On 1 July, the International Office for Water (IOW) presented a critical inventory of mountain water sources. The review precedes the 3rd International Congress on Water in Mountains, to be held in Mégève, Switzerland on 22 - 24 September 2010, to counter the impacts of climate change on mountain water sources.

The IOW report presents a number of alarming findings. According to Jean-François Donzier, Director General of the IOW, the most serious consequences of global warming in the mountains will be visible by 2040, but "the phenomenon has already started". Within a century, the average temperature of the Alps has increased by 1.5 to 2°C, which is much higher than the global level (where the increase ranges between 0.7 and 0.8°C) or elsewhere in Europe (+1.2°C). Worldwide, over the last three decades glaciers have lost 20-30% of their volume, and the trend is liable to speed up with an additional loss of 70% expected by 2080.

Yet mountain water sources play a vital role in our supply, since all the major European rivers rise in them. Mountain water, for example, represents 34% of the total annual flow of the Rhine, 41% of the Rhone, and 53% of the Po (Italy). "If the tap of mountain water were to run dry, the result would be catastrophic for the plains in times of drought," warns Jean-François Donzier. "To tackle climate change, a new form of water governance is needed now," he adds.

The findings of the IOW report will serve as a basis for the International Congress on Water in Mountains in September, organized by the IOW and the International Network of Basin Organizations. Four key themes will be addressed at the congress:

  • concrete practices for integrated water resource management in mountains
  • European cooperation
  • the role of mountain regions in relation to climate change
  • adaptation to climate change in order to implement the European Framework Directive on Water.

The objective is to set up a coordinated system at the European level capable of achieving the objectives set for 2027.
 

 

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