Mission East is participating in World Water Week in Stockholm – of course. Because we supply clean drinking water to vulnerable populations in e.g. Afghanistan and Tajikistan, where climate change is causing droughts and sudden floods. Here, the solution is to irrigate fields and run pipes from sources straight into the villages.
– The climate crisis is a water crisis, says Mission East’s international director Peter Drummond-Smith, who is attending the conference together with director of water supply and disaster prevention, Kamran Wadood.
– As the climate changes, we need to ensure that people have enough water to drink, that they use water resources optimally in fields and in kitchen gardens, and that they are well prepared when they are hit by sudden floods or extreme drought, says Peter Drummond-Smith.
Local populations should be better prepared
As always, Mission East focuses on vulnerable population groups such as the elderly, single parents and people with disabilities. But climate preparedness is not an exact science, and therefore there is always room for improvement.
– We must become even better at equipping the local population so that they are better prepared for severe weather changes. And then we have to expand warning systems so that they can react in time, adds Peter Drummond-Smith.
In Nepal, Mission East has many years of experience using radio to warn populations of snow and landslides in the Himalayas.
But it is worth its weight in gold to learn from skilled presenters and other NGOs at World Water Week. Not least because access to water – or the lack of it – is often the cause of conflict in countries that are severely affected by climate change.
That is why it is also the theme of World Water Week: “Build bridges across borders: Water for a peaceful and sustainable future”.
