK’s food, clothing and consumer goods is used overseas – often in water-stressed countries facing severe climate challenges. Signatories include the governments of the UK, Austria, Finland, Madagascar, Malawi, Panama, and Peru, who will work with multinational corporations and investment companies such as Unilever, Diageo and ACTIAM, and civil society organisations, including Water Witness International, CDP and WaterAid. Funding has already been committed to the initiative by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) and others. Partners will report against agreed indicators and will meet to review and accelerate progress at least annually.

More than 140 world leaders have pledged to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 through the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use.

The historic pact was announced at the COP26 World Leaders Summit ‘Action on Forests and Land Use’ which brought together an unprecedented alliance of governments, companies, financial actors, and non-state leaders to raise ambition on forests and land-use.

Rod Taylor, Forest Program Global Director, World Resources Institute said: “This announcement sends an undeniable message that forests are critical to meeting global climate goals. Ending deforestation is essential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C”

“In order to make real progress, the declaration must herald new ways of doing business, including far more accountability. For example, countries need to insert concrete forest protection measures into trade agreements and national development plans.” He added.

Twelve donor countries have pledged to provide $12 Billion  USD (£8.75 billion) of public climate finance from 2021 to 2025 to a new Global Forest Finance Pledge . This will support action in developing countries, including restoring degraded land, tackling wildfires and advancing the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

Deforestation has caused disruptions to global water cycles due to major shifts in precipitation, evidenced by a growing body of research including a report published earlier this year by The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO).

The report revealed that a staggering 76 Percent of the world's accessible freshwater comes from forested watersheds, and that deforestation has increased risks of flooding, disturbed streamflow and depleted groundwater.

Addressing the need for substantial financial investment, UNEP's executive director Inger Andersen said: "To meet climate, biodiversity and land degradation targets, financial flows to nature-based solutions must triple by 2030 and increase four-fold by 2050. So, governments must allocate funds to restoration in COVID-19 recovery packages. Businesses, banks, investors and insurers must reform their operations and financial flows to restore the natural world."

Twenty-six water utility companies across the globe have pledged, through the Race to Zero campaign, to half global carbon emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050.

The Race to Zero campaign, led by the UN’s High-Level Climate Champions for Climate Action, brings together non-state actors – companies, cities, regions, financial and educational institutions – to take immediate action to eventually reach a zero-carbon world.

The water sector plays a vital role in the success of the campaign with global water use, storage, and distribution accounting for 10% of all global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide.

Water UK has been an official partner of Race To Zero since January 2021, helping to encourage water utilities across the globe to join the initiative ahead of the COP26 summit.

Christine McGourty, CEO of Water UK, added: “We could not be prouder to be playing our part in COP and to be working with our partners to drive forward progress on net-zero.

“We’re facing a critical decade for the environment that will require collaboration on a global scale as we work to build long-term plans that deliver for people and planet. By investing early in sustainable water solutions, countries and utilities have an important opportunity to deliver programmes that will be cost-effective for both the sector and the consumer, and we don’t have time to waste.

“We look forward to sharing key insights with climate leaders from around the world and working together to get the right frameworks in place to deliver net zero.”

The UK’s water sector, consisting of nine major water and sewerage providers, including Yorkshire Water, Anglian Water and United Utilities, has drafted a roadmap for achieving net zero by 2030.

The roadmap outlines specific commitments aimed at reaching this goal including solar installations, electric vehicles and biomethane production.

“This Routemap is a crucial step forward in setting out the industry’s vision for tackling climate change as we work towards a green and resilient recovery for society, the economy and the environment.” added Christine McGourty.

“We don’t have all the answers, and we can’t do it alone. But with the support of government, regulators and the supply chain, we believe we can deliver a net-zero water supply for customers that also helps build the green skills and solutions needed to protect the environment for generations to come.”

People and businesses across Scotland were asked to use water efficiently this autumn, to help maintain normal supplies following a record dry period and low reservoir levels.

An October request from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) comes after Met Office data showed that the North and West of the country experienced their driest summer in 160 years. For the whole country, it was the second driest on record for the same period.

Kes Juskowiak, National Water Operations Manager for Scottish Water, said, “Maintaining normal public water supplies remains a significant challenge for us. This is an unusual call in the autumn, but we are experiencing exceptional circumstances due to a significant rainfall deficit. Hopefully, autumn will bring some respite, but we need heavy and prolonged rainfall to get reservoir levels back up towards normal levels for this time of year.”

Scottish Water has 189 reservoirs or lochs that it uses for drinking water supplies and a total of 400 sources, including rivers, boreholes and springs.

David Harley, Head of Water and Planning at SEPA, says that what we’re seeing now is the “strange phenomena” of short-term wet weather against a backdrop of longer term prolonged dry spells.

“Scotland is facing a climate emergency, with more frequent extreme weather, ranging from significant water scarcity to sea level rises, heavy rainfall and flash floods, which can be devastating to communities, public services and local businesses,” added Harley. “With continued strain on the water environment, we are asking households and businesses to be extra vigilant now, to reduce demand and keep our water resources flowing.”

There are also concerns that unreliable water supplies may impact the Scottish whisky and hydropower industries.

Dr Sarah Halliday, from Dundee University’s Geography and Environmental Science department, says that action is needed to tackle a warming planet and prevent an increase in water shortages for Scotland’s citizens and its agriculture sector.

“Hydropower schemes and whisky distilleries, whose abstraction consents are linked not only to the quantity of water in our rivers but also its temperature, could be disrupted,” said Halliday. “Reduced rainfall and higher temperatures result in increased need for crop irrigation, exacerbating water shortages, and threatening the future viability of many of our traditional crops.”