The annual 26th annual United Nations’ Conference of Parties (COP-26) in Glasgow, UK, has provided an opportunity for scholars, practitioners, activists, and policy-makers to gather together and catalyze new or dormant actions towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and University of Vermont researchers are there on the ground revolutionizing collaborations towards the sixth Sustainable Development Goal, among others, toward fresh water and sanitization.
Dr. Asim Zia, director of the UVM Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security (IEDS) and professor in the Dept. of Community Development and Applied Economics, traveled to Glasgow to lead the UVM delegation of the Transboundary Water In-Cooperation Network (TWIN) at COP-26. TWIN is a network of networks with a mission to secure clean fresh water resources in transboundary water basins. At COP-26, IEDS in partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA) at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont, are acting as representatives of TWIN. Together, they have organized three events to promote cooperation and peacebuilding across these conflict-ridden transboundary watersheds: the Indus, Amazon, Jordan, Mekong, and Congo river basins. All water is transboundary, so these remain a starting point for achieving Sustainable Development Goal #6.
These actions entail engaging a diverse spectrum of actors, including scientists, community organizations, and activists focused on securing clean water in these basins. Such opportunities explored by TWIN provide powerful avenues toward collective action, community resilience, and conflict resolution.
Upcoming Event – Wednesday, November 10
Securing Clean Water in Transboundary Indus, Jordan, Mekong and Amazon basins through Science and Environmental Diplomacy
Join TWIN on Wednesday, November 10 for a 3-hour moderated panel discussion streaming live from Glasgow from 2-5pm UK time (GMT). Included will be two keynote talks from in-person participants and an online international panel of scientists, civil society, and private sector representatives from the focal Indus, Mekong, Jordan, and Amazon river basins. See event details and tune in below:
Zoom event link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84677205170?pwd=WkZpdEtiZUsvQXBvZVEzWUxlUGdXQT09
Meeting ID: 846 7720 5170
Passcode: 111111
Watch TWIN’s earlier events during the COP26 meetings: