Background and objectives:

 The growing impact of climate change on water resources will continue to top global discussion – as the main driver and cause of most water-related challenges across the globe leading to human migration especially among young people, to poverty, hunger, and communal conflicts as well as to new disease outbreaks. The foregoing has serious implications for the future peaceful coexistence of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), South Asian and South-East Asian countries with shared transboundary water resources. Sadly, indigenous peoples and local communities especially women, young people, and the elderly – remain the most vulnerable and mostly affected by these impacts. Conservation of inland and ocean facing deltas is critical to offsetting the deadly impacts of worsening climate crises and saving the lives of millions of vulnerable people facing these crises. The displacement of ~33 million people in Indus, and ~ 1 million people in the Niger Delta region as well as livelihood losses is just a little foretaste of what is to come, if necessary immediate, midterm and long-term actions to build climate resilience at the regional and global scale are not implemented.

 Side event objectives:

  The side event will present an opportunity for the unveiling of a new United Nations draft convention on Conserving River Deltas. The United Nations will announce a new convention to be called “United Nations Convention on Conserving River Deltas (UNCCRD)”. This conversation started at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh and the Cairo Water Week (Egypt) to build on international alliances to achieve the objectives, given below, followed by an event in New York Water week in March 2023. UNCCRD will provide a structure, status, and UN high-level recognition of their place-based peculiarities and challenges. In this regard, we are seeking to achieve the recognition of the ecological, environmental, socio-economic and cultural sustainability of deltas and their communities. The UNCCRD will also bring about integrative Highlands to Oceans (H2O) climate action for building resilient communities.

The panel discussion will address the following:

1. The challenges faced by river deltas and how they are impacting local communities.
2. Provide some context and insight into process and progress of new draft convention (UNCCRD)
3. Exploring opportunities and platforms to support communities and provide them with solutions to their problems caused by climate change.
4. Exploring opportunities to collaborate with governments in river deltas to support communities at grass root levels.
5. Proposing local communities and youth as a priority stakeholders to address issues faced by different river deltas among other stakeholders.
6. Exploring future opportunities to work together with the development sector, civil society and academia to achieve goal of empowering local communities for adaptation and mitigation.

 Expected outcomes:

1. Working towards the success of draft UN Convention on Conserving River Deltas
2. Commitments/partnerships from stakeholders towards help the river deltas to tackle to the issues of climate change.