While the devastating effects of these natural hazards to lives and livelihoods is at the forefront, a less spoken about impact is the region’s ability to maintain a consistent water supply. The higher variability of the climate has led to significant changes in weather patterns leading to increased occurrence of droughts and shifts in the timing of wet and dry seasons. These changing weather patterns, paired with poor land-use management has resulted in the change or loss of habitats and ecosystems. Some permanent streams and freshwater ponds are disappearing, as are the ecosystems that depend on them. In some instances, fresh water is dependent upon desalinization. In the past, the natural habitat supported a secure and safe supply of fresh water. Currently in the region, access to reliable water sources is becoming increasingly challenging. This World Water Day, the UN is focussing on positive ways to use and manage water. Rainwater capture and storage for domestic and agricultural use is a nature-positive way to address the issue, and when combined with ecosystem restoration it can have biodiversity co-benefits. Using this method, in the UNDP Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean will be working with with vulnerable communities in the islands of Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to increase access to secure, nature-friendly water supplies and to enhance ecosystem conservation for improved water resources management, both in communities and at the governance level. And while this sub-regional project, supported by the Government of Canada, will provide high level technical assistance and capacity development to national stakeholders, there are small ways that each and every person can take action in their own lives to conserve and manage water. Barbados also relies on rainwater to replenish its ground water supply, and as one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, Barbados also experiences the impacts in irregular water supply. While we cannot change the climate, we can adjust our behaviour to conserve water and promote better water management practices. The global campaign, “Be the change”, encourages people to take action in own lives to change the way we all use, consume and manage water.   The campaign is inspired by the hummingbird from an ancient story which originated with the Quechua people in Peru. In the story, the forest has caught on fire and the little hummingbird flies back and forth from the lake bring water in an attempt to extinguish the flames. The other animals laugh at the hummingbird stating that she will never be able to stop the fire, to which she responds, “I am doing what I can.” So what can we do? As individuals, we may not be able to make a giant impact alone, but if we do what little we can, our collective efforts can effect change. This World Water Day is about accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis. Water affects us all, and taking inspiration from the hummingbird in the story, we can all take action to be the change we need. For more information on World Water Day and how you can make small changes to help visit https://www.unwater.org/bethechange. For more information on how UNDP is working to promote water resilience in the Caribbean visit www.undp.org/Barbados.

New York, 21 March 2023 - A global initiative to ensure that everyone on Earth is protected by early warnings by 2027 is being fast-tracked into action on the ground. A recent record-breaking tropical cyclone in Southeast Africa once again shows the paramount importance of these services to save lives and livelihoods from increasingly extreme weather and climate events. To aid this work, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has convened an Advisory Panel of leaders of UN agencies, multilateral development banks, humanitarian organizations, civil society, insurance and IT companies on 21 March. The aim is to inject more political, technological and financial clout to ensure that Early Warnings for All becomes a reality for everyone, everywhere. The months ahead will see stepped up coordinated action, initially in 30 particularly at-risk countries, including Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries. Additional countries are expected to be added as this vital work with partners gathers pace, scale and resourcing.  At the same time, the UN’s existing actions and initiatives to save lives and livelihoods, and build resilience across a wide range of other countries will continue and be reinforced, ensuring the Early Warnings for All campaign turns its pledges into life-saving reality on the ground for millions of the most vulnerable people. The aim is not to re-invent the wheel, but rather promote collaboration and synergies and to harness the power of mobile phones and mass communications. “Now it is time for us to deliver results. Millions of lives are hanging in the balance, It is unacceptable that the countries and peoples that have contributed the least to creating the crisis are paying the heaviest prices,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “People in Africa, South Asia, South and Central America, and small island states are 15 times more likely to die from climate disasters. These deaths are preventable. The evidence is clear: early warning systems are one of the most effective risk reduction and climate adaptation measures to reduce disaster mortality and economic losses,” said Mr Guterres. The need is urgent. In the past 50 years, the number of recorded disasters has increased by a factor of five, driven in part by human-induced climate change which is super-charging our weather. This trend is expected to continue. If no action is taken, the number of medium- or large-scale disaster events is projected to reach 560 a year – or 1.5 each day – by 2030. The occurrence of severe weather and the effects of climate change will increase the difficulty, uncertainty, and complexity of emergency response efforts worldwide. Preventable deaths Half of countries globally do not have adequate early warning systems and even fewer have regulatory frameworks to link early warnings to emergency plans.   “The unprecedented flooding in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar from Tropical Cyclone Freddy highlights once again that our weather and precipitation is becoming more extreme and that water-related hazards are on the rise,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas. “The worst affected areas have received months’ worth of rainfall in a matter of days and the socio-economic impacts are catastrophic.” “Accurate early warnings combined with coordinated disaster management on the ground prevented the casualty toll from rising even higher. But we can do even better and that is why the Early Warnings for All initiative is the top priority for WMO. Besides avoiding damages the weather, climate and hydrological services are economically beneficial for agriculture, air, marine and ground transportation, energy, health, tourism and various businesses,” he said. WMO and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) are spearheading the Early Warnings for All initiative, along with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). “The operationalization of this initiative is a clear example of how the UN System and partners can work together to save lives and protect livelihoods from disasters. Inclusive and multi-hazard early warning systems that close the ‘last mile’ are among the best risk reduction methods in the face of climate-related hazards and geophysical hazards such as tsunamis. Achieving this is not only a clear target in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction but a moral imperative as well,” said Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNDRR. Climate Change Adaptation Early warning systems are widely regarded as the “low-hanging fruit” for climate change adaptation because they are a relatively cheap and effective way of protecting people and assets from hazards, including storms, floods, heatwaves and tsunamis to name a few. Early Warning Systems provide more than a tenfold return on investment Just 24 hours’ notice of an impending hazardous event can cut the ensuing damage by 30 per cent. The Global Commission on Adaptation found that spending just US$800 million on such systems in developing countries would avoid losses of $3 to 16 billion per year. “When disaster strikes, people and communities can turn to technology as a lifeline,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. “By leading the work of the UN Early Warnings for All initiative on ‘Warning Dissemination and Communication,’ ITU is helping ensure that those at risk can act in time to our increasingly climate-vulnerable world.” Alerts can be sent via radio and television channels, by social media, and with sirens. ITU recommends an inclusive, people-centered approach using the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), a standardized data format for public warnings, to keep messages coherent across different channels. “Early warnings that translate into preparedness and response save lives. As climate-related disasters are becoming more frequent, more intense and more deadly, they are essential for everyone, but one in three people globally are still not covered. Early warning systems are the most effective and dignified way to prevent an extreme weather event from creating a humanitarian crisis - especially for the most vulnerable and remote communities who bear the brunt of it. No lives should be lost in a predictable disaster,” said IFRC Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain. Advisory Panel The Early Warnings for All initiative calls for initial new targeted investments between 2023 and 2027 of US$ 3.1 billion – a sum which would be dwarfed by the benefits. This is a small fraction (about 6 per cent) of the requested US$ 50 billion in adaptation financing. It would cover strengthening disaster risk knowledge, observations and forecasting, preparedness and response, and communication of early warnings. A range of new and pre-existing innovative financing solutions are required to implement the plan to protect every person on Earth. These include a scaling up of the Climate Risk Early Warning Systems (CREWS) Initiative, the Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF), and accelerated investment programmes of climate funds, such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Adaptation Fund, and key Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), as well as other innovative new financial instruments across all stakeholders of the early warning value chain. The Advisory Panel meeting will consider advancing the four key Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) pillars:     Disaster risk knowledge and management (US$374 million) : aims to collect data and undertake risk assessments to increase knowledge on hazards and vulnerabilities and trends. Led by UNDRR with support from WMO . Detection, observations, monitoring, analysis and forecasting of hazards (US$1.18 billion). Develop hazard monitoring and early warning services. Led by WMO, with support from UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Dissemination and communication (US$ 550 million). Communicate risk information so it reaches all those who need it, and is understandable and usable. Led by ITU, with support from IFRC, UNDP, and WMO. Preparedness and response ($1 billion) : Build national and community response capabilities.  Led by IFRC, with support from Risk Informed Early Action Partnership (REAP), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and World Food Programme (WFP).   Notes for Editors : Background to the initiative The Early Warnings For All Initiative (EW4All) was formally launched by the UN Secretary-General in November 2022 at the COP27 meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh. The Initiative calls for the whole world to be covered by an early warning system by the end of 2027. Early Warnings for All is co-led by WMO and UNDRR and supported by pillar leads ITU and IFRC. Implementing partners are: FAO, OCHA, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, REAP, and WFP. The Advisory Panel will monitor and report on the progress against the achievement of the goal to the UN Secretary-General, and has the following objectives: (1) Assess progress of the Early Warnings for All initiative against its goals and targets (2) Build political and overall momentum and support for the Early Warnings for All initiative (3) Provide overall recommendations for the mobilization of resources, and  (4) Monitor scientific and technical development related to early warning systems Initial countries. The UN Secretary-General has sent a letter to heads of state and government of an initial group of countries to receive coordinated and targeted support. This list will be expanded in the future and UN support for other countries will continue in the meantime. Asia and Pacific: Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Lao (People’s Democratic Republic), Cambodia 
Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands,  Fiji, Tonga
Africa: Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, Chad, Comoros, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, South Sudan, Uganda 
Latin Americ and Caribbean: Guyana, Haiti, Barbados, Antigua Barbuda, