2023, a new chance to mainstream Water in the Global Climate Agenda

2022 has been a year of crisis and heightened #uncertainty. The world was working out its way out of the pandemic and apprehending the new normal; and in addition to inflation, war and the energy crisis, 2022 has been marked by climatic extremes almost everywhere in the world. According to the World Meteorological Organization (#WMO), 2022 marks the 8th year that marks the warmest eight consecutive years on record (the global average temperature in 2022 is 1.15±0.13°C above the 1850-1900 average). The summer of 2022 will not be easily forgotten by Europeans, climate-wise, due to the highest average temperature ever recorded in August. The water system is one of the victims of these particular circumstances, directly and indirectly. So, what aspirations can we have for the water system in 2023, and what are the “signals” gathered over the past few months.

All water specialists claim a better positioning of the #water system in the climate and development agenda because of the vulnerability of this system and its links with others; but most of them cannot deny the recent observed increase in awareness of the criticality of this component for a safe, secure and sustainable world. In the current context, water has gained prominence in the food sovereignty strategies of countries that import (most of) their food as they learned during the pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war how dangerous it is to being at the mercy of food suppliers, especially if this commodity is a strategic ingredient in the national diet.

For certain regions of Africa, such as the horn, it is the question of #foodsecurity which is the highest priority for the national and international community and, obviously, the water component (the green and the blue) has a lot to do in the efforts required to meet them. Water now features more prominently in national energy strategy thinking, both as an energy user and production factor, due to the #volatility of fossil fuel markets and the growing trend towards alternative sources of energy and greener #energy. For some global conflict hotspots, many political projections expect water to be an additional factor in political crisis and conflict between countries sharing water resources (#transboundary waters).

After another special COP, #COP27 in Sharm AL Sheikh in November 2022, where water featured significantly through discussions and outings; a new push for this system has been observed giving rise to a new dynamic construction on the circumstances evoked above and the clear distress message of the water system under climate change. In the #MENA region, a series of national and regional events and other activities have been organized during the last weeks of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 by different types of actors (government agencies, donors, development agencies, civil society… ). The main water-related topics covered by these activities are mainly related to #resilience to the impacts of climate change (including climate extremes), the role of technologies and #data in the efficiency of water use, alternative water resources, the #nexus approach, economics and investment, and social aspects in the water value chain. These topics, in addition to #biodiversity and water-related ecosystems, are beginning to occupy a more prominent place on the agenda of the key stakeholders.

Overall, the #AWARe (Action on Water Adaptation and Resilience) initiative, which was launched at COP27, is an interesting collaborative effort to ensure resilience and adaptation through defined mechanisms, including #cooperation. Such an initiative can benefit from the progress made on "loss and damage" at COP27, as it focuses on the world's most vulnerable #communities and systems. The Transformative Futures for Water Security (#TFWS) initiative of the International Water Management Institute (#IWMI) and its global and regional partners is another example of new thinking about co-designed missions to achieve water security with a very clear role of #youth is a construction process looking to the future. One the February 7, Scientists and Academics were invited to give briefing on "the economics of water and climate #conflict and cooperation; and early warning for pandemic preparedness" at the United Nations General Assembly in New York; which is another milestone in highlighting and confirming the criticality of the links between conflict, climate and cooperation for the management of water resources.

As with the rest of 2023, two major international events are (supposed and) should be critical in keeping water's position on humanity's most pressing and important agendas. The first is the United Nations Water Conference which was held March 22-24 in New York, and which provided countless opportunities to discuss the global water challenges we face as well as potential solutions. During this "water marathon", there was an unanimity on the link between water and climate, as the water sector will play a key role in #mitigation and #adaptation efforts , and water governance should take climate risks into account.

The second major checkpoint in 2023 is #cop28 which will take place for the second consecutive time in the most water-scarce region in the world, the MENA region and precisely in the United Arab Emirates. Despite speculation on the place that industry and energy should occupy in the agenda of this edition of the COP, water will definitely be present again, building on the momentum created since #COP26 in #Glasgow.

In the MENA region, the dynamics around water importance in the recent months have put forward some topics and enhanced the prominence of others. #WaterEconomics and #investment mechanisms, social aspects and gender-transformative intervention, Data science and technologies are some of the topics that will keep being the focus of the conversations and efforts around water system. #Conflicts and #fragility is another aspect that gains increasing relevance in this region with high political volatility and significantly fragile peace system. However, the research-Development-Action track that will significantly be coveted by most of the development and growth stakeholders is the nexus paradigm in (comprehensively) addressing the contemporary challenges within and between the water, food, energy….and (hopefully) ecosystems and biodiversity. Many attempts, mainly from scientific community, are trying to add the “health” component to the (already) complicated nexus in order to work towards increasing health security along the water, food, energy and ecosystem security. Under this dynamic and diversity in initiatives and activities from different water stakeholders, there still big room for innovation and cooperation to provide solutions of different types, across scales and across sectors for a more water secure world, including the MENA region; and the upcoming 2023 months towards the COP28 should confirm the general trend in these efforts.