John Matthews' Closing Note and Presentations: UNECE Transboundary Freshwater Adaptation Workshop

John Matthews, who survived my disparagement of him in a post a few months ago, has forgiven me and kindly sent me his closing Power Point of the recent UNECE workshop on Transboundary Water and Climate Change Adaptation in Transboundary Basins

Download 2012_iv_26 Matthews UNECE summary

If you go to the workshop WWW site and scroll down to the bottom yu can access the documents, background documents, presentations, and photos (click on the tabs).

Here are the theme areas and presentation titles; all are in English unless otherwise indicated.

Vulnerability Assessment, Experiences from Around the World
Water scarcity in the Netherlands Mr. Jos Timmerman, Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the Netherlands
Mekong Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative Ms. Nguyen Huong Thuy Phan, Mekong River Commission
Assessment of climate change induced water stress in the Nile Basin Mr. Mohamed Elrawady, Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE)
Vulnerability assessment in Colombian transboundary basins Mr. Fabio Andres Bernal, National Hydrological Institute, Colombia
Glaciers and water use in Central Asia: results of international scientific expedition Mr. Abdylhamid Kayumov, State Agency for Hydrometeorology, Committee on the Environment of the Government, Republic of Tajiskistan (in Russian)
Water and Adaptation to Climate Change in Myanmar Ms. Tin Yi, Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, Myanmar

Ecosystem-based Adaptation in Transboundary Basins
Transboundary conservation of the mangrove ecosystem of Sundarbans Mr. Laskar Muqsudur Rahman, Forest Department, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Bangladesh
Building regionally and nationally tailored-based Ecosystem based Adaptation (EbA) in Mesoamerica Mr. Juan Carlos Sanchez, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Management of scarce water resources for rehabilitation of degraded lands in arid and semi-arid region of Southern Pakistan Mr. Sahibzada Irfannullah Khan, Sustainable Land Management Project (SMLP), Ministy of Environment in Pakistan

How to Select and Implement Adaptation Measures
Improving common flood risk management in transboundary basins Mr. Bart Swanenvleugel, Flood Wise International Cooperation Project
The Zambezi River Basin Initiative (ZRBI): Build and strengthen resilience Ms. Hilary Motsiri, International Federation of the Red Cross
Management Tools of Extreme Weather Events in Morocco Mr. Abdeslam Ziyad, Ministry of Energy, Mines, Water and Environment, Morocco
Transnational adaptation measures against floods and low-flows: The AMICE project on the Meuse river basin Ms. Maité Fournier, Public Management of the Meuse and its Tributaries (EPAMA), France
Integrating Different Levels and Sectors
Introduction: Integrating different levels and sectors in the Danube Mr. Raimund Mair, International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR)
Economic Aspects of Climate Change Adaptation
Addressing Risks and Uncertainty: the Role of Economic Instruments and Financing Mechanisms Ms. Kathleen Dominique, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
The impacts and economic costs of river floods in the European Union and the costs and benefits of adaptation Mr. Luc Feyen, European Commission, DG Joint Research Centre
Economy-wide analysis of climate change impacts on the Sava River Basin countries Ms. Sebnem Sahin, World Bank
Conclusions and Next Steps
Making adaptation work: Reflection on the issues discussed during the workshop  Mr. John Matthews, Conservation International, Alliance for Global Water Adaptation
Special Session on the Convention
The UNECE Water Convention: obligations and practical application  Ms. Francesca Bernardini, Secretary of the Water Convention
The Benefits of the Water Convention, Kazakhstan Mr. Serik Akhmetov

You will have to visit the WWW site to download these (scroll down, click on the tab).

Good stuff here - enjoy!

"To be fair, climate change is real. It occurs four times a year when winter turns into spring turns into summer turns into fall. Alarmists don't see it that way, so they squawk "The sky is falling" every time conditions vary outside their interpretation of what they think is normal." - Susan Stamper Brown