29.01.2018
New publication offers insight on the ability of cities to cope with water challenges
The KWR Watercycle Research Institute has just published a paper addressing the importance of municipal governance in tackling water-related issues. “Whether it’s a lack of freshwater, rising sea levels or extreme weather events, climate change is exacerbating the challenges cities face when it comes to water,” stresses Wolfgang Hofstetter, coordinator of the POWER initiative on water at the Climate Alliance city network. The report uses the City of Amsterdam as a case study to illustrate the usefulness of a tool called “City Blueprint” in diagnosing a municipality’s governance capacity. It shows how a city can use the tool to understand where best to focus water governance efforts. The tool’s developer, the KWR Watercycle Research Institute, previously published a study on the use of the tool to understand water challenges in six US cities. Climate Alliance is working with the Institute and municipalities across Europe on the EU-funded POWER project to strengthen social responses to global water issues on the local level.
Further information
- Assessing governance capacity to address water challenges in cities
- The City Blueprint Approach: Urban Water Management and Governance in Cities in the U.S.
- The POWER project on municipal water challenges
