The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the International Centre for Water Security and Sustainable Management (i-WSSM), under the auspices of UNESCO, was pleased to invite researchers, scientific communities, and practitioners from international organisations, government agencies, non-profit institutions, and the private sector to submit proposals for the next issue of the Global Water Security Issues (GWSI) Series, which focusses on biodiversity protection and water security. The ‘Global Water Security Issues (GWSI) Series’ is co-published by UNESCO Headquarters and UNESCO i-WSSM, with assistance from the International Water Resources Association (IWRA), on an annual basis.
‘Water Security’ has increasingly become a priority at the national and global levels, as water resources are under growing pressures from global changes. The 9th phase of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), implemented between 2022 and 2029 as part of the eight-year Medium-term Strategy of UNESCO (2022-2029), is dedicated to the overall theme of “Science for a water secure world in a changing environment”. Securing water for people and ecosystems is essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Although
water security has received greater consideration as a concept in research and discussions over the past decade, there are a variety of topics related to water security that have not yet been extensively researched. As such, there is an urgent need to conduct research into emerging and future global issues that are related to water security within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals and to disseminate the research results for putting water security concepts into practice.
The GWSI Issue 6 will focus on the theme Biodiversity Protection and Water Security. The Issue 6 proponents of the GWSI Series invite researchers and practitioners making decisions on water security to submit contribution proposals on policies, technologies, economic and legal instruments, and social/ community-based approaches designed to prevent, mitigate and restore the negative effects of water security measures on aquatic biodiversity. Contributions on the co-benefits of measures to protect aquatic biodiversity are also invited. The intended focus is on contributions that provide practical and applied policy and technological solutions, tools, methods, and approaches, as opposed to theoretical, hypothetical, or purely academic contributions. Contributions may address a range of topics in the areas of governance, planning, infrastructure, knowledge management, stakeholder involvement, and human capacity building, while providing insights on how to successfully implement, monitor and/or assess the initiatives. Please see the Proposal Template for potential sub-themes
Objectives of the Issue
Content of the Proposal
The specific objectives of this issue of the publication include:
- To collect and disseminate research and the experience of practitioners/ decision-makers on practical applications and best practices to protect biodiversity while achieving water security objectives.
- To strengthen cooperation among researchers engaged in the water sector
- To encourage and enhance research on water security-related issues, in particular aquatic biodiversity protection
- To build the global knowledge base on water security and biodiversity protection, bringing together diverse regional and national perspectives
- To identify solutions for improving global water security-related issues, and
- To contribute to achieving water security in concert with biodiversity protection in the long-term.
Contributing chapters should include:
- Background information for an informed but non-expert reader
- Definition of key terms
- Key questions addressed and scope of the paper
- Methodology
- Case Study synopsis
- Discussion, including the impacts and risks identified by your research
- Policy implications and, as appropriate for the paper, recommendations or next steps
- Figures, drawings and photographs suitable for publication.
The application form must be sent no later than May 12th via email to Mary Trudeau at m.trudeau@iwra.org. Click here to download the application form and learn more about the Global Water Security Issue, and the details of the call.
Thank you for submitting your proposals!
