On 25 and 26 April, Enabel invited you to join the debate on Climate Change adaptation and water
By questioning the role of water in Climate Change adaptation, the international conference initiated interesting dialogue to create further transversal activities and breaking silos in our replies to Climate Change consequences.
”Is climate change adaptation all about water?” conference was 2 days of rich and fruitful debate between 19 speakers from international organisations, research institutes, local authorities, development agencies, NGOs and the private sector. It also featured 24 presentations of technologies and methodologies that could be tomorrow’s solutions. All speakers fed an audience of around 200 participants from 15 countries and three continents.
The event was also a unique opportunity to hear from the youth perspective and create a dialogue on how the current innovation and prospection will reply to “2050 vision” of our young generation.
An inspiring summary of panels discussion has been done by a visual graphist (click on title if you wish access to all panels ‘presentation).
Panel “Urban Resilience and Nature-based Solutions – Practical solutions”
Panel “Water as driver of the WEFE nexus: challenges and opportunities”
We are sharing some inspiring messages from the conference, showing that all is not about technology!
“Water can be a source of conflict, but more so a source of security once we manage it in a sustainable way,” ambassador Luc Jacobs, Special Envoy for Climate and Environment
“If society is not part of the policy process, they will not take up – or even hear about – our solutions.” Arnout Ruelens of the City of Mechelen
“Citizen science can ensure that general awareness is raised, and lead to more engagement and responsabilisation. Monitoring is crucial and citizens can play a role there too”. Filip Lefebre of VITO
“There are many challenges, but governance is definitely the biggest one. We need funding, yes, but it is governance that will ensure that these solutions are maintained even beyond implementation,” Durk Krol – CEO Water Europe
“We realised that the different actors do not come together often enough. We need to bridge the gap between funders, policymakers and end users,” Irene Sander of GIZ
Day 1 – Water as central element of Urban Resilience and Nature-based Solutions
Speakers
Martin BINON
Legal advisor water – Brussels Environment
Legal advisor for the Brussels Environment Administration, I’m tackling water, nature conservation and spatial planning issues for the past 12 years (including floods and droughts). Since 2015, also member of the selection and steering committee for the Brussels’international solidarity projects aiming to improve access to drinking water and/or adequate sanitation.
Steven BROEKX
Water economist- R&D – Sustainable land use department – Flemish Institute for Technological Research – VITO
Filip LEFEBRE
Urban Climate Information Platform (u-CLIP) – VITO-Enabel-Wehubit
Luc JANSSENS DE BISTHOVEN
Durk KROL
Giulia MACI
Urban Specialist and Gender Focal Point – UNOPS/Alliances Cities
Giulia is an urban planner specialised in gender-sensitive city development, youth engagement and participatory urban planning with work experience in more than 20 countries. Currently she works as Gender Specialist and Manager for the Euro-mediterranean Area at Cities Alliance – UNOPS in Brussels, leading projects and initiatives that support the creation of more resilient and inclusive cities in the Mediterranean region, with a focus on increasing girls’ and women’s engagement in urban development. Giulia is also Institute Associate at the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University. Giulia has been the Italian coordinator for the Dialogue 5 +5 in the Mediterranean Region for the promotion of exchanges and city projects focusing on circular economy and citizen inclusion. Prior to this, she has worked as researcher and consultant for different international organizations, developing and leading urban projects.
Paulo MASSINGA
Climate Finance Expert – Enabel Mozambique
Paulo Massinga is a senior environmental professional with more than 15 years of experience working on multi-stakeholder programmes throughout Mozambique. Over the past years, he has worked as a consultant in different climate, environmental, circular economy, energy and waste sector projects, some of which were related to the development of infrastructures by the private sector and the Government in the energy and waste sector interacting with multiple stakeholders. Recently, he has been supporting the National Energy Fund (FUNAE) in positioning itself as a viable national entity to mobilize climate finance towards the renewable energy sector in Mozambique, as well as support the development of a private sector in the off-grid sector. He has extensive working experience with government and non-government actors and has developed a network of stakeholders in the private, public, and civil society sectors.
Arnout Ruelens
Project leader EU project MONUMENT; Project coordinator – Water4all and Wetlands4cities City of Mechelen
Fred MUGISHA
Enabel – Rwanda
Day 2 – Water as driver of Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) nexus
Speakers
Cesar CARMONA-MORENO
DG Joint Research Center Institute for Environnement and Sustainability
Arnaud DE VANSSAY
Head of Water sector DG International Partnerships Unit F2 – Environment, Sustainable Natural Resources
Petra SCHMITTER
International Water Management Institute – IWMI
Irene SANDER
GiZ – Resa4africa
Annika SCHLEM
UNESCO-IHP
