The Ecologist: Leaders Must Look to Pacific Islands to Understand the Need for Building Water Resilience

Water is among nature’s most destructive forces. “Too little or too much - climate change will be felt most through its impact on the water cycle,” writes Mark Fletcher for the Ecologist. “I'm at COP23 to work with colleagues from around the world to continue to push for water to become an even greater priority. Addressing water issues across the water cycle is key to adapting to climate change and reducing the impact of water-related disasters.” He explains how climate change contributes to unpredictable rainfall, floods and rising seas and governments must plan accordingly. Since climate change is not striking each part of the world at the same rate or in the same way, many nations could benefit by studying what is being done by Fiji and other Pacific Island nations. Sea level rise, coupled with storm surge, in parts of the Pacific Ocean is about four times the global average, Fletcher notes. At the same time, rising seas will ruin freshwater supplies for some communities. Preparation, collaboration, conservation and infrastructure planning are essential. – YaleGlobal

The Ecologist: Leaders Must Look to Pacific Islands to Understand the Need for Building Water Resilience

Water resilience is a topic for the COP23 in Bonn – for the communities in the Pacific Islands and any facing floods and famine in the decades to come
Mark Fletcher
Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Read the article.

Mark Fletcher is global water leader at Arup, an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical specialists, working across every aspect of today’s built environment.    

Arup has developed a resilience index on sea level rise for the Pacific Islands and cities elsewhere: “The Index will measure relative performance over time rather than comparison between cities. It will not deliver an overall single score for comparing performance between cities, neither will it provide a world ranking of the most resilient cities. However, it will provide a common basis of measurement and assessment to better facilitate dialogue and knowledge sharing between cities. It is envisaged that the Index will primarily be used by city governments who are in the best position to gather administrative data, but it can also be used by other interested organisations and individuals.”

The Ecologist
Related Links: 

World Without Water: The Dangerous Misuse of Our Most Valuable Resource

Global Consensus on Climate Change Is a Good Start

In the US, Clean Water Is No Guarantee

The copyright and other proprietary and intellectual property rights in all material published on www.theecologist.org are owned by The Resurgence Trust or its licensors.