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 The Task Force on Climate Change, which held its first meeting in August 2008, is the newest UN-Water Task Force.
The consequences of climate change are complex and far-reaching. They will affect all water-related sectors, including drinking water, agriculture, ecosystems, navigation and hydropower. It is likely that the world's most vulnerable communities will the hardest hit.
The Nairobi Work Programme on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, developed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has highlighted the need for comprehensive and cross-sectoral adaptation planning. The establishment of UN-Water’s Task Force on Climate Change represents a response to this call for cross-sectoral collaboration. The Task Force provides an opportunity to discuss climate change and water linkages in their widest sense and supports the UN System as it prepares to meet the challenges posed by climate change.
The Task Force’s objective is to strengthen UN System coordination on activities related to water and climate change. This will serve to support Member countries in assessing the impacts of climate change on water and implementing strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change in the water sector.
Activities
In the short-term, the Task Force’s activities focus on:
- fostering cooperation and coordination in preparations for the 5th World Water Forum in March 2009 and other upcoming events;
- making a significant contribution to the to the outcomes of the World Climate Conference - 3 in August-September 2009;
- carrying out a mapping exercise on UN-Water members and partners on mandates and capacities related to water and climate issues; and
- producing a UN-Water short paper or policy brief, outlining the key challenges and water-related adaptation/mitigation issues.
Over the long-term, the Task Force will:
- explore opportunities for supporting the UNFCCC process in matters relating to water and climate change;
- develop a joint programme on climate change adaptations in the water sector and in collaboration with the UN-Water Task Force on Country Level Coordination prepare a joint pilot project in one of the countries participating in the UN’s “Delivering as One” initiative;
- build awareness on climate change issues in various water related sectors; and
- prepare joint publications.
Members:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
• United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) - Division for Sustainable Development
• United Nations Office to Support the International Decade for Action "Water for Life" 2005-2015 (UNO-IDfA)
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
• United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP)
• UN-HABITAT
• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
• UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC)
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• United Nations University (UNU)
• Co operative Programme on Water and Climate
• International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS)
• International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID)
• Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)
• Swedish Water House
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