A holistic approach to water management including extensive use of new age real time technologies for measuring and monitoring, recycle & reuse key to minimize climate change impact on water : H.E. Mr. Kimmo Lähdevirta
A holistic approach to water management rather than an isolated approach is the need of hour to manage the climate change impact on water, said H.E. Mr. Kimmo Lähdevirta, Ambassador of Finland to India during his inaugural address at the 4th Edition of CII Conference on Climate Change & Water Connect with the theme “Moving from Risks to Resilience for a Water Secure Future” organized by Confederation of Indian Industry today at New Delhi. Committing to reduce freshwater consumption, increasing recycle and reuse can significantly impact the availability and sustainability of water, he added.
He also emphasized that use for new age technologies with real time monitoring and measurement, smart water management and digitalization can help in more efficient water management. Along with this wastewater recycle and reuse, cleaning of water bodies for good quality recharge and managing aquifer recharge will be key in managing climate change.
A compendium on Water for Climate Neutrality – Good Practices by India Inc was also released during the event. The compendium showcases exemplary initiatives undertaken by the Indian Industry to respond to the emerging water challenges emanating from rising climate variability.
Mr Ravi Singh, Member, Advisory Board, CII Water Institute & Secretary General and CEO, WWF underlined that resilience aspect climate change directly relates to water and the on groundwork of WWF over the years shows all problem have solutions. Mr Singh stressed that nature-based solutions and interventions towards river basin management, ecological flows, aquifer management, wetlands conservation, restoration and rehabilitation backed by well-placed vision and scientific assessment can go a long way in improvements in human health, biodiversity, livelihoods and climate change mitigation and adaptation thereby creating sustainable water security.
Dr D S Pai, Head - Environment Monitoring and Research Center (EMRC), India Meteorological Department, Government of India, highlighting on the impact of rising temperatures on hydrological cycle leading to frequent extreme water events like intense droughts and flooding in some regions. rising sea levels etc. and emphasized developing resilience. Early warning systems can play a key role in minimizing hydrometeorological hazards, he opined. Stressing on the importance of seamless integration of weather and climate information for community resilience he underlined the need for developing a seamless forecasting system covering all the aspects of weather forecasting and timely dissemination of information to the end users.
Mr Deepak Kumar Arora, Conference Chairman and President Nayara Energy Private Ltd, while delivering the theme address emphasized that the climate change is a rising threat and inextricably linked with water. At the same time water is also the medium to fight the climate challenge. He further stressed on everyone has a role in battling the climate impact on water.
Dr Kapil K Narula, CEO & Executive Director, CII Water Institute while presenting his vote of thanks, shared that water also offers a lot of hope and solutions to combat the impact of climate change and highlighted that technology will play a crucial role in managing the elements. He also stressed on the need for minimizing the impact on the ecosystem and components of ecosystem that lie at the centre of climate change and water.
About 200 delegates from industry, government, NGOs, RWAs, Academia, technology providers were present in the conference.
9 April 2024
New Delhi