CLIMATE-RESILIENT WATER MANAGEMENT APPROACHES: ADAPTATION IN AN AGE OF UNCERTAINTY

Thursday, 17 June 2021
11:00-12:30 UTC

The seventh webinar of the series “Climate-resilient Water Management Approaches: Adaptation in an Age of Uncertainty”, hosted by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), together with the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA) and the International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM), will highlight the challenges that climate change pose for semi-arid regions. Speakers will bring us examples from India and Iran, focusing on the benefits of participatory system modeling and on the sustainability at the basin level, respectively.

In the first presentation, Shuchi Vora will present her work using participatory strategies to enable systemic changes in water resources management. Through Systems Thinking Workshops, Shuchi and colleagues have helped facilitate collective visioning for resilient groundwater futures at the regional level in India. Focusing on interlinkages and cross-disciplinary thinking, the work has led to the co-production of knowledge and co-owning of solutions for managing water risk in drought-hit areas of India.

In the second presentation, Mojtaba Shafiei will highlight an indicator-based sustainability assessment framework for water management that has been developed and used in the semi-arid Mashhad Basin in Iran. The decision support tool is designed to support policy decision making for sustainable development, while representing diverse stakeholder needs related to water management practices. The framework focuses on technical, environmental, social, and economic components within a basin lens. The research and application of the framework are meant to serve as a bridge between researchers and decision makers.

*The webinar will take place in English. Live French interpretation will be available during the event.

Event Moderator
Anil Mishra, Chief of Section, Hydrological Systems and Water Scarcity (HSS), UNESCO

Opening Remarks
Anil Mishra, UNESCO

Speakers & Panelists
Shuchi Vora, Global Resilience Partnership and SouthSouthNorth, India
Mojtaba Shafiei, East Water and Environmental Research institute (EWERI), Iran
Pooja Prasad, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, the Netherlands
Kamran Davary, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran

Closing Remarks
Will Logan, Director, ICIWaRM

• Concept Note & Agenda
• Speaker Bios

Tuesday, 27 April 2021
14:30-16:00 UTC

The sixth edition of the webinar series “Climate Resilient Water Management Approaches: Adaptation in an Age of Uncertainty” focuses on urban flooding in South America as the main topic for discussion. Hydro-climatic extremes such as heavy rainfall and floods are responsible for catastrophic impacts worldwide. Densely populated cities in coastal areas and river margins, increased impermeabilization of the land surface, and sea level rise tend to aggravate these problems.

José Luis Gutierrez Ossio, from Integrated rural development at river basin level project (PROCUENCA), a program implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Bolivia commissioned by German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), will present a study case from Bolivia, where the consequences of two climate change related hazards — water scarcity and water excess — are evaluated for their impacts on human communities, agricultural activities, and livestock production. Using a climate risk assessment methodology developed by GIZ, José and their team identified the most vulnerable communities and proposed a set of adaptation measurements in order to increase climate resilience to a number of meteorological events.

For the second presentation, speakers Luis Dominguez and Monica Menendez, from Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) and Municipality of Guayaquil, Ecuador, respectively, will discuss about applying the Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA) approach to build flood resilience in the delta city of Guayaquil. Through participatory processes and systems modeling, project partners identified and analyzed nature-based solutions to address flooding in the area before ultimately developing a strategy for implementation. The study was a joint effort between local and Dutch institutions, supported by city authorities.

*The webinar will take place in English and Spanish. Live Spanish and English interpretation will be available during the event.

Event Moderator
Will Logan, Director, ICIWaRM

Opening Remarks
Miguel Doria, Programme Specialist, UNESCO Montevideo

Speakers & Panelists
José Luis Gutierrez Ossio, PROCUENCA – GIZ Bolivia
Luis Dominguez-Granda, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL)
Mónica Menéndez, the Municipality of Guayaquil, Ecuador
Carlos Pedro Saavedra, GIZ Bolivia

Closing Remarks
Anil Mishra, Chief of Section, Hydrological Systems and Water Scarcity (HSS), UNESCO

• Concept Note & Agenda
• Speaker Bios

Wednesday, 10 March 2021
08:45-10:15 UTC

As the impacts of climate change continue to stress our critical infrastructure systems, how do we adequately assess those risks and enhance resilience in light of uncertainty? The latest webinar in the series on “Climate Resilient Water Management Approaches” focuses on the climate-water-energy nexus, drawing upon experiences and lessons learned in South Asia. Presenters will share two different approaches to climate risk assessments recently applied in Sri Lanka and Nepal, followed by an interactive panel discussion featuring questions from the audience.

