Water at the Centre: Strengthening Climate Policy through Cross-Sector Integration

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As climate change places growing pressure on water resources worldwide, integrating water into climate policies is increasingly important for strengthening resilience and advancing effective climate adaptation. Yet, water governance and climate policy often remain fragmented across sectors and institutions, limiting opportunities for coordinated action.

IWRA’s latest Policy Brief, Water at the Centre: Strengthening Climate Policy through Cross-Sector Integration, calls for a more holistic approach to climate policy-making, recognising water’s central role in building climate-resilient ecosystems and societies.

The publication highlights three key priorities for policymakers:

• Integrate water into climate policies to strengthen adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction.
• Promote cross-sector collaboration and local innovation to build climate resilience.
• Strengthen international coordination to improve the management of transboundary water resources under climate stress.

Together, these recommendations offer practical directions for strengthening climate action at local, national and international levels.

Explore the recommendations and read the full Policy Brief here.

IWRA’s Policy Briefs

IWRA publishes two series of Policy Briefs: Blue and Green. Both series aim to provide high quality analysis and practical recommendations for policy makers on important development issues.

Water International Blue Policy Briefs are based on thematic special issues of IWRA’s journal and published with the support of Routledge Press.

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