Climate change

This presentation aims to show the link between water availability and forest ecosystem functioning. In other words, we seek to explain how the deficit of water resources in forests could affect the mitigation capacity of forests to climate change. Indeed, trees and forests, in general, sequester greenhouse gases, particularly atmospheric CO2, and contribute to the fight against climate change. This important ability of forests remains functional thanks to the mechanism of photosynthesis which is strongly dependent on the availability of water.

Sustainable groundwater management to increase community climate resilience represents an opportunity for innovative investments and management choices that can also contribute to improved household livelihoods and poverty reduction among dryland communities. Since 2018, the World Food Program has been implementing an integrated resilience package across the 5 G5 sahel countries + Senegal under BMZ funding.

The objective of the session is to showcase possibilities of conflict-sensitive decision-making that is based on thorough analysis of the ground-level conditions – from political level to small communities. This session is complementary to another session organised by the FREXUS partners, the Water Peace and Security Partnership (WPS), that will tackle the complex interconnections between Water, Conflicts and Peace at a broader level.

The session is designed as a space for exchange between participants on the impacts of climate change on sanitation systems and the contribution of the sub-sector to GHG emissions. It will also be an opportunity to share with stakeholders the Senegalese standard NS-017-074 on non-collective sanitation facilities.
The first step will be to present the subject and the issues it covers, then to discuss climate change and its effects on sanitation systems and its consideration in sanitation projects, while encouraging discussions among participants and contributions from the floor.

The Sahel is characterized by drastic climatic conditions, recurrent droughts, land degradation, poverty, malnutrition, forced migrations. The Great Green Wall Initiative was created in response to this contact with the vision of restoring the viability of the natural capital and productive systems of the Sahelian lands and transforming them into areas of economic prosperity that are perfectly integrated into the economic fabric of the countries. The Initiative integrates the three paradigms of Restoration / Development / Security.

Central Asia - an extensive, landlocked region of Asia. The region includes the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan. According to the latest UN estimations, the current population of Central Asia is more than 75.1 million people - this is about 1% of the total population of the Earth.

The objective of this session is to discuss SfN adapted to the Senegalese context and allowing to support the concepts of green growth or green economy in order to reduce the impacts of climate change on the sustainable use of water resources. The panel will present and deepen :
- Challenges and issues related to climate change on water resources in Senegal - Water security and the concept of circular water economy
- Natural solutions to increase resilience to the impacts of climate change

The session aims to present water as a key element without which none of the
problems associated with global changes will be resolved: combating desertification, resilience to change climate and epidemic prevention. The session also aims to discuss how it is possible to revive, in some form or another, the Climate is water initiative, so as to produce, by the community, and in the shortest possible time, (from preferably in view of COP 27) a series of synthetic but unified messages, to be transmitted to external partners, and to broadcast during major international events.

Water challenges in countries that suffer from water scarcity have become more complex than before, especially in light of population increases, rising standards of living, and an increase in demand for water from competing sectors. In addition, the effects of climate change and complex cooperation with riparian countries sharing international rivers add more pressure, especially with unilaterally adopted decisions that would increase challenges and threaten the stability and peace of the region.

What are the new perspectives on drought in a time of climate change ? Drought is often compared with other natural hazards such as floods, storms, and wildfires. However, unlike these hazards, drought is often a so-called hidden risk, meaning that its onset is not perceived until drought conditions are already having an impact. In many countries worldwide and as a result of climate change, droughts are becoming more severe with higher negative and large-scale impacts. Also, incidences of severe heat waves and short-term dryness (flash droughts) seem to increase.