Water, Megacities and Climate Change

Since 2011 and for the first time in its history, the world population as a whole is now mainly concentrated in urban centres. The number of megacities, as cities of over 10 million residents are called, is multiplying rapidly. By 2030, over a billion people will live in just a hundred or so very large cities and 60 % of the World population will live in urban areas. Achieving water security for resident of these megacities is a major challenge will only become more challenging in the face of climate change, making their population even more vulnerable.

UNESCO and ARCEAU Île-de-France organized an international conference on water, megacities and climate change on 1-4 December 2015 at UNESCO Headquarters, in conjunction with the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21).

The following panelists answered our questions (from left to right):
Cynthia Rosenzweig, Co-Director of the Urban Climate Change Research Network.
Mr Arjun Thapan, President of Water Links.
Mr J. M. Phatak, Municipal Commissioner of Greater Mumbai.
Ms Blanca Elena Jiménez-Cisneros, Director of the Division of Water Sciences and Secretary of the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) of UNESCO.
Ms Cathy Oke, Councillor of the City of Melbourne, Australia; and member of the Global Executive Committee of Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI)