About the Dialogue on Land and Water Management for
Adaptation to Climate Change
Climate change is a global challenge that calls on all countries of the world. To exchange ideas and discuss new tools, the Danish Government is facilitating a global dialogue on land and water management for adaptation to climate change. Integration of scientific and local knowledge on how to cope with floods and droughts in the poorest countries is vital. The aim of the dialogue is to increase resilience towards climate change for the most vulnerable.
Background
The Danish Government has initiated a Dialogue on Land and Water Management for Adaptation to Climate Change. The main objective of the Dialogue is to increase resilience towards climate change in developing countries. The Dialogue has been launched in recognition of the global need to adapt to the changes in our climate which can no longer be avoided. Rising temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns and more extreme weather events are increasingly affecting economic sectors such as agriculture, fisheries and tourism. While these impacts on the water and land sectors are of concern for all countries, they are particularly worrisome for developing countries, especially the LDCs, who are more dependent on climate-sensitive economic activities and local ecological resources, and are more limited in their financial, institutional and human capacity to respond.
Water and land management are among the areas most critically affected by climate change and at the same time of fundamental importance to poverty reduction and the livelihoods of vulnerable families and communities. This is why water and land are the central elements of the Dialogue.
The Dialogue is a response to the Conference of the Parties (COP13) held in Bali (2007) and the Nairobi Work Programme (2005); it will combine experience and suggestions from among others policy makers and implementers in developing countries, international organisations and the donor community.
Expected outcome
The aim of the Dialogue is contributing, in a longer term perspective, to the development of stronger approaches to climate change resilience through specific recommendations for climate change adaptation. Through the identification of robust guiding principles for promoting integrated land and water management in a changing climate, two objectives should be reached:
- Provide input to the climate change negotiations leading to the COP15 meeting in Copenhagen, December 2009. The guiding principles should strengthen the fundamental building block on adaptation and provide input to the international climate change negotiations leading to and beyond the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP15) to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009. The process aims to enhance the voice of developing countries in the negotiations.
- Provide guidance for future planning of land and water management. The guiding principles should provide guidance to national governments and development assistance organisations when developing strategies for adaptation in land and water resources management beyond COP15.
About the process
The Dialogue was launched by Minister for Development Cooperation Ms. Ulla Tørnæs, Denmark, at the inaugural conference in Copenhagen on 13 November 2008. The conference brought together participants from developing and developed country governments, development agencies, international financial institutions and organizations, research institutes and non-governmental organizations.
On 19-21 January 2009, the first Regional Workshop on Land and Water Management for Adaptation to Climate Change was held in Hanoi, Vietnam. The workshop focused on the regional priorities and challenges in South East Asia regarding adaptation in land and water management.
On 24-25 February 2009, the second Regional Workshop was held in Mali focusing on climate change adaptation in Africa.
In closing, the concluding conference following the two regional workshops, was convened on 16-17 April 2009 in Nairobi.