Category: Water sector

Water sector

Asia-Pacific resolves to move from crisis to resilience

Agency News, Industry News, Power/Energy/Oil & Gas sector, Transport sector, Water sector
In 2019, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNDRR) Global Assessment Report called on countries to abandon “hazard-by-hazard” risk management, in favour of a holistic approach that examines risk in the context of its impact in systems, including cascading impacts.
A year later, the COVID-19 pandemic presented the world with an unfortunate case study of how systemic risk, if left untreated, can snowball into a disaster and a global crisis.
However, the pandemic was not the only disaster of the year, as 2020 saw countries in Asia-Pacific deal with a perfect storm of dual and multiple disasters, including droughts, floods and typhoons.
For countries in the region to guard against future disasters and mitigate the compounded impact of disasters, a fundamental shift in risk governance at national and local levels is required.
The post-COVID recovery process is one avenue to embed this new approach in socio-economic development processes, to avoid the creation of new risks while risk-proofing development gains.
However, some preconditions need to be met to facilitate this transformation, including committed leadership, investments, engagement of all sectors and stakeholders, and an embrace of science-based multi-hazard risk reduction. All of these elements are in line with the commitments that countries made in the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.
The 2021 Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR), as the first major UNDRR regional platform since the onset of COVID-19, offers countries and stakeholders an opportunity to determine how these conditions can be met to achieve a transformation in risk governance.
With that goal, UNDRR and Australian Government, as the convener and host of the APMCDRR respectively, completed this week a major step in the roadmap to the ministerial conference, the organizing of the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction (APP-DRR) Forum.
The APP-DRR was organized on 1-2 December as a virtual meeting with 175 participants from 30 Asia-Pacific governments, over 10 intergovernmental organisations, several UN and international organizations, and stakeholder groups.
The Forum was kicked off with a statement by Ms. Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, who exhorted the participants to “think big and out of the box”. Opening remarks were made by the Australian Government:
"This forum is an important opportunity to take stock of how we're progressing against our Sendai commitments and to work together to accelerate this process," said Ms. Rebecca Bryant, Assistant Secretary at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, adding:
"Australia is firmly committed to working with countries to further enhance our region's resilience to disasters and to learn from each other's experience."
Of importance to the APMCDRR is building the disaster resilience of small island developing states in the Pacific. These countries are often the most vulnerable countries to extreme weather events, and still have to mobilize resources to counter a global pandemic.
Speaking on both aspects, the Honorable Dr. Ifereimi Waqainabete, Minister of Health and Medical Services in Fiji, said:
“Our coordinates cannot change... we need to understand as a nation that we are prone to disasters. We are prone to cyclones, droughts and other extreme weather events, almost every year,” emphasizing that “as leaders in our own right, we must continue to make better decisions in building resilience to ensure that the devastating impacts of disasters are mitigated and reduced.”
To make the right decisions, countries need to strengthen their data collection systems and understanding of risk, which in turn contributes to the development of sound national and local disaster risk reduction strategies.
On that front, UNDRR noted that the region was making progress in reporting on several Sendai Framework indicators, as 67% of countries in Asia-Pacific have reported some data as of October 2020.
However, challenges remain around the collection of data that is disaggregated by sex, age and disability, which hinders the effectiveness of planning to ensure no one is left behind.
Moreover, countries continue to face challenges in adopting integrated approaches that combine climate change adaptation with disaster risk reduction and expanding their risk governance mechanisms to other sectors.
As the availability of funding is often a hindrance to the implementation of risk reduction strategies, UNDRR presented recommendations on how countries could finance risk prevention.
Green investment offers a particularly effective way to fund climate change adaptation and risk reduction measures, as is highlighted in a report that was launched by UNDRR at the APP-DRR, titled ‘Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction: Implementing Nature-based Solutions for Resilience.’
However, as a result of the downturn in economic activity caused by the COVID-19 crisis, it might be necessary for governments to increase their support for green investments as part of their recovery efforts.
“Financially constrained firms have weaker environmental performance and COVID-19 could be detrimental to environmental investments. Going forward, there will be a need for some forms of public support to encourage green recovery,” said Dr. Hiroko Oura from the International Monetary Fund.
The APP-DRR was also an opportunity for countries and stakeholder groups to voice their priorities and concerns. These reflections were posted on the event page and will help inform planning for APMCDRR.
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New community benchmark on water infrastructure resilience released

