Nearly 1,100 scientists, practitioners and experts in groundwater and related fields from 92 countries have called on the governments and non-governmental organizations to "act now" to ensure global groundwater sustainability. Read full statement here.
Another two-day round of tripartite meetings between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the contentious Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) commenced in Washington, DC 28 January. Talks were supposed to be concluded mid this month but were deferred after failure to reach final consensus
Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Irrigation from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan met 14 January in Washington to discuss continuing differences around timing and technical regulations regarding filling and operation of the $ 4 Billion USD Nile dam, hosted by United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and included World Bank President David Malpass.
For the tenth year in a row, water crises as defined by the World Economic Forum (WEF) rank among the top 10 global risks in terms of likelihood and impact, while for the first time in the survey’s 10-year outlook, the top five global risks in terms of likelihood are all environmental (and all of those relate directly or indirectly to water).
The Global Risks Report 2020 presents the major risks the world will be facing in the coming year. It stresses the need for a multistakeholder approach to addressing the world's greatest challenges, and was released ahead of the World Economic Forum’s 50th Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters in January, where the focus was Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.
In a landmark decision, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) this month ruled that governments must consider the effects of climate change when assessing deportation of asylum seekers. Although decisions of the UN body are not legally binding, the ruling could present a precedent for asylum applications linked to climate change.
The case under consideration involved Ioane Teitiota, of Kiribati, who had sought asylum in New Zealand. He claimed that rising sea levels and other effects of climate change had made Kiribati uninhabitable due to the lack of fresh water and the increasing salinity of the soil. In addition, Kiribati is predicted to become uninhabitable in the next 10 to 15 years and Teitiota claimed his life, and that of his family, was endangered by staying there.
The United Nations and the government of Somalia have launched a new humanitarian response plan (HRP) to provide emergency services and support to over 3 million people.
The plan, announced 22 January, aims to deliver safe water to more than 1.2 million, provide food and non-food assistance to 2.1 million people, support access to education for more than 300,000 children, and provide health assistance to 2.5 million people. Funds will also be directed to address conflict-related protection concerns including the risk of gender-based violence.
New European Union (EU) funding will provide access to clean water and sanitation facilities, food aid, shelter, basic primary healthcare and education for children who have been caught up in the continuing hostilites in the north-east region that have affected millions of people.
Elon Musk is trying to ease environmental concerns regarding Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin after local protests over its potential water usage. Protests have now extended to also cover the planned water usage of Gigafactory Berlin, which an environmental planning filing showed would need 372 cubic meters of water from the public drinking water network per hour.
The construction of the proposed Malewa Dam hangs in the balance after an association said if built, it will cause "irrevocable damage to Lake Naivasha". Lake Naivasha Riparian Association said the dam is not a sustainable solution for the water-stressed regions of the Rift Valley.
A plan to divert water from the Chao Phraya River to drought-hit farmland and parched areas in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok, is impractical, according to the Royal Irrigation Department (RID). Farmers in Nong Sua district have been complaining of water shortages and had come up with a plan to draw water from the Chao Phraya River to be sent to their farms.
The world’s largest fast food companies have been urged to take faster and deeper action to manage and mitigate climate and water risks in their supply chains. One year into the engagement, the results show some progress across the key requests made by the investors, according to new analysis released today by Ceres and FAIRR.
Warnings of deadly superbugs in Croatia’s biggest river raise serious questions about antibiotic pollution from drug production. Pharmaceutical pollution has been traced to the coutry's largest drug manufacturer. Why have authorities failed to act?
The Federal Foreign Office of Germany has launched Green Central Asia, a regional initiative on climate and security in Central Asia and Afghanistan. This includes the spheres of water and glacier protection in particular, energy, biodiversity, land management and agriculture and is to be implemented at national and regional level.
Widespread agitations will be held if the Uddhav Thackeray government tries to halt or slow down projects started by the earlier BJP-led dispensation to tackle drought in Maharashtra's Marathwada region, former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday.
Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030 is a challenge but represents huge investment opportunity for the private sector through 2030, according to a new report from Standard Chartered Bank.
Haiti reached the milestone this week of an entire year free from any new cases of deadly waterborne disease cholera following a nine-year long outbreak in the country that affected over 820,00 people and killed close to 10,000.
Marking the milestone, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that the UN deeply regretted “the loss of life and suffering caused” by the epidemic, which began in October 2010, and is widely believed to have been imported by UN peacekeepers.
Spelling out the priorities of the provincial government in a meeting with a World Bank (WB) delegation, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah claimed that he had given equal attention to the development of urban and rural areas.
Parliamentarians and experts underscored here on Thursday the need to open diplomatic channels to address water management issues concerning Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. A large number of parliamentarians, diplomats and water experts participated in the national conference on water beyond borders.
Global demand for lithium is expected to triple in six years. But mining companies are increasingly coming into conflict with indigenous communities who are worried about the future of their ecosystems.
An all-party meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday demanded reassessment of water availability in the state and said the Centre should ensure that the state's river water is not transferred from basin to non-basin areas.
Toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS are more prevalent in the drinking water of dozens of US cities, with new findings confirming that exposure to the "forever chemicals" has been previously underestimated both by the Environmental Protection Agency and environmental researchers.
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