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Water and COVID-19: Latin America and the Caribbean young people in action

People under 30 are actors with knowledge creativity and potential and can make important contributions during this crisis particularly in the water sector

August 17, 2020

As COVID-19 threatens Living Heritage around Lake Chad, women respond

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is an indigenous woman from the Mbororo pastoralist community in Chad As nomadic cattle herders residing in the far west of the country near Lake Chad her community have developed an array of traditional practices and weather forecasting knowledge based on their interactions over generations with their living environment During periods of drought or unexpected weather events the Mbororo turn to such knowledge of changing seasonal patterns to adapt often travelling vast distances over the semiarid Sahel in search of water and pastures Today Ibrahim works to empower indigenous peoples voices and ensure their inclusion on international platforms She is President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad AFPAT and is currently serving as a Member of the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues and UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocate She collaborated with UNESCO to conduct a 3D participatory mapping of Chads Sahel desert region where some 250000 Mbororos make their living from herding and subsistence farming She is also a member of the technical and scientific committee of the BIOPALTUNESCO project She recently spoke with the Living Heritage Team in UNESCOs Culture Sector about how her community is coping with the COVID19 pandemic and its impact on their way of life as well as their knowledge and cultural practices related to the natural environment and climate change

Continuation of UNESCO Water Science activities through e-learning, open science and distance learning

UNESCOs Division of Water Sciences webinar on Transformation of UNESCO activities through elearning open science and distance learning on 14 May 2020 discussed these means of knowledge dissemination for water security in times of COVID19 The discussion served as a foundation for the ongoing development of a strategic position paper within UNESCOs Sector for Natural Sciences on elearning open science and distance learning Thirtynine participants 26 men and 12 women one guest of unknown gender attended and contributed to the event including representatives from the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme IHP UNESCO Category 2 Centres National Committees professional organizations as well as academics scientists young hydrologists and UNESCO staff from Field offices and Headquarters In opening remarks Mr Anil Mishra Programme Specialist Division of Water Sciences UNESCO highlighted the key objectives of the meeting He emphasised the need to learn from experiences and innovations in three key areas developing in an increasingly virtual environment How to support scientific research in Member States How to foster open science including access to scientific data research and educational resources Moreover how can the societal interface of science be maintained and promoted while physical borders are closed In his keynote address Mr Wouter Buytaert Imperial College London United Kingdom gave examples of how COVID19 has affected the entire realm of science and education and created both opportunities and challenges therein He cited an accelerated increase in online educational content and learning opportunities and increased availability of resources to create new content and tools giving innovative examples of virtual field trips citizen science and the Water Information Network System WINS platform developed by IHP He also underlined the overall challenges in leveraging this momentum to create longterm change that supports sustainable development Presenters shared tools websites associations and platforms to facilitate online learning and access to scientific and educational resources including for early career scientists and to engage in data collection and standardization remotely Presentations also considered the needs of educators or content generators and disseminators and discussed how to better understand user needs and how to ensure that content is delivered in an accessible and engaging manner Discussions also centred around how students or content consumer access online materials and considered examples of helpful tools and resources to access training and educational materials and networking opportunities The meeting discussed challenges to online learning and open data sharing Limited internet access was highlighted as a major concern which could undermine efforts to implement distance learning and open science Other issues raised in the discussion included the need to adapt pedagogy and didactics to the online classroom and to establish sufficient resources to create online content Mr Youssef FilaliMeknassi Director of the Division of Water Sciences and Secretary of the IHP concluded the meeting reiterating the importance of open science in minimizing the discrepancies between countries and societies Participating institutions UNESCO Field Offices UNESCO Cairo Office UNESCO Jakarta Office UNESCO Montevideo Office UNESCO Nairobi Office UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa UNESCO ROSA UNESCO Category 2 Centres IHE Delft Institute for Water Education The Netherlands International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management ICIWaRM US International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management ICHARM Japan International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change ICWRGC Germany Regional Centre for Water Harvesting RCWH Sudan Regional Water Center for Arid and SemiArid Zones in Latin America and the Caribbean CAZALAC Chile Partners AUDANEPAD Southern African Network of Water Centres of Excellence SANWATCE Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science Inc CUAHSI Future Earth Government of Flanders Indian Institute of Science International Association of Hydrological Sciences IAHS Imperial College London Joint Research Centre of the European Commission UK Centre for Ecology Hydrology UKCEH University of Southampton Vrije Universiteit Brussels Water Research Center Khartoum University

How to guarantee access to water and sanitation in the context of COVID-19?

In Latin America and the Caribbean more than 65 million people do not have permanent access to clean water or soap for hand washing Experts and decision makers from the water sector shared their experiences and solutions

Sanitation, management and governance of water during and after COVID-19

Latin America shares scientific experiences and responses to ensure the right to clean water and sanitation in times of pandemic

Waters of Latin America and the Caribbean: contributions in times of COVID-19

Adequate integrated water resource management is one of the most powerful tools to ensure the supply of drinking water and wastewater treatment In a pandemic situation it will significantly prevent the spread of the disease

Green economies, a bulwark against COVID 19 for Lake Chad communities

COVID 19 is causing a shockwave around the world and is now the number one concern of the international community It is fundamental and legitimate to focus on the present of the pandemic But we must not forget the root causes It is also essential to think now about the postcrisis the reconstruction phase which should be about not only health economic and social issues but also the environment

Webinar: Management tools for the water sector in Latin America and the Caribbean facing COVID-19

Photo Tlalpizaco Ajayacán México Courtesy of the National Water Commission México

Water experts exchange experiences to face the challenges of climate change

Given the circumstances and challenges under we have to live at the beginning of a new decade the work of specialized scientists becomes more critical and important than ever Understanding their work helps us to better comprehend our own reality