Climate and water: a global challenge, local solutions for resilient territories

The impacts of this disruption are now visible and growing.

The water cycle is becoming desynchronised: water falls at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and often in quantities too large to be useful.

Droughts are becoming longer and more frequent, reducing river flows and groundwater levels. Rainfall is more intense, causing runoff, flash floods and soil erosion.

Conflicts of use between drinking water, agriculture, industry and tourism are becoming more frequent. Finally, aquatic ecosystems are being weakened, with the risk of loss of biodiversity.

To make territories more resilient, the International Office for Water (OiEau) promotes Natural Water Retention Measures, also known as ‘sponge measures’. Their objective: to work with nature, not against it.

With NWM, this involves

• Slowing down runoff to give water time to infiltrate.
• Storing water in soils and natural environments, allowing for gradual release.
• Restoring wetland ecosystems, which are true hydrological regulators.
• Reducing flood risks while supporting flow rates during low water periods.

Several practices are available:

• Renaturation of rivers, restoration of peat bogs, creation of flood expansion areas;
• De-sealing of surfaces, creation of green roofs, establishment of rain gardens in cities;
• Developing agroforestry, planting hedges and grass strips in agricultural areas.

These ‘soft’ strategies effectively complement conventional solutions, while generating benefits for biodiversity, soil quality and the living environment.

In order to develop credible adaptation strategies, reliable, localised projections are needed. This is the challenge addressed by the Explore2 and LIFE Water&Climate projects, in which OiEau is involved.

Explore2 offers detailed modelling of the impacts of climate change on 4,000 watersheds in France, as well as tools enabling local authorities and managers to visualise future changes in their territory.

The LIFE Water&Climate project aims to enable the integration of climate projections into planning documents (SAGE, PCAET, basin strategies) and to support stakeholders in implementing concrete adaptation measures.

These initiatives strengthen the capacity of territories to anticipate, plan and act.

Given the growing complexity of water and climate issues, skills development is essential for success.

Why is training essential?

Water managers must master new practices: nature-based solutions, integrated management, adaptive planning, climate resilience, etc.

Water and sanitation services face increasingly technical operational challenges.

Regions must have trained professionals who are able to anticipate risks and implement effective solutions.

For 40 years, OiEau has been supporting professionals (public and private operators, managers, elected officials, industrialists, institutional actors, water and health agencies, etc.) in the process of improving and acquiring knowledge and expertise for their teams, for efficient and sustainable management of small and large water cycles. Training engineers, technicians and decision-makers means giving regions the means to anticipate and respond to climate crises.

OiEau also plays a central role at the international level, through the International Network of Basin Organisations (INBO), for which it provides the Technical Secretariat, and its Bali Coalition, an initiative launched at the 2024 World Water Forum. This Coalition works to identify skills needs, structure the global training offer and promote the idea that training is a strategic investment, not a cost. It is accelerating the transformation of the water sector at the international level.

Climate adaptation cannot succeed without solidarity between regions and cooperation between stakeholders. This is why facilitating networks is one of OiEau's key drivers.

Thanks to these networks, it is possible to share feedback in real time betweenlocal authorities, researchers and consulting firms, operators and associations.

This promotes the joint development of regional projects, particularly at the watershed level, including cross-border projects, as well as the dissemination of nature-based solutions, decision-making tools and feedback from the field.

Webinars, online platforms and exchanges of practices contribute to the development of local actors' skills.

By facilitating these networks, OiEau strengthens the coherence of water policies and facilitates the large-scale dissemination of the most effective solutions.

It is an essential driver of collective resilience.

To adapt to the effects of climate change, each region must rethink the way it manages water. This involves adopting new practices such as restoring natural environments, deploying green infrastructure, restoring permeability in cities, and modernising water services (combating network leaks, using sensors for continuous monitoring, etc.).

To enable the optimal development of these solutions, it is essential to rely on training and stakeholder networks, and to integrate climate projections into planning.

Thanks to its expertise, projects, tools and role as a facilitator, OiEau is supporting this global transformation. Water is at the heart of our adaptation. Learning to manage it differently means preparing a more secure future for regions and their inhabitants.