The Water Tracker in Action: Workshops in Costa Rica and Malawi
Malawian representatives and partners discuss early outcomes at a Water Tracker workshop on 17 March 2022
Costa Rica and Malawi were two of the first countries to implement the Water Tracker for National Climate Planning, a tool for examining the role of water in national climate plans.
Understanding the role of water in both climate mitigation and adaptation actions, and awareness of how climate change will impact water resources in the future, is crucial for ensuring the success of climate plans.
Are we considering the water needed for achieving our national climate commitments? Do we have adequate mechanisms to manage and track water allocations? Do we share climate risk information across ministries and at different levels of government? These are the kind of questions that the Water Tracker tool urges governments to consider, and are especially important for safeguarding programs and investments planned to last for years or even decades.
In Costa Rica and Malawi, the Water Tracker is fostering engagement between different governmental institutions with an aim to improve water resilience. Since water is a connector that flows through so many sectors—from energy, healthcare, agriculture, disaster risk reduction, and most explicitly to water and sanitation services and the environment—this cross-sectoral approach is vital for making important decisions about water allocation and tradeoffs.
In Costa Rica, online workshops were held on 7 and 15 March with over 40 representatives working on water resilience and climate planning from across various ministries and levels of government, as well as academia, NGOs and international organizations.
The Costa Rican Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) hosts an online Water Tracker workshop
The results of applying the Water Tracker to eight national climate planning documents were the main topic of discussion at the Costa Rica workshops.
Cynthia Barzuna, Deputy Minister of Water and Seas said: “Existing synergies and gaps in climate planning in the water sector were identified. The documents reflect Costa Rica's clear commitment to climate action and include considerations related to water. The principles [of water resilience] are mentioned in all the documents, but sometimes they are not strongly reflected in the proposed actions. This tool will help us reduce losses and damages due to climatic effects.”
The Water Tracker analysis will help improve and align the different climate plans in Costa Rica, develop bankable water-resilient projects, and support the country’s Paris Agreement commitments.
Meanwhile in Africa, AGWA held a workshop in Malawi on 17 March, which was opened by the Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change, the Honourable Eisenhower Nduwa Mkaka. A number of senior representatives attended from both the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change and the Ministry of Water and Sanitation.
The Water Tracker workshop participants in Lilongwe, Malawi
At the Mawali meeting, AGWA’s country consultant Jonty Rawlins presented an overview of the Water Tracker tool and the initial results from its application to several Malawian climate change planning documents.
Key points that were discussed include the importance of integrating water into climate change planning systems and processes, the need for more regular engagements between the key Ministries on this topic, the mechanisms and institutional structures that can be used to implement the recommendations, and the importance of building local capacity within the Ministries to enable the necessary changes.
In both countries there was a clear willingness for the Water Tracker to serve as a tool to update and improve climate plans going forward.
To learn more about the Water Tracker initiative, including access to resources and opportunities for involvement, visit our program page here.