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6 Sep 2023
Groundwater: a resource for resilience in Southern Africa
Because it is available in different seasons and often of good quality, groundwater provides the opportunity to respond to droughts and climatic variations. These ideas underlie phase II of the new SADC groundwater management programme for 2031, following the one completed in 2021. The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)’s Groundwater Management Institute (GMI) secured funding from the World Bank and Global Environmental Facility for phase II of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Project...
6 Sep 2023
Water and Sanitation Finance: The Challenge with Blended Finance
A recent study estimated the annual global investment needed to cover WASH-related services by 2030 at $264 billion. Figures from the UN2023 Water Conference varied between US$182 to more than US$600 billion annually. These figures are commonly used to support the position that neither public finance nor official development assistance (ODA) are sufficient to fill the funding gap, hence we must tap private finance...
6 Sep 2023
Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas highlights unprecedented water demand and climate impacts
The world is on the verge of an unparalleled water disaster, as a result of increasing demand and the unrelenting effects of the climate emergency, according to a report by the World Resources Institute (WRI). The analysis reveals that an alarming 25 percent of the world's population is presently facing significant water stress, with forecasts indicating that an extra billion people would be in this precarious scenario by 2050...
6 Sep 2023
European Industry and Environmental Concerns Clash Over Proposed PFAS Ban
The European Union's proposed ban on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is deepening a debate between corporate interests and environmental concerns, underscoring the fragile balance between economic viability and ecological effect. The Voice of the German Machinery and Plant Engineering Industry -Verband Deutscher Maschinen und Anlagenbau (VDMA), which represents over 3,600 European mechanical and plant engineering companies, has raised a red flag regarding the potential negative effects of a comprehensive PFAS ban on a variety of industrial processes...
5 Sep 2023
Zambia halts mine in Lower Zambezi National Park
On the 29th of August, the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) clarified its decision on the 24th of August to cancel the decision letter issued to Mwembeshi Resources Limited in 2021 pertaining to its large-scale open pit copper mining project in Lower Zambezi National Park. According to ZEMA, the permission originally granted to the company in 2021 was provided under very strict conditions, stating that “given the fact this mine was going to be set up in the middle of one of the country’s most serene national parks, it follows that no margin of error should be allowed in ensuring adherence to environmental guidelines”...
4 Sep 2023
Panama accedes to Helsinki Convention
On the 7th of July Panama announced its accession to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), otherwise known as the Helsinki convention. In so doing, Panama has become the first Latin American country to accede to the convention...
4 Sep 2023
Franco Swiss Negotiations on the use of the Rhone’s water
The Rhône River, which originates in the Swiss Alps upstream of Lake Leman (colloquially: Lake Geneva), has again become the subject of negotiations between Switzerland and France against the background of recent drought and water shortages in France. Importantly, the water of the Rhône is used to cool 14 of the 56 nuclear reactors providing France with electrical power...
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...