Industry News, Water sector
The Alliance for National and Community Resilience (ANCR) released the third of its Community Resilience Benchmarks—the water benchmark, which addresses resilience of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems.
ANCR’s Community Resilience Benchmarks (CRBs) support communities in assessing their resilience and developing strategies for improvement. These benchmarks take a coordinated, holistic look at the people, services and processes that make communities work.
The water benchmark was developed by a committee of subject matter experts co-chaired by Andy Kricun, Managing Director at Moonshot Missions and Senior Fellow at the U.S. Water Alliance, and Jennifer Adams, an emergency management consultant. Committee members included representatives from the American Chemistry Council, American Water Works Association, Codes and Standards International, Denver Water, Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association, Dupont Water Solutions, McWane, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“Water is such an essential aspect of communities. We’re grateful for the contributions made by committee members to help capture the policies and practices that support resilience in this sector,” said Evan Reis, Executive Director of the U.S. Resiliency Council and Chair of the ANCR Board of Directors.
“We look forward to working with communities to integrate the Community Resilience Benchmarks into their current resilience initiatives,” commented ANCR Executive Director Ryan Colker. “Not only does the Water Benchmark provide an excellent enhancement to the provisions contained the Buildings and Housing Benchmarks, but it also helps communities determine how their water systems and utilities contribute to their resilience goals to inform future investments that help protect residents and businesses from disaster.”
Communities are encouraged to pilot the benchmark and provide feedback to ANCR to support updates. For communities interested in piloting the water benchmark.
ANCR is a joint initiative of the International Code Council and the U.S. Resiliency Council that brings together representatives from the public and private sectors to advance a holistic approach to community resilience.
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Supporting cities in advancing a holistic and systemic approach to resilience in Central Asia

Agency News, Health & Social Care, Industry News, Water sector
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), within its project “Strengthening disaster resilience and accelerating implementation of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in Central Asia”, engages with the capital cities of Central Asia with the aim to support local governments to reduce risks and advance a holistic and systemic approach to urban resilience. The initiative is funded by the European Commission.
A network of focal points at the city administrations and interagency technical working groups are being established, including representatives of various departments of local and national governments, as well as risk analysis institutions, public councils and private sector. UNDRR will support assessments of Local Resilience Strategies and Action Plans of the five capital cities in Central Asian.
The initiative will contribute directly to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG11) and other global frameworks, including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement and the New Urban Agenda in the region. The importance of engagement with local governments is emphasized by the fact, according to the UNECE estimates, 65% of the total SDG targets globally need to be delivered by local authorities and actors.
Increasing climate and disaster resilience is a priority for the Governments of Central Asia. The region is highly vulnerability to climate change and exposed to a range of natural and technological hazards.
UNDRR will also provide support to the capital cities of Central Asia through its Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) launched in October 2020. Building upon the MCR Campaign success and lessons learned, it represents a new and unique multi-stakeholder initiative for improving local resilience. It lays out a broader offer of support to the cities than the MCR Campaign and enhances local resilience through advocacy, sharing knowledge and experiences, reinforcing city-to-city learning networks, injecting technical expertise, connecting multiple layers of government, and building partnerships.
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Flood exposure and poverty in 189 countries

