The state of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) has launched a report on Water Management at the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 23) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn, Germany. The document is a compilation of the results the government has achieved after two years of participating in RegionsAdapt, an initiative designed to inspire and support regional governments to act, collaborate and report efforts on climate change adaptation. 

Coordinated by the Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development (nrg4SD), the RegionsAdapt initiative was launched during UNFCCC COP21 in Paris, when 27 regional governments committed to: adopt or review a strategic approach to climate adaptation within two years; take concrete actions in seven key priority areas; and annually report data on the progress of adaptation actions through the risk and adaptation section of CDP´s states and regions platform. 

Rio Grande do Sul is one of the founding members of the initiative, which includes almost 70 member participants today. Since the launch of RegionsAdapt, the state of Rio Grande do Sul has been playing an active role within the initiative and acting as one of the two coordinators of the Working Group on Water Resources and Management, which comprises 24 participants from all over the world. 

In the context of the Water Resources and Management Working Group, Rio Grande do Sul has shared with fellow participants an Extreme Events Management Program, which is being developed in its Environment Secretariat and encompasses 7 Projects:
• Monitoring and hydrometeorological modeling
• Expansion of the hydrometeorological gauge network
• Situation room • Disaster Risk Management Program
• Building of a state meteorological radar network
• Incorporation of the concept of building resilience to climate change in Watershed Management Plans • Establishing of criteria and indexes for climate change adaptation 

The state of Rio Grande do Sul participated in two events at COP23, showcasing the state’s experience after these two years of RegionsAdapt activities. “It´s time for action and we should not hesitate to take ambitious steps towards a more sustainable future. As governments, we should support the less favored and those who are suffering more severely the impacts of climate change. Rio Grande do Sul is engaged in climate adaptation and action. We want to share our experiences and we are also eager to learn from other regions’ experiences,” says Ana Maria Pellini, Secretary for the Environment and Sustainable Development of Rio Grande do Sul. 

ENDS

Media contact
Thais Ferraz, Communications Officer, nrg4SD
M: +34 633 235 432
tferraz@nrg4sd.org

About nrg4SD 

The Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development (nrg4SD) was established in 2002, and currently has over 50 members from 30 countries in four continents. The Network acts in three main fields: sustainable development, biodiversity and climate change; and has two main working lines: on the one hand, it seeks to convey a common voice of regional governments at a global level, especially following the UN agendas on these three thematic areas; on the other hand, it promotes cooperation among regional governments from across the world to ensure the engagement and implementation of these agendas, fostering the exchange of information, knowhow and best practices. In the field of Sustainable Development, nrg4SD acts as the Organizing Partner of the Local Authorities Major Group, and contributed to the whole intergovernmental process, bringing the perspective of subnational government. Since the approval of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, nrg4SD works with members to support the subnational implementation of the SDGs, and to encourage their engagement in national processes of implementation, follow-up and review. 

For more information: nrg4sd.org | @nrg4SD | #RegionsAdapt