Topic Filters
Results: 851
1 Sep 2023
The hydrological roots of Maui’s Great Fire
On the 21st of August Hawaii’s governor, Josh Green, speaking to CNN, stated: “there has been a great deal of water conflict on Maui for many years .. […] .. people have been fighting against the release of water to fight fires”. It has emerged that just before the disastrous fire that wiped out the town of Lahaina, representatives of the West Maui Land Company, noting the combination of dry vegetation and high winds, requested permission from State authorities to fill a private reservoir in case of the need to fight fires...
28 Aug 2023
Activating the Innovation Component of the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework
During a session at World Water Week in Stockholm convened by UN-Water and the Global Water Partnership (GWP), participants were challenged to adopt innovative approaches towards data, finance, governance and capacity development. These topics had previously been identified as the main driving factors within the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework launched in 2020, when concern was already raised about the pace of SDG 6 implementation...
25 Aug 2023
CEO Water Mandate’s Inaugural Impact Report Launched
The CEO Water Mandate (CEO WM), a special initiative established in 2007 by the UN Secretary-General and the UN Global Compact (UNGC) in partnership with the Pacific Institute, released its inaugural Impact Report for activities over 2022 and, at Stockholm Water Week, also released its 2022 Water Resilience Coalition impact report...
10 Jul 2023
Study shows contribution of groundwater extraction to sea level rise
According to a study published in Geophysical Research Letters, groundwater extraction has been a significant s=contributor to global sea level rise in the period between 1993 and 2010. Global sea level rise is currently associated primarily with the melting of polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers...
6 Jul 2023
UNECE Water Convention hosts 18th meeting on IWRM
The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UNECE Water Convention or Helsinki Convention) hosted a meeting of its working group on Integrated Water Resources Management in Geneva from the 19th to the 21st of June. The meeting brought together 300 participants in person and online, including government representatives from over 80 countries, with the objective of reviewing progress of the work under the Water Convention and to guide its future implementation...
6 Jul 2023
FAO launches Global Dialogue on Water Tenure
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has launched the Global Dialogue on Water Tenure, which commenced at the UN 2023 Water Conference in March this year. According to Sasha Koo-Oshima, Deputy Director of the FAO Land and Water Division, the dialogue will address the increasingly pressing issue of water allocation under scenarios of diminishing freshwater resources due to climate change and evolving needs for water...
5 Jul 2023
Afghanistan and Iran seek solution over the waters of the Helmand River
Amid a recent drought in south-eastern Iran, the dispute between Afghanistan and Iran over the rights to the waters of the Helmand River have re-emerged, leading to violent clashes. A violent incident took place on the 27th of May in which Iranian border guards and Taliban fighters opened fire, killing two people...
5 Jul 2023
Thames Water: Privatised water utility faces insolvency
Thames Water, the U.K.’s largest water utility which provides water supplies to some 10 million clients in London and the Thames Valley, is facing the threat of insolvency, with some U.S. $ 17.5 billion in accumulated debt. The debt is secured by some U.S. $ 22.7 billion in operating assets, and the threat of insolvency comes despite an investment of U...
3 Jul 2023
Conflict, water shortages and humanitarian responses in Sudan
Fighting between rival factions of Sudan’s military that erupted in mid-April has led to a worsening humanitarian situation in the country which includes increasing shortages of water and food. Fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in various cities on the 15th of April...
30 Jun 2023
Paris Climate Finance Pact Summit: no clear decisions but increased momentum
France hosted an international summit on a new global financial pact on finance on the 22nd and 23rd of June. The summit aimed amongst others to create financial breathing space for countries facing financial difficulties, to promote private sector investment in low-income countries, to encourage investment in ‘green’ infrastructure, and to respond to the financial needs of countries vulnerable to climate change...
29 Jun 2023
Is the Jet Stream changing weather patterns in the northern hemisphere?
Social media comments by atmospheric scientists and meteorologists on the 20th of June likened the unusual shape of the global jet stream currents to a Van Gogh painting, setting off a range of media reports on the persistent heat dome across North America. Atmospheric scientists have expressed concern over the ‘meandering’ of the jet stream air currents during summers in the northern hemisphere...
27 Jun 2023
ICIMOD report calls for urgent international action to save the Hindu Kush Himalayan Cryosphere
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has released a report detailing changes to the glaciers, snow and permafrost in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH). The report, produced by the eight-nation mountain monitoring body, is the most detailed and accurate report to date on the HKH region, and it warns of accelerated disappearance of glaciers over the past decade as well as an impending cascade of impacts of climate change in the region which will affect one quarter of the world’s population...