Following the success of the 2011 inaugural Summit, Eye on Earth 2015 will take centre stage once again to promote dialogue and drive international action that revolutionises the way we collect, access, share and use data and information for real-world change. The 2015 summit will seek to foster a culture of collaboration through a network committed to achieving scalable impact for a sustainable future - See more at: http://www.eoesummit.org/summit-2015/
Water Security Special Initiative Dedicated Breakout Session
Water security is an inherently interdisciplinary and complex issue that is critical to consider for achieving sustainable development, human well-being, and environmental sustainability. It is a central factor in biological, institutional, political, economic and social considerations and has an impact on local, regional, and global scales. Achieving the post-2015 SDGs will not be possible without a considerable focus on water.
At the same time, water security is one of the most data-demanding themes of those addressed under the Eye on Earth initiative, requiring significant improvements in data-driven decision-making. Furthermore, water plays a special role in the region. As such, Water Security in itself is worth being one of the central topics of the entire Summit, thereby elevating the importance of the WS SI breakout session and emphasizing the necessity of strengthening the Water community within the Eye on Earth movement.
Since the initial Summit in 2011, the Water Security SI has expanded and diversified its stakeholder network and has been involved in a number of notable projects. An overarching purpose of the proposed session is to foster a sense of community for the Water Security SI, building upon what has already been achieved and paving the way for the future. In order to achieve this, an overview of the existing issues and approaches / proposed solutions in WS is essential. This could be implemented by utilizing the expertise of the WS and other SI communities and involving relevant Summit attendees. Based on this review the future WS SI roadmap can be explored and shaped through a panel discussion.
The proposed session will parallel the Summit structure by addressing water security in the three data-related categories (demand, supply, and enabling conditions) within the EoE community, thereby taking an integrated approach to this thematic SI. Making water data available involves many equally important steps: collection, enabling conditions, management, raising awareness of available technologies, training, all of which are critical for ensuring data-driven decision-making. Technical solutions alone will not secure improved water security and the achievement of SDGs: an integrated approach to water security supported by political will is required.
The proposed session will begin with a keynote speech, linking water security to the SDGs and highlighting the importance of water security considerations for the achievement of the post-2015 agenda. The cross-linkages between political support and all components of data-driven decision making will be highlighted at the regional and global levels. The following presentations by EoE SI community members would focus on each of the Summit topics (data need, supply and enabling) and showcase variety of approaches in each by WS SI and other SI members.