Industry News, Water sector
Natural disasters are estimated to cause an average of over $300 billion in direct asset losses every year; this estimate increases to $520 billion when considering the well-being (or consumption) losses experienced by people (Hallegatte et al. 2017). While each country faces its individual set of natural hazards – including cyclones, earthquakes, or wildfires – floods are one of the most common and severe hazards to disrupt people’s livelihoods around the world. Especially in lower income countries where infrastructure systems – including drainage and flood protection – tend to be less developed, floods often cause unmitigated damage and suffering. Recent events, ranging from Bangladesh and Nigeria to the United States and Vietnam, illustrate that the threat is a global reality. Not only rare and major floods, but also smaller and frequent events can revert years of progress in poverty reduction and development. In the coming years, land subsidence, rapid coastal urbanization, and climate change are bound to result in increasing exposure of people and their livelihoods.
A new report findings suggest that :
The exposure of people to flood risk is substantial: We find that 2.2 billion people, or 29 percent of the world population live in areas that would experience some level of inundation during a 1- in-100 year flood event. About 1.46 billion people, or 19 percent of the world population, are directly exposed to inundation depths of over 0.15 meter, which would pose significant risk to lives, especially of vulnerable population groups.
Of the 1.47 billion people who are exposed to flood risk, 89 percent live in low- and middle-income countries. 132 million people are estimated to live in both extreme poverty (under $1.9 per day) and in high flood risk areas.
While flood risks are global, East and South Asia stand out: Flood risks are a near universal threat, affecting people in all countries covered in this study – albeit at different scales. The largest number of flood exposed people live in East and South Asia (1.36 billion people). In several subnational areas of East and South Asia, more than two-thirds of the population is exposed to significant flood risks.
When considering poverty among the flood exposed population, risks are largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. At least 71 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are estimated to live in both extreme poverty (using a $1.9 a day definition) and significant flood risk – thus making them particularly vulnerable to prolonged adverse impacts on livelihoods and well-being. Globally, between 132 million and 587 million poor people are exposed to flood risks (depending on which poverty definition is used). About 1.2 billion flood-exposed people live in lower- and uppermiddle-income countries.
These findings are based on high-resolution flood hazard and population maps that enable global coverage, as well as poverty estimates from the World Bank’s Global Monitoring Database of harmonized household surveys.
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November is CIPR Month in US

Cyber Security CII sector, Health & Social Care, Industry News, Power/Energy/Oil & Gas sector, Telecomms sector, Transport sector, University/Research/Academia sector, Water sector
Under leadership from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National Protection & Programs Directorate (NPPD) and partnership with InfraGardNCR, November is designated as National Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month.
NCISRM builds awareness and appreciation of the importance of critical infrastructure and reaffirms the nationwide commitment to keep our critical infrastructure and our communities safe and secure. Securing the nation's infrastructure, which includes both the physical facilities that supply our communities with goods and services, like water, transportation, and fuel, and the communication and cyber technology that connects people and supports the critical infrastructure systems we rely on daily, is a national priority that requires planning and coordination across the whole community.​
In November, NCISRM efforts will focus on bringing stakeholders together to foster trusted relationships, providing timely and relevant resources to mitigate vulnerabilities, and raise awareness around the role of our supply chain in protecting critical infrastructure.
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Hurricane Zeta makes landfall on Louisiana Coast

Industry News, Power/Energy/Oil & Gas sector, Telecomms sector, Transport sector, Water sector
Hurricane Zeta made landfall in southeastern Louisiana as a Category 2 storm, tearing into coastal communities with heavy rain and wind, and leaving hundreds of thousands without power, and threatening other critical infrastructure systems.
Almost 350,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana are already without power, with some coastal roads under water.
The number of people being left in the dark due to Zeta's strong winds continues to climb. More than 1.3 million customers are without power across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, according to PowerOutage.us. These numbers are likely to continue to climb as Zeta charges northeastward at a staggering 39 mph.
The most dangerous storm surge is expected to the east of New Orleans, with 6 to 9 feet (1.8 to 2.7 meters) of surge likely between the Pearl River on the Louisiana-Mississippi border and Dauphin Island, Alabama. The storm surge around New Orleans itself is forecast only 1 to 2 feet lower, and is still very dangerous. At least 1 to 3 feet (30 to 90 centimeters) of surge is likely across a region stretching from the central Louisiana coast to Yankeetown, Florida.
Zeta is expected to move fast across the U.S., bringing damaging wind, dumping rain and triggering floods across Mississippi, Alabama, northern Georgia, the Carolinas and southeastern Virginia. Powerful wind is likely across the southern Appalachians, the NHC wrote.
It's not yet November and Zeta is already the 27th Atlantic tropical cyclone of 2020, nearing the record of 28 set in 2005.
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Manila rolls out its La Niña Implementation Plan

