he UN climate negotiations in Cancún,Mexico, will be an opportunity to take asober look at the state of the world'sclimate and our collective capacity torespond to the changes which are already visible:more extreme weather events, floods, droughts,glacier melting, polar ice caps shrinking, and sealevels rising. The increasing frequency of climaterelated disasters is challenging communities andnations around the world to adapt and become betterprepared - to save lives, protect property, andprovide adequate information to people on the risksthey face.Many of these changes are related to water in itssolid, liquid or vapour form. Simply put, risingglobal temperatures are speeding up the watercycle. Water previously locked up as ice is released.Surface water in rivers, lakes and oceans (and in thesoil) evaporates faster. Rainfall becomes moreintense and harder to predict, as seasonal norms no longer hold and weather records are being broken everywhere.Few countries are untouched by the changes.However, for every Northern country rejoicing in its newfound ability to grow grapes and make wine locally because average temperatures haverisen, there are several others in warmer parts where the economy is severely and negativelyaffected - either through an extreme event (suchas recent floods in Pakistan, when 20 percent of the country found itself under water for the first time) or simply through increasinglydebilitating water scarcity. There is a growing need worldwide to strengthen our understanding ofthe changes taking place, and especially tostrengthen the predictive capacity of the mostMANAGING WATER FOR GREEN GROWTH: SUPPORTING CLIMATEADAPTATION & BUILDING CLIMATE RESILIENCE126SUSTAINABLE WATERTDR ANIA GROBICKI, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, GLOBAL WATER PARTNERSHIP (GWP)?

SUSTAINABLE WATER127