Katoomba 18 Brings
Water-Energy Nexus To Beijing

Chad Phillips

A global series of workshops were launched in Bonn, Germany, at the end of 2011 to deliver workable, scalable solutions to the global water challenge by the end of 2014. Though not officially one of those workshops, Katoomba 18 will certainly draw on the lessons learned to date and contribute to the final outcome.

 

A global series of workshops were launched in Bonn, Germany, at the end of 2011 to deliver workable, scalable solutions to the global water challenge by the end of 2014. Though not officially one of those workshops, Katoomba 18 will certainly draw on the lessons learned to date and contribute to the final outcome.

14 May 2013 | Katoomba 18 is focused on forests and water, but the water challenge also engulfs energy, transport, and food security. The Nexus Dialogue on Water Infrastructure Solutions was launched in January, 2013 to aggregate solutions from around the world. The aim is to build an online collection of case studies that will feed into the International Conference on Water, Energy and Food in Midrid, Spain, in 2014.

One of several initiatives that grew out of a November, 2011 conference in Bonn, Germany, it was jointly launched by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the International Water Association (IWA). It examines all aspects of water infrastructure and technology – from how it’s developed to what it costs to the role of ecosystem services. The aim is to find what works, what doesn’t and why, and then to promote what works and either improve or eliminate what doesn’t.

Mark Smith, Director of IUCN’s Global Water Programme, hopes to draw input from China at Katoomba 18, and also to update people on the progress of the effort. In March, he and interim IWA Executive Director Ger Berkamp explained their mission on the German government’s Nexus web site, and made it clear that green infrastructure will play a role in the water movements of tomorrow.

“We think … that there are opportunities to understand where and how to make more use of natural infrastructure solutions,” they said. “Natural infrastructure includes well-functioning watersheds, floodplains, wetlands and forested hillslopes. The services these provide support built infrastructure. For example, the maintenance of catchment forest areas controls soil erosion and reduces sedimentation of downstream reservoirs.”

 

 

 

 

 

 
Additional resources
IUCN Nexus Report
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About Katoomba China

This is the fourth in a series of stories offering coverage leading up to and during Katoomba XVIII: Forest, Water and People to take place in Beijing, China, on May 16. The meeting will gather leading experts, practitioners, policymakers, and investors from China and abroad to advance nature-based solutions to the water crisis for an urbanizing world.

Part One China Uses Market-Like Mechanisms To Promote Reforestation Of Sloping Lands examines China’s innovative eco-compensation program, which represents more than 90% of the worlds investments in watershed services.

Part Two China: The Unappreciated Ecosystem Entrepreneur?, provides a broader overview of China’s innovative responses to its environmental challenges.

Part Three From Kenya To China: The Spread Of Innovative Water Solutions examines the role South-South learning can play at the Katoomba meeting-particularly looking at China, Peru and Ghana.

Part Four Katoomba 18 Brings Water-Energy Nexus To Beijing focuses on how the Katoomba meeting will offer solutions to the global water challenge.

Part Five A Critical Time To Harness Green Infrastructure To Secure Clean Water discusses the importance of investing in natural ecosystems-a focus point of Katoomba China.

Part Six ADB Water Boss Courts Private Buyers For Chinese Water Markets examines the role of the private sector in Chinese eco-compensation.

Part Seven China Aims For Scale, Scope, And Reach In Payments For Ecosystem Services summarizes the first day’s proceedings.

Part Eight Can Katoomba 18 Help The Miyun Reservoir? focuses on the participants visit to China’s troubled Miyun Reservoir.

Part Nine K-18 Videoblog: Making PWS That Are Financially Viable, Environmentally Effective And People Friendly examines the similar water challenges nations around the world are facing.