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9 Nov 2023
Mississippi River drops to historic low, affecting water supplies and trade
The Mississippi River is experiencing historical levels of drought for the second year in a row, with water levels at a record low of 3.5 metres below average at Memphis on the 10th of October. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 98% of the Mississippi River Basin experienced some level of drought conditions during September and October...
6 Nov 2023
Nigeria Approaches its Open Defecation Free Target Date
In a blog in Nigeria Health Watch , arguments have been presented proposing ways to accelerate access to sanitation in the country. These include the need for more active involvement of subnational government – states and municipalities, investments in public sanitation facilities, the application of community-led sanitation initiatives, and the involvement of the private sector...
3 Nov 2023
New Study points to irreversible melt of West Antarctic Ice Sheet
A study published in Nature Climate Change has come to the conclusion that the future melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) in the 21st century is unavoidable even if greenhouse gas emissions were to be strongly reduced. The study looked at a range of different scenarios of future ice shelf melting in the Amundsen Sea, ranging from optimistic to pessimistic projections of emissions reductions during the rest of the 21st century...
2 Nov 2023
Qatar Charity and UNOCHA to provide water and sanitation to displaced Yemenis
In October, Qatar Charity signed an agreement with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Yemen to provide water and sanitation services and improve access to health services for internally displaced persons in Yemen. The project is valued at U.S. $ 1.35 million and will be implemented in the governorates of Taiz and Ibb in the southwest of the country...
1 Nov 2023
Study shows that human activity is disrupting the natural salt content of freshwater
A study published by Nature Reviews Earth and Environment has shown that increasing salt production is contributing to the ‘freshwater salinization syndrome’: scientists are observing dramatic increases in salt concentrations in freshwater systems across local, regional, continental, and global scales...
30 Oct 2023
Water Integrity Network initiates petition to stop weaponization of water
On October 20th, the Water Integrity Network initiated a petition to the United Nations through change.org to stop the weaponization of water in all forms of conflict. The ‘weaponisation’ of water is referred to by the authors Mihir and Emin as the use of water to gain leverage over an adversary : this can be achieved through the contamination of water, through flooding, through the restriction of access or through the destruction of water infrastructure...
25 Oct 2023
Guinea rejoins Mali, Mauritania and Senegal to jointly govern the Senegal River
Guinea has announced its intention to rejoin the Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Senegal (OMVS) in October, reversing a decision taken by the government to withdraw from the OMVS in July. On the 18th of Jully the government of Guinea had announced that it would suspend its participation in the river basin organization, noting with c oncern that its strategic interests had not been sufficiently taken into account...
25 Oct 2023
World Food Day 2023 dedicated to Water – Food Interlinkages
World Food Day, observed annually on the 16th of October, is dedicated to raising awareness on global hunger and to stimulating collective action around food production and food security. Water was central to the theme for 2023, which was:” Water is life, water is food. Leave no one behind.”. In its publication in honour of World Food Day, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations focused on one key aspect of water, i...
20 Oct 2023
Dutch Blue Bond is the latest in a trend in sustainable water investments
On the 17th of October, the Netherlands announced that it had taken out a ‘blue bond’ worth € 5 billion which will go towards efforts to mitigate flood risks. The government had hoped to raise between €4 and €5 billion, but the Dutch financial magazine Financieel Dagblad reported that € 18,3 billion in potential investment had been registered by investors, and thus the government took out the full loan of € 4,98 billion...
19 Oct 2023
Rivers and water systems as weapons and casualties of the Ukraine war
In an article published in late September in Earth’s Future , researchers Peter Gleick, Viktor Vyshnevskyi and Serhii Shevchuk provide an overview of the consequences of the Russia – Ukraine war for the main rivers and water infrastructure in Ukraine. The article contributes to the Water Conflict Chronology , an open-source online database that tracks water conflicts around the world from ancient to modern times...
17 Oct 2023
EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting to become mandatory in fiscal year 2024
The reporting of non-financial information (information on environmental, social and governance impacts) is to become mandatory in the European Union for large, listed companies in the fiscal year 2024. The new sustainability disclosure requirements will apply to companies with a turnover of more than € 40 million per year and a balance sheet total of more than €20 million, or companies with more than 250 employees which also fall under one of the above criteria...
12 Oct 2023
Water crisis in Gaza as supplies run critically low
Through a report shared with the Global Observatory on Water and Peace, The Water Diplomat has been made aware of the daily struggle for water that the citizens of Gaza experience Ahmad used to be based in the north of Gaza but had to move south due to bombardments which led to the halting of water supplies in his neighborhood...