Health & Social Care, Industry News, Transport sector, Water sector
The Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) rolled out the first phase of the city's La Niña Implementation Plan to ensure proper coordination and the safety of the general public.
In a statement, the MDRRMO said, its objectives include the conduct of risk assessment and analysis in all affected areas, determine vulnerabilities and provide continuous advisories and warnings to constituents on passable routes, evacuation centers, danger and safe zones as well as other pertinent information.
Under its implementation, MDRRMO will lead and organize teams to conduct emergency preparedness response and management operations. This includes support and close coordination with the department's Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
In line with this, MDRRMO will also conduct inspections for early warning systems to provide redundancy and avoid false alarms. This will pave way to the evaluation of the city's capabilities, inventory of its assets and available vehicles for response operations.
As a preventive measure, the Barangays together with the Department of Public Services (DPS) Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) and other agencies shall continue to conduct declogging operations and sewage maintenance activities to help control and minimize flooding in communities and main roads.
Earlier this year, the Manila City government purchased about 80 polyvinyl chloride (PVC) rescue boats which can effectively aid rescue operations and can be strategically deployed in low-lying areas.
According to the Metropolitan Manila Development Association (MMDA) Flood Control Division, there are 31 major creeks across the six districts, wherein 11 are in the first and second district; 9 in the third and fourth districts; and 11 in the fifth and sixth districts.
MDRRMO shall also be responsible in providing situational reports to the Office of the Civil Defense, Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Council.
Meanwhile, the Manila Barangay Bureau shall provide manpower augmentation and maintain the peace and order within communities.
To assist in search and rescue operations and to lead fire emergency situations during La Niña, MDRRMO coordinated with the Bureau of Fire Protection.
Furthermore, DEPW shall assist in restoration of power lines to avoid accidents and cases of electrocution. The department shall also be in charge of construction of additional evacuation centers if deemed necessary.
Moreover, DPS shall deploy its personnel to conduct clean-up operations and maintenance activities in evacuation and rescue centers.
To ensure safe, secure and accessible evacuation sites, the Manila Department of Social Welfare (MDSW) shall provide temporary shelters for the evacuees. MDSW shall also be in charge of relief distribution and camp management.
The Manila Health Department (MHD) shall play a vital role in the provision of medical treatment and control procedures to ensure safety especially if the situation occurs during the pandemic outbreak.
Overall, MDRRMO shall coordinate, monitor and establish guidelines and measures to effectively prevent drastic effects, publish early forecasts to allow the local government to provide multi-sectoral support and mitigate environmental and economic risks.
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Indonesia rolls out JRC-designed system to enhance Tsunami Early Warning

Agency News, Industry News, Water sector

Indonesia has announced plans to roll out a tsunami early warning system based on the Inexpensive Device for Sea Level Monitoring (IDSL).

The system was developed by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre with support from the Commission’s department for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO).

The new plan for IDSL installation foresees the acquisition of 100 new units before the end of 2020 and a more ambitious implementation of an additional 530 units over the coming years, for fisheries, ports and conservation areas across Indonesia.

The IDSL is already installed in 7 locations in Indonesia (Sebesi Island, Marina Jambu, Pandangaran, Sadeng Port and Pelabuhan Ratu on Java Island and Bungus Port on Sumatra Island). It is also being installed in Mentawai Island.

The initiative is part of a collaboration between the JRC, DG ECHO and the Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries, initiated in 2019 when the JRC provided Indonesia with 8 IDSL devices to quickly implement a new Tsunami Warning System in the aftermath of the Anuk Krakatau volcano explosion on 22 Dec 2018. The event triggered a severe Tsunami, killing more than 400 people in the Sunda Strait.

The JRC began developing the IDSL in 2014. It has been installed in 35 locations in the Mediterranean Sea to enhance the monitoring capability of the Tsunami Warning Centres, in collaboration with local institutions and the UNESCO International Oceanographic Commission.

