Towards COP17 Durban

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The Water and Climate Coalition (WCC) advocacy strategy included the development of joint statements, the promotion of policy recommendations ascop17 well as issuing regular responses to the UNFCCC negotiating texts. The Coalition will conduct regular analysis of the negotiations as they proceeded towards and be active during COP 17.  It will engage in a range of policy and advocacy activities to build on its work of previous years.

The UNFCCC so far:
Water must take a central place in UNFCCC negotiations

The UNFCCC negotiations are a major political process that influences national decision-making processes and funding mechanisms. It is therefore essential that existing knowledge and experiences in the water community inform the decisions on relevant programmes and mechanisms under the UNFCCC.

However, despite overwhelming evidence of the link between water, climate and development, water has so far not been adequately addressed in UNFCCC negotiations.

While water is recognised in Article 4.1 (e) of the Convention and Paragraph 14 of the Cancun Agreement, the international discourse on climate change has not provided dedicated space for discussions on integrated water resources management.

Despite calls by several Parties for an Agenda item on water, Parties decided during the 34th session of SBSTA not to have water as a separate agenda item but rather discuss it as part of the Nairobi Work Programme, which focuses only on adaptation.  The WCC feels that this is not yet adequate and falls short of both the commitments in Article 4.1 (e) and those expressed by Parties in Paragraph 14 of the Cancun Agreement where it refers to planning, prioritization and implementing adaptation actions, projects and programmes on water resources.

Water needs a consolidated approach in the negotiations as it is relevant to adaptation and mitigation. Sustainable solutions are possible.