2-3 March 2022 - Babylon Rotana Hotel
Apsu Organization for Water Sustainability and the Finnish Martti Ahtisaari Foundation CMI organized an informal regional workshop on the “Climate Change & its impact on Water Resources in Iraq and Its Neighboring Countries” for the period 2-3 March 2022. A specialist in climate change and water resources from the Ministries of Water Resources, Foreign Affairs and Agriculture, university professors and water institutes from Iraq and neighboring countries such as Iran, Turkey, Syria, and Jordan were participated. The workshop was attended by an important presence League of Arab States representative by Arab Ministerial Council for Water and the Center for Studies of Dry Areas and Arid Lands (ACSAD). In addition to a number of representatives of regional and international organizations such as the Global Institute for Water, Health and Environment (GIWHE) in Switzerland and the Arab Countries Water Utilities Association (ACWUA).
Extensive discussions took place among the participants about the impact of climate change on water resources in the MENA region and its impact on various sectors. As well as regional cooperation among the countries of the region on building joint policies on adaptation in the various water sectors and reducing the damage caused to these sectors due to the effects of the increasing climate change. The discussions also dealt with the regional commitment to cooperation in light of international agreements on climate change and benefit from the joint financial and technical support mechanisms approved by the various agreements related to climate change, foremost of which is the Paris Climate Agreement.
At the conclusion of the workshop, the following recommendations were adopted to advance regional cooperation in this regard:
1- Inviting countries to expand horizons of cooperation and dialogue at various political and technical levels regarding climate change and its effects on water resources in the crises affecting the MENA region.
2- Develop mechanisms for joint regional cooperation to achieve better governance at the local and regional levels, exchange experiences. Also take the advantages from the international commitments measures towards the most affected regions by climate change, such as mitigation, adaptation and financing measures in establishing and financing joint projects to adapt to the impact of climate change on transboundary water resources in the region.
3- Providing a broader space for the roles that international organizations, competent civil society organizations and those interested in local communities and women can play in advancing regional cooperation and bringing together views in water management and climate change.
4- Raising the level of coordination between sectors concerned with water and climate change at the national and regional levels.
5- Investing in confidence-building projects, capacity-building, improving tools and processes for analyzing and evaluating the effects of climate change on water resources for all stakeholders from countries, regional and international organizations, civil society organizations, local stakeholders, and empowering women in order to develop a better understanding of how to address, limit and adapt to climate changes in the region.
6- Openness to international and regional organizations concerned with water , climate change and crisis management issues to benefit from their projects in bringing points of view and encouraging the approach of regional cooperation in the region
7- Form a work committees at various levels and work to form working mechanisms and technical and political channels to support cooperation mechanisms.