The characteristics of this innovative device are:

its low cost (2.5 k Euro vs 25-30 k Euro of similar devices);
the quick response and transmission (latency less than 5s from measurement to data publication);
the easy installation (less than 2h);
the presence of a software onboard able to detect Tsunami waves or other large sea level variations and send email and SMS to a prescribed list of recipients.
The name of IDSL has been modified to ‘PUMMA’ in the Indonesian language, or Perangkat Ukur Murah untuk Muka Air (Low cost Device for Sea Level Measurement).

It has the same meaning but is easier for Indonesians to recognise and understand its functioning.

Announcing the plans, Indonesian Maritime and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo referred to the geographical position of Indonesia and indicated: “This situation prompts the Indonesian government to formulate a practical tsunami mitigation regime because a large number of coastal communities and villages could be left vulnerable and devastated when a tsunami strikes. In addition, vast coastlines and a large number of coastal communities means that Indonesia needs tsunami early warning systems to be installed in many tsunami prone areas. In this situation, the government needs to develop a tsunami mitigation program that includes the participation of the communities to develop their preparedness and make them more resilient to tsunami."

The new devices will be built with the collaboration of the European Commission and the involvement of local small scale companies and universities.

They will be integrated with the overall monitoring network in Indonesia provided by BIG (Sea Level Monitoring Institution) and BMKG (Tsunami Service Provider).

The IDSL (or PUMMA) will be implemented not only for tsunami early warning, but also for monitoring of fisheries port activities, marine tourisms, marine ecosystem and sea level rise.

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Climate change-fueled weather disasters: Costs to state and local economies

Industry News, Telecomms sector, Transport sector, Water sector

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that between 2005 and 2019, the federal government, including FEMA and other agencies, has spent at least $450 billion on weather disaster assistance, an average of $30 billion per year (GAO 2019). It is easy to imagine that, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, a similar level of aid may not be available for weather disaster assistance.

The report draws on a growing body of climate science research that connects climate change to worsening weather disasters; shifting climate conditions in response to greenhouse gas emissions have been linked to fiercer storms, heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires.

To gain insight into the price Americans are paying for worsening weather disasters, it summarizes data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters database and other public sources.

NOAA has tracked the costs of the most extreme weather events in the United States since 1980, estimating the total direct cost of each event that caused $1 billion or more in damage (adjusting all costs to 2019 dollars). No state is untouched by these billion-dollar disasters.

The analysis includes projections of future increases in the intensity and frequency of weather disasters—should governments, corporations, and citizens fail to take action to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Cities, states, and regions also need to work together to build resilience to future weather disasters.

Download report at Environmental Defense Fund

Source - Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)

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Policy brief: technologies for averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage in coastal zones

Agency News, Industry News, Water sector

Coastal zones are home to about 40 per cent of the world’s population, living within 100 km of the coastline.

The most recent technology needs assessment indicates that one-third of developing countries placed infrastructure, including in coastal zones, as a prioritized sector, and most of the prioritized technologies in this regard were related to coastal protection, including both hard and soft measures.

Today more than 600 million people live in coastal zones that are less than 10 meters above sea level, and approximately 60 per cent of the world’s metropolises whose populations exceed 5 million people are located within 100 kilometers of a coastline. Coastal zones are a critical component of national economies, including shipping, aquaculture, tourism and other coastal services and industries.

Furthermore, entire economic activities in those of small islands developing states and low-lying delta countries, belong to their coasts. And yet coastal areas stand at risk from rising sea level and extreme weather intensity caused by climate change.

Recently as evidenced in many coastal areas, the impacts of these climate change phenomena, including the losses and damages, are increasingly becoming disruptive.

The report aims to inform policy-makers and practitioners on technological solutions to assess and manage climate-related risks comprehensively in coastal zones. It also identifies recovery and rehabilitation measures to address the impacts from tropical cyclones, storm surges, sea level rise, ocean acidification and other climate-change-related impacts.

Download Report from UNFCCC

Source - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

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