The Global Resilience Partnership will engage experts, donors, and leaders on the importance of building resilience as a critical part of promoting sustainable development during World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, from August 23-28. Hosted by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), World Water Week is the annual focal point for the globe’s water issues. This year’s theme is “Water for Development.” The Resilience Partnership will host an interactive exhibit and high-level panel discussion focused on the impacts of climate change on water resources and weather related-shocks like droughts or floods—as well as how to build resilient systems that help communities adapt to and mitigate these inevitable risks and foster sustainable development.
Workshop
On Tuesday, August 25 from 16:00-17:30 CEST (10:00-11:00 EDT), the Resilience Partnership will host a high-level panel discussion titled “Building Resilience to Floods and Droughts: Private Sector Opportunity.”
Chris Holmes, Deputy Assistant Administrator in USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment (E3), and the Agency’s first Global Water Coordinator, will be the panel moderator.
Panelists will include:
- Anders Granlund is Lead Policy Specialist, Environment and Climate at the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) Policy Support Unit
- Linda Freiner is the Flood Resilience Program Manager at Zurich Insurance Group
- Belinda Reyers is a Professor at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and a researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre
The panel will look at how communities can build resilient systems to better manage water resources, promote effective use of water for food security, and get ahead of water-related shocks and stresses, such as disruptive patterns of floods and droughts. It will also look at how we can best incentivize and strengthen the role of the private sector in contributing to resilient solutions to water issues, including by expanding the use of innovative financing tools, so that communities can get ahead of shocks, and stay on a path toward sustainable development.
Exhibition
The Partnership will also join other global actors in hosting an exhibit on the importance of building resilience to tackle the world’s major water issues. Participants can visit the exhibit to submit their thoughts on what their communities need to be resilient to water-related shocks and stresses, explore interactive maps of resilience-building efforts, and learn about the Global Resilience Challenge and its seventeen innovative teams.
Follow the Partnership’s presence at World Water Week on the GRP’s Twitter account and the hashtag #WWWeek.