Paris Pact on Water and Climate Change Adaptation announced

A broad coalition of nations, river basin organizations, business and civil society on 2 December 2015 announced the creation of the international Paris Pact on Water and Climate Change Adaptation.

The announcement was made at the Water Resilience Focus event held under the Lima to Paris Action Agenda on climate change. And, the event was held on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) in Paris, France.

Key features of the Paris Pact

• Its objective is to make water systems – the very foundation of sustainable human development - more resilient to climate impacts.
• Almost 290 water basin organisations are engaged under the Paris Pact on Water and Climate Change Adaptation.
• It involves a wide geographic coalition of national and cross-border river basin organisations, overnments, funding agencies, local governments, companies and civil society.
• It encompasses individual commitments to implement adaptation plans, strengthening water monitoring and measurement systems in river basins.
• It promotes financial sustainability and new investment in water systems management.

• Major collaborative projects under the pact represent over 20 million US dollars in technical assistance and potentially over 1 billion US dollars in financing. They include
a) A Financial commitment by India to build climate resilience through improved groundwater management.
b) In the Niger Basin (9 African countries involved), the launch of a 10-year investment plan to strengthen resilience to climate change, with financial support from the World Bank/IDA, WAEMU, KfW, GEF and the countries themselves.
c) In Jordan, Lebanon, Monaco, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia, a 7-year commitment under the Mediterranean Water Platform to assess the state and trends of water resources, supported by the European commission.
d) In Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia, program Ecocuencas, a 3-year commitment to a financial mechanism for adaptation to climate change in river basins, supported by the European commission.
e) In China, a 3-year commitment to improve management of the Hai river basin, supported by France.
f) In central Africa in the Basin of Congo, the launch of a hydrological and meteorological monitoring program benefiting over 160 million citizens, with financing from AFD (French Development Agency).

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