How is water linked to the mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Megacities as socio-ecological systems particularly at risk? How is water management conducted among different sectors in an area of high population density? These were among the key questions addressed by the Webinar on the “COVID-19 Implication on Water Management in Megacities: Impacts, Reactions and Lessons”, organized by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP) organized on 23 July 2020. It brought together 22 panelists from Beijing, Cairo, Guangzhou, Istanbul, Jakarta, Karachi, Lagos, Lima, Mexico City, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Tehran and Wuhan, joined live by over 400 participants.
Each geographical area is vulnerable to the pandemic and its many-fold impact on public health, economy, education, urban livelihood amenities, services and other aspects of our daily lives, in all countries and territories. However, megacities, urban spaces where more than 10 million people commute, live, and work daily, are by nature among the socio-ecological systems at higher risk. They also tend to concentrate economic and financial centres, and are often essential for a country’s economy.
The pandemic will force us into planning for improved urban water resilience, which will really need to look beyond the boundaries of a city and a megacity, and to consider the long-term impacts of urban expansion and on water security
The webinar’s two panel discussions brought up various issues and practices during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Full videos of the panels are available below.
Immediate actions to meet the urgent water demand in low-income communities and informal settlements can be observed in many cities. For example, in Jakarta (Indonesia), water kiosks and hand washing stations were equipped for communities without access to piped water; Lima (Peru) has managed to cover 0.8 million affected people through trucks to avoid service disruption.
While the massive restrictions on the industrial and commercial sectors has led to significant decrease in water related revenues, for instance in Cairo (Egypt) and Mexico City, as part of the financial solution, some municipal governments, such as in Karachi (Pakistan), supported 60% of the water utility’s operational costs.
Among the scientific and technical responses introduced were, for instance, specific disinfection and monitoring processes in water supply and wastewater treatment plants in Istanbul (Turkey) and Wuhan (China). The webinar highlighted the importance of scientifically sound responses to the pandemic.
After the two panel discussions, Mr. Amani, Director of UNESCO’s Division of Water Sciences a.i. and Secretary of IHP, highlighted that cooperation is the key to facing the challenges of the pandemic and other scenarios in megacities recovering from COVID-19 as they come forward into the “new normal”. Therefore, megacities’ multiple actors should be in constant communication and collaboration.
There is definitely a lot to learn from other cities, from the experiences at different local sites to the similarities from a global overview. Lima, Lagos, Istanbul, Mexico City, among other megacities, maintain a dialogue together with UNESCO-IHP via a knowledge exchange platform, the Megacities Alliance for Water and Climate (MAWAC).
“Think global, act local” could be a key-point to face this kind of situation. This crisis, despite its devastating effects on well-being and lifestyle, has brought a sense of community. As citizens of the world, we face a common global challenge to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the consequences of the pandemic. This shall serve as a stepping-stone to design effective strategies and strengthen the resilience of megacities in such vulnerable conditions.
More information:
Videos
First panel
This video is also available in Chinese
Second panel
This video is also available in Spanish