Action Urged at World Water Week Conference
An interesting article is out on the AP Wire today about the effect of climate change on world water supplies, and what experts at the World Water Week conference in Stockholm are saying. From the article:
“Thousands of scientists and experts urged world leaders Friday to include strategies for global water management in the planned Copenhagen climate agreement.
Participants at the World Water Week conference said climate change will severely affect water supplies and poorer countries need support to help them adapt.
“At the moment the water issue doesn’t get enough attention in the climate negotiations,” Anders Berntell, head of the Stockholm International Water Institute, told The Associated Press. “To be effective, climate negotiations must factor in the impact and importance of water for the world and, indeed, human well-being.””
Water availability and change in world supply were key issues in ASP President Vice Admiral Lee Gunn’s, USN (Ret.) recent testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the national security impact of climate change. If nothing is done now to curb climate change, the Admiral said, elevated water levels and decreased supply could have a significant impact on international migration patterns, and lead to further destabilization of already weakened states, among other issues.
Read the press release and the Admiral’s entire testimony here. See also his Letter to the Editor in today’s New York Times for further insights on what must be done to address climate change, and its potential effect on American security policy.
For more information on the World Water Week conference, go to http://www.worldwaterweek.org.
