| Session Details | |
| Section | SS - Special Sessions |
| Session Title | UNESCO Water Security Initiatives for Enhanced Resilience and 2030 Agenda Delivery in Asia and the Pacific Region. |
| Main Convener | Dr. Ai Sugiura (UNESCO, Indonesia) |
| Co-convener(s) | Ms. Sharizad Sulaiman (UNESCO, Indonesia) |
| Session Description | UNESCO International Hydrological Programme has placed water security at the heart of its eighth phase (2014-2021) defining it as “the capacity of a population to safeguard access to adequate quantities of water of acceptable quality for sustaining human and ecosystem health on a watershed basis, and to ensure efficient protection of life and property against water related hazards -- floods, landslides, land subsidence and droughts”. Because water is ubiquitous, water and water security issues are strongly echoed in SDGs with water security related targets in nine out of seventeen goals aiming to: - Strengthen people resilience to water related disasters and climate extremes to combat poverty and hunger and secure a healthy life (goal 1, 2 and 3) - Achieve sustainable and resilient water resource management and related ecosystems (goal 6,14 and 15) - Achieve sustainable and resilient cities and human settlements and infrastructures linking with Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction(goal 9 and 11) - Combat climate change and its impacts by strengthening resilience, mitigation, adaptation impact reduction and early warning linking with UNFCC (goal 13) However, in Asia and the Pacific region, implementing and monitoring these goals and targets will require new technologies, global and regional cooperation along with comprehensive education and targeted capacity building. Hydroinformatics can provide customized tools for both education and capacity building and better understanding, knowledge, decision making, effective policy frameworks for building resilient and sustainable society. This session will discuss the progress on hydroinformatics in the region, how it can contribute to build a water secure region, especially but not limited to the IHP regional network. Also with predicted increase in frequency and intensity of hydrological extremes, two major UN family initiatives, the International Flood Initiative and the International Drought Initiative will discuss their roles for achieving a water secure region and world. |