Kelsey Harpham of the International Centre for Environmental Management (ICEM) will present her experience implementing a comprehensive analysis of infrastructure vulnerability in transport, water, and energy sectors by integrating a “top-down” climate science approach with a “bottom-up” stakeholder-driven approach in Sri Lanka’s Kelani River Basin. The ADB-supported project analyzed risks from climate change impacts at national, sub-national, and local scales — including implications for hydropower production. Peter Droogers of FutureWater, who also worked on the project, will join the panel discussion.

In the second presentation, Divas Basnyat of the Nepal Development Research Institute (NDRI), will discuss his work assessing the future impacts of climate change on Nepal’s hydroelectricity sector and the associated findings. The program sought to build resilience through a combination of vulnerability assessments, institutional analyses, and identification of potential adaptation options. Dibesh Shrestha of NDRI will join in the panel discussion.

*The webinar will take place in English. Live French interpretation will be available during the event.

Event Moderator
Anil Mishra, Programme Specialist, Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO

Opening Remarks
Anil Mishra, Programme Specialist, Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO

Speakers
Kelsey Harpham, Water Resources Engineer, International Centre for Environmental Management (ICEM)
Divas Basnyat, Water and Climate Program Lead, Nepal Development Research Institute (NDRI)

Panelists
Peter Droogers, Senior Hydrologist, FutureWater
Dibesh Shrestha, Senior Research Associate, NDRI
Kelsey Harpham
Divas Basnyat

Closing Remarks
Will Logan, Director, ICIWaRM

• Concept Note & Agenda

Friday, 22 January 2021
12:00-13:30 UTC / 13:00-14:30 CET

The benefits offered by climate-resilient water management approaches are increasingly recognized and promoted across sectors and in vastly different contexts. This webinar will illustrate multiple ways to approach and adapt to variability and uncertainty in cases ranging from urban to agricultural settings.

First, speakers will highlight the use of the Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA) methodology for addressing urban water supply challenges in Asia. In Bangkok, Thailand and Colombo, Sri Lanka, CRIDA was used to identify potential vulnerabilities to municipal water supply systems and to propose concrete adaptation measures for reducing future risk to water security.

In the second presentation, speakers will cover the novel “Valuing Variability” concept that offers new perspectives on using water variability for food production in sub-Saharan Africa. Valuing Variability focuses on the experience and knowledge of small-scale food production systems with a long track-record of operating in regions with extreme water variability. Presenters will share examples concerning water management in the African drylands, amongst producers specializing in animal husbandry and crop farming.

To provide for an interactive webinar, each presentation will be followed by a Q&A session featuring questions from the audience.

*The webinar will take place in English. Live French interpretation will be available during the event.

Event Moderator
Anil Mishra, Programme Specialist, Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO

Opening Remarks
Anil Mishra, Programme Specialist, Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO

Speakers
Mukand Babel, Professor of Water Engineering Management, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)
Yasas Upeakshika Amilakumari Bandara, AIT
Rachel Koh, PhD Candidate, Singapore University of Technology and Design
Saverio Krätli, IIED and BRECcIA Programme of the University of Southampton
Fiona Ngarachu, Research Fellow, Kenyatta University, and BRECcIA Programme of the University of Southampton

Closing Remarks
Will Logan, Director, ICIWaRM

• Concept Note & Agenda

Thursday, 29 October 2020
15:30–17:00 CET / 13:30-15:00 UTC

During the webinar, participants will be introduced to two bottom-up approaches: Decision Scaling and Adaptation Pathways. Presenters will touch on the processes’ history, relevance, and practical applications. To highlight their role in addressing water management challenges, presenters will share real-life examples of case studies that were performed using the two approaches.

The decision scaling approach was developed in order to assess the significance of climate risks and identifying system vulnerabilities in water resource projects. This robustness-based bottom-up approach serves as a decision support tool to assist project planning under uncertainty.

With an emphasis on flexibility as a means to achieve project objectives, the Adaptation Pathways approach allows users to plan a sequence of investments or policy actions over time while taking uncertainty and changing conditions into account. The output is an adaptation pathways map which provides insight into policy options, the sequencing of actions over time, potential lock-ins, and path dependencies.

Presentations will be given conjointly by local and international project experts. Open discussions will be held with the audience via Q&A.

*The webinar will take place in English. Live French interpretation will be available during the event.

Event Moderator
Will Logan, Director, ICIWaRM

Opening Remarks
Will Logan, Director, ICIWaRM

Speakers
Casey Brown, Professor of Water Resources Engineering, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Alexis Dufour, Long-Term Vulnerability Project Manager, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Andrew Warren, Climate Change Adaptation Expert, Deltares

Closing Remarks
Anil Mishra, Programme Specialist, Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO

• Concept Note & Agenda
• Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways - Deltares website
• Decision Scaling Overview - UMass Amherst Hydrosystems Group

Thursday, 24 September 2020
15:30–17:00 CEST / 13:30-15:00 UTC

Water managers face mounting risks from climate change and other drivers of uncertainty. Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA) is a collaborative framework meant to help decision makers, stakeholders, and water managers assess and address the risk and impacts of climate change on water resources. This webinar will introduce participants to real-life examples of case studies that were performed within CRIDA framework in vastly different contexts.

During the dry season, low levels of water in the Kafue Gorge reservoir affects both water availability and power availability, making Zambia’s capital of Lusaka especially vulnerable to climate-related risks. This CRIDA case study explores the approaches that would increase the Iolanda Water Treatment Plant's ability to deliver acceptable levels of water supply to the utility that serves Lusaka while incorporating plausible climate change risks into decision making.

In recent years, an unusually long drought in Chile’s Limarí Basin has led to increasing water security challenges, with a significant impact on the region’s booming agriculture sector. With input from local stakeholders, water managers have used CRIDA to identify specific climate-related risks and chart a path towards developing adaptation strategies at a watershed scale that ensure continued performance of key systems.

Q&A sessions will be run after each case study presentation, featuring interventions and questions from local project partners. The Q&A will also feature questions from the audience in order to facilitate an open discussion and provide for an interactive webinar.

• CRIDA: Iolanda Water Treatment Plant Case Study (PDF)
• Marc Tkach, Director of Infrastructure and Integrated Program Management, Millennium Challenge Corporation and Chipili Chikamba, Infrastructure Development Director (WatSan), Millennium Project Completion Agency-Zambia
• Assessing Climate Change Impacts on Water Security: A CRIDA case study from the Limarí Watershed in Chile (PDF)
• Koen Verbist, Programme Specialist, UNESCO and Ad Jeuken, Expert Advisor on Climate Change Adaptation and Water, Deltares

Opening Comments and Event Moderator
Anil Mishra, Programme Specialist, Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO

Speakers
Marc Tkach, Director, Infrastructure and Integrated Program Management, Millennium Challenge Corporation
Ad Jeuken, Expert Advisor on Climate Change Adaptation and Water, Deltares
Koen Verbist, Programme Specialist, UNESCO

Panel Leads
Chipili Chikamba, Infrastructure Development Director (WatSan), Millennium Project Completion Agency Zambia
Gabriel Mancilla, Executive Director, CAZALAC

Closing Remarks
Will Logan, Director, ICIWaRM

• Speaker bios
• Webinar 2 concept note and agenda
• UNESCO CRIDA website
• UNESCO report: "A stress test for climate change impacts on water security: case study from the Limarí watershed in Chile"
• Thesis report: "From risk assessment to adaptation pathways: an improvement of the Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis for the Limari basin in Chile"

Thursday, 16 July 2020
16:00–17:30 CEST / 14:00–15:30 UTC

Climate change is accelerating even as countries across the globe devise strategies to mitigate its impacts and adapt to new normals. The effects of climate change are most acutely felt through impacts on the water cycle and water-related extreme events. In order to ensure water supply for humans and the environment while simultaneously meeting the world’s ambitious climate and development goals, decision makers and regulators will need to adopt a new paradigm for resilient water management that embraces the uncertain future ahead.

During this webinar, participants will be introduced to bottom-up approaches for resilient water management — their evolution, their potentials for application, and examples of successful implementation. Presenters will discuss the means by which decision makers, policymakers, and even practitioners can better address uncertainties through the use of new frameworks such as Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA), published by UNESCO and ICIWaRM, and the World Bank’s Decision Tree Framework. Case studies from Thailand and Mexico will highlight key elements of these complementary approaches and the wide-ranging stakeholders involved. Following a set of presentations, participants will join the conversation through a moderated panel discussion.

• Resilient Waters. Integrating bottom-up climate resilience approaches within water planning, design & operations (PDF)
• John Matthews, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA)
• Building urban flood risk resilience under deep uncertainty. A CRIDA case-study in Udon Thani, Thailand (PDF)
• Guillermo Mendoza, Senior Water Resources Engineer, ICIWaRM
• Resilience by design in Mexico City and the Valle de México (PDF)
• Sarah Freeman, Water Resources Engineer, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Opening
Abou Amani, Director, a.i., Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO, Secretary of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP)
Gert Verreet, Flemish Government, Department Economy Science and Innovation (EWI), Belgium
Will Logan, Director, International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM)

Speakers
John Matthews, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA)
Guillermo Mendoza, Senior Water Resources Engineer, ICIWaRM
Sarah Freeman, Water Resources Engineer, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Moderator
Anil Mishra, Programme Specialist, Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO

UNESCO website - Climate-Resilient Water Management Approaches: Adaptation in an Age of Uncertainty
Event Flyer - Webinar 1: An Introduction to Bottom-Up Approaches