News

A training workshop on “Satellite precipitation estimation and applications for scientists and government officials in Central Asia” was held on 27-30 Sep 2021. Water professionals from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan were trained in the use of real-time (e.g., for floods & droughts, water supply...) & historical (e.g., for climate change adaptation) satellite-based precipitation products to foster regional water security.

Ninety-eight water professionals participated in the virtual session of the World Water Week, on Tuesday, 24 August, titled Certain Uncertainty: Next Generation Water Planning for Deep Uncertainty. The session was convened by G-WADI, the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), Deltares and the International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM).

A participatory workshop was held on 13 July 2021 to introduce and discuss the new Namibia flood and drought monitoring and early warning system. There were about 60 participants.

In recent decades, the effects and intensity of droughts appear to have increased in Latin America and the Caribbean, with multiple social, economic and environmental impacts. The problems imposed by droughts are the subject of urgent palliative actions by the respective governments. These actions, however, may be unsuccessful if management is not accompanied or programmed by relevant information regarding drought processes.

The Midsummer Drought (“La Canícula”) is a recurring event that affects Central America and parts of the Caribbean, reducing rainfall in the middle of the rainy season and threatening vulnerable local communities. Climate change is projected to further intensify the damaging impacts of drought in the region, affecting the availability of water needed for irrigation, human consumption and ecosystems.

The sixth UNESCO (G-WADI)-AGWA-ICIWaRM webinar in a series on Adaptation in an age of uncertainty: tools for climate-resilient water management approaches took place on 27 April 2021. It focused on urban water resilience cases from South America, specifically concerning the coastal delta city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, and the Guadalquivir and Azero basins of Bolivia. Both addressed the impacts of climate change and hydrological extremes and their consequences to urban water management.