COMSATS Stresses on Water Management & Strengthening of Related Institutes, Stakeholders

 Islamabad/Pakistan; 25 Oct 2020 – Social parameters, policy making/implementation, necessary legislation, knowledge-management for evidence-based policy making, and multi-stakeholder/sectored approaches to water governance constituted the core of the deliberations of an international webinar of the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS).

Experts from Ghana, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, and Turkey shared ideas, experiences, best practices and policy measures from the platform of the webinar on “Sustainable Water Governance in the Global South under Changing Climate” held by COMSATS Centre for Climate and Sustainability (CCCS) in collaboration with Princess Sumaya bint Hassan led Royal Scientific Society of Jordan that is also COMSATS’ Centre of Excellence. The webinar’s discussions revolved around the overarching theme of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) – Clean Water and Sanitation.

Speakers of the international webinar included three from COMSATS Centres of Excellence in Ghana, Pakistan and Turkey, i.e., Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), respectively. Other experts belonged to International Water Management Institute (IMWI), Jordan; and Middle East Desalination Research Centre (MEDRC), Oman.

Moderated by Dr. Almoayied Assayed, Manager Climate Change Studies at RSS, Jordan, the event highlighted challenges to sustainable water governance in the speakers’ respective countries. Climate change and its secondary impacts were considered a major threat to natural ecosystems, as well as water, food and energy sectors, which necessitate reviewing existing policies and institutional frameworks.

The event recommendations stressed the need for: community-based water governance, water metering and accountability; strengthening public-private partnerships; prioritizing capacity-building of institutions and stakeholders; promoting development and integration of new technologies; and integrating research in the governance systems for finding innovation solutions.