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Workshop on water and climate change: how to develop an adaptation strategy in transboundary basins

Workshop on water and climate change: how to develop an adaptation strategy in transboundary basins

10 - 11 May 2010
Geneva Switzerland

The workshop took place on 10 and 11 May 2010 in room VII in the Palais des Nations, Geneva, back-to-back with the third meeting of the Task Force on Water and Climate (12 May 2010). It brought together countries and main international actors engaged in activities on water and adaptation to climate change, in particular in transboundary basins, with the aim to:

  • Exchange practical experience and share lessons-learned on the technical and strategic aspects of adapting to climate change;
  • Analyse the specific challenges of adapting water management to climate change in the transboundary context;
  • Show how transboundary cooperation can be established in the different steps of developing an adaptation strategy: from the assessments of impacts and vulnerability to the selection of measures;
  • Support countries engaged in the process of preparing national or regional adaptation strategies;
  • Promote the implementation of the UNECE Guidance on Water and Adaptation to Climate Change.

In particular, the workshop aimed to assist governments implementing pilot projects on adaptation to climate change under the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) in planning and implementing the objectives, steps and activities of the projects.

The workshop also discussed how to ensure a continuous exchange of experience on adaptation to climate change in transboundary basins through a pan-European platform under the Water Convention.

 

Documents

Document Title ENG FRE RUS

Information notice

 

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Final programme

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Report PDF    

List of participants

 

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Overview of the programme of pilot projects on adaptation to climate change in transboundary basins

TFWC/2010/3

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Concept note on the platform for exchanging experience with adaptation on water and adaptation to climate change in transboundary basins

TFWC/2010/4

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Background Documents

Document Title ENG FRE RUS

UNECE Guidance on Water and Adaptation to Climate Change

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Photos

 

Photos taken during the workshop

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Presentations

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Session 1: An enabling environment: the international context

Introduction and welcome
Mr. Marco Keiner, Director, Environment, Housing and Land Management Division, UNECE

     

Introduction to the workshop and pilot projects programme
Mr. Joost Buntsma, Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, the Netherlands

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The UNECE Guidance on Water and Adaptation to Climate Change
Mr. Jos Timmerman, Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, the Netherlands

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The global context: Adaptation under the UNFCCC process and the Nairobi work programme
Ms. Xianfu Lu, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

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Activities of the European Union on water and climate change
Ms. Marieke van Nood, European Commission, Directorate General Environment

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The Adaptation Learning Mechanism

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Weadapt: Information-sharing and collaboration for adaptation
Mr. Ben Smith, Stockholm Environment Institute

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Session 2: Governance to adapt in a transboundary setting

Water allocations and hydrological changes: assessing institutional resilience in transboundary rivers worldwide
Ms. Kerstin Stahl, Institute of Hydrology, University of Freiburg, Germany

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The Portuguese adaptation strategy and cooperation with Spain in the face of climate change
Mr. Rodrigo Oliveira, Technical University of Lisbon, and Mr. Luis Veiga da Cunha, New University of Lisbon, Portugal

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Adapting the US-Canada 1909 Boundary Waters agreement to climate change
Mr. Eugene Stakhiv, International Joint Commission, International Upper Great Lakes Study

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Environmental Impact Assessment as a means for integrating climate change into development - the example of the canal between Croatia and Serbia
Mr. Micun Stanic, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Spatial Planning, Serbia

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Session 3: Jointly assessing climate change impacts

 

Freshwater and climate change
Mr. Zbigniew Kundzewicz, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

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Activities of the World Meteorological Organization to support climate change adaptation in countries
Mr. Giacomo Teruggi and Ms. Sophia Sandstrom, World Meteorological Organization

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Cooperation and difficulties in climate change scenario elaboration in the South Caucasus
Ms. Anna Sikharulidze, Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia

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Jointly developing a transboundary climate change impact assessment: the example of the Rhine
Mr. Ben van de Wetering, International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine

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Drought management and objectives of regional cooperation in the Aral See basin
Ms. Natalya Agaltseva, Research Hydrometeorological Institute, the Centre of Hydrometeorological Service, Uzbekistan

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Joint approach to climate change adaptation in the Meuse basin- the AMICE project
Ms. Maïté Fournier, Etablissement Public d’Aménagement de la Meuse, France

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Moldova water resources in the face of climate change: role of interstate cooperation in assessing impacts and increasing preparedness
Mr. Roman Corobov, Eco-Tiras, Republic of Moldova

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Adaptation to climate change in transboundary rivers with emphasis on shared estuaries and coastal areas in the Baltic, Black and Mediterranean Seas
Ms. Magdalena Muir, The Coastal and Marine Union

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Special lunchtime session

     

Targeting adaptation needs using the Climate Vulnerability Index
Ms. Caroline Sullivan, Southern Cross University, Australia

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From floods to droughts - adaptation strategy in water management in the Czech Republic
Ms. Magdalena Mrkvickova, Masaryk Water Research Institute, Czech Republic

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The CAREC/EC project on Multi-Sectoral Effects for the Central Asian Initiative on Sustainable Development water dialogue
Mr. Martin Lindenlaub, Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC)

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Climate-related risk indicators and adaptive capacity of developing countries
Mr. Jose Luis Carrasco Terceros, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland

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Responses to climate change by the communities residing in the Usumacinta river basin (Mexico-Guatemala)
Mr. Jérôme Gandin, Laval University, Canada

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Session 4: Developing jointly adaptation measures

     

Increasing ecosystem resilience as a measure to adapt to climate change
Mr. Sergiy Moroz, Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF)

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Adaptation to climate change in the Danube River Basin
Ms. Diana Heilmann, International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River

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Adam project: adaptation and mitigation - mainstreaming climate adaptation into regional water and land use planning
Ms. Saskia Werners, Wageningen University, the Netherlands

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Adaptation plans from England and Wales – lessons from the 2009 price review
Mr. Mike Keil, Ofwat, United Kingdom

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Session 5: Starting cooperation: Launch of the pilot projects and conclusion of the workshop

The programme of pilot projects.
Ms. Sonja Koeppel, Water Convention Secretariat

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The pilot project on the Chu Talas river: presentations by riparian countries

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The pilot project on the Dniester river: presentations by riparian countries

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The pilot project on the Sava river: presentations by riparian countries and the secretariat of the International Sava River Basin Commission

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