The latest report from CWP’s Research & Engagement team is At Water’s Edge: Transformative Local Action for Flood Response and Climate Adaptation, which emerged from a series of convenings with scholars, policymakers, private sector leaders, government practitioners and activists from around the world to discuss strategies for more inclusive, equitable, and effective water governance. It highlights instances of water management challenges faced by communities in New Zealand, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Mexico and New Orleans and emphasizes locally-borne solutions that center community participation in governance processes.
“As climate change exacerbates flooding and water access problems for communities across the globe, we must learn from one another about the most effective water governance approaches,” said Ira Katznelson, Deputy Director for Research & Engagement at CWP and Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History at Columbia University. “Columbia World Projects is pleased to advance the conversation through this report on our ‘At Water’s Edge’ convening with a cross-sector group working on sustainable and inclusive solutions to this pressing problem.”
The report brings attention to collaboration across governments, communities, and practitioner groups as well as additional and urgently needed ways of strengthening meaningful engagement with underserved communities. In the process, participants collectively identified and imagined successful approaches to advancing equity and inclusion, including knowledge sharing, community empowerment, and fostering stakeholder collaborations.