OOSKAnews Talks Video Conversation HERE.

Businesses face physical, reputational and regulatory risks driven by water, which will only increase with climate change. Understanding these risks and incorporating them into the business strategy is critical for companies to secure their license to operate as well as ensure business profitability. Business risk related to water is also critical for investors to make sound investment decisions. Companies and investors are increasingly concerned about the water risks faced by their operations, supply chains and investments – and looking for tools to help to assess these risks; a number are deployed and used, causing some confusion around both the concept of water risk assessment and the differences/similarities among these water tools.

 

OOSKAnews' David Duncan talked to the co-authors of a new report that describes options available to decision-makers, and seeks to clarify possible confusion.

Right tool for the right job: Tools & Approaches for Companies and Investors to Assess Water Risks & Shared Water Challenges compares the three leading corporate water tools – WBCSD’s India Water Tool, WWF’s Water Risk Filter, and the World Resources Institute (WRI) Aqueduct – and offers guidance on the approaches companies and investors should adopt to assess water risks and shared water challenges.

At least 162 people died 2 July after heavy rains caused a landslide at a jade mine in Kachin state, Myanmar, close to the Chinese border. About 30 meters of waste soil collapsed into a lake of mine wastewater, creating a large wave which hit those working at the perimeter of the lake.

Ongoing shelling in eastern Ukraine continues to disrupt vital water supplies and access to food and basic services, a 25 June assessment from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reports. Meantime movement restrictions due to COVID-19 have particularly affected thousands of already vulnerable and elderly populations.

An additional $43 Million USD additional World Bank funding will be applied to The Gambia’s Electricity Restoration and Modernisation Project to include the water sector in the programme’s mandate, to strengthen the National Water and Electricity Company’s (NAWEC) transmission and distribution network, and to provide support to transform NAWEC into a credit-worthy utility.

The government of Bhutan has firmly denied media reports that it had deliberately blocked the supply of water along an irrigation canal into the northen province of Assam, India, amid suggestions that the reports were an attempt by vested interests to spread misinformation and misunderstanding.

The World Bank has announced additional funding for India’s Namami Gange program that is designed to rejuvenate the Ganga River. The $400 Million USD financing will finance the construction of expanded water networks and treatment facilities in order to stem pollution and strengthen river basin management.

The European Commission has confirmed that the European Union’s strong water legislation, the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), will not be changed.

The landmark confirmation for Europe’s rivers, lakes, and wetlands marks a success for the #ProtectWater Campaign that was launched in 2018 by WWF and European partners who, together, form lobgying group Living Rivers Europe.

An open letter, signed by thirty international agencies and charitable organisations, pleads for fulfilment of commitments for aid to Yemen.

The 15 June letter "rom "The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) actors in Yemen" identifies that COVID-19 is spreading throughout Yemen, one of the most water scarce countries in the world. The group identifies that over five years of conflict have damaged water systems, leaving the health sector on the brink of collapse and have contributed to outbreaks of disease, including cholera. The group estimates that over 70 percent of the population lack access to soap for handwashing and personal hygiene and basic water supplies required to cope with COVID-19.

The indigenous Wayuu communities of Colombia have launched an urgent appeal for the UN Human Rights Council to intervene in an alleged human rights crisis caused by operations of the Cerrejon coal mine which is backed by Australian mining giant BHP.

The mine reportedly uses 24 million litres of water per day, and operations have contaminated the Rancheria River which is the main source of drinking water in the region. In addition, a planned mine expansion also includes diversion of the nearby Bruno stream, an alternative source of drinking water.