Topic Filters
Results: 814
26 Apr 2023
Unseasonal heatwave and drought in Spain
The Spanish Meteorological Agency AEMET forecast a heatwave towards the end of April, with temperatures reaching 36-38⁰C. In some areas, the temperature was 10-15⁰C above average for this period of the year. On the 8th of May, AEMET reported that April 2023 was the hottest April experienced by the country since records began in 1961...
18 Apr 2023
The Five Dimensions of Water
Independently of the professional discipline from which we analyse water management - whether we are looking at water from the perspective of international water law, financial investments, engineering, or social equity – the current approach focuses too narrowly on ‘water’ as the liquid H₂O...
18 Apr 2023
Water for Nature, Nature for Water:
On the 23rd of March, a side event was held at the UN 2023 Water Conference to present international and national legal tools and local customary norms to mainstream the protection of rivers and other water-related ecosystems in decision-making and announce commitments for the Water Action Agenda. Initiated by the International Association of Water Law, the event was co-created by 45 participant organisations, and took the form of an intergenerational debate on improving the governance of freshwater biodiversity for the benefit of people and nature and for transformative change towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda...
14 Apr 2023
U.S. Interior Department announces measures to protect the Colorado River Basin
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in the Department of Interior has drafted a set of three different options to preserve the water in the Colorado River Basin, which has been suffering from the impacts of drought since 2020. The water levels in the river’s main reservoirs in the river – Lake Powell and Lake Mead - have recently fallen to critically low levels...
14 Apr 2023
Humanitarian situation in Syria and Türkiye still critical
According to ReliefWeb, almost two months after the devastating earthquakes that struck in Syria and Türkiye, the death toll from the earthquakes has now surpassed 50,000 people. In addition, it is estimated that more than 5.9 million people have been displaced. The earthquakes, which measured, 7.5 and 7...
14 Apr 2023
Unicef: triple threat of disease, climate risks and unsafe WASH threaten 190 million children
According to UNICEF, 190 million children across 10 African countries are at the highest risk from a convergence between three factors, i.e. inadequate Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) services, the resultant exposure to diseases, and the impacts of climate change. Many of these countries are also facing instability and armed conflict, further aggravating the insecurity of access to WaSH services...
13 Apr 2023
Six Current and Former Heads of State presented with Presidential Global Water Changemakers Award
Six serving or former heads of state have received the Presidential Global Changemakers Award at the UN Water Conference in New York. Of these heads of state, four are co-chairs of the International High-Level Panel on Water Investments in Africa: H.E. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal, H...
11 Apr 2023
Study shows that privileged urban populations are key drivers of urban water crises
In the first two decades of the twentieth century, 79 cities across the world have suffered acute water shortages due to continuous growth in demand as well as the impacts of climate change. Traditional explanations of these crises point to the continuous growth of urban areas, both through population growth and economic growth, as well as changes in the water cycle that reduce the predictability and reliability of existing water supply systems...
10 Apr 2023
UN adopts resolution on climate change initiated by Vanuatu
The small island state of Vanautu has successfully led an initiative to clarify the legal obligations of governments with regard to the rights of present and future generations in relation to climate change. Vanautu has been faced with extreme weather events which have caused large scale damage to property and infrastructure, and for months, it has worked to request other states to co-sponsor the initiative...
9 Apr 2023
Conflict in France over policy to develop agricultural water pans
In France, protests erupted against the construction of agricultural reservoirs in the southeast of the country on the 25th of March. According to the organisers of the protests, more than 25,000 protesters had assembled in the vicinity of Saint Solines. In response, 3,000 members of the security forces were deployed and violent clashes ensued...
8 Apr 2023
The Polder Model for Balanced Water Management: A Dutch Approach
Tobias Schmitz: From the side of The Water Diplomat, we would be very interested in getting a perspective from you on current affairs in international water diplomacy from the perspective of those who are actually ‘producing’ water: on the one hand human rights and international justice but also the nuts and bolts of workplace relations and making water ‘work’...
7 Apr 2023
Burkina Faso: the forgotten humanitarian crisis
At an event held in New York during the UN water Conference on the 24th of March, the Wash Roadmap alliance presented an overview of the current state of humanitarian WaSH responses along with current cases from Burkina Faso, Syria, Türkiye and Ukraine. The event was held to call attention to the chronic underfunding of humanitarian responses and also featured presentations on some of the solutions being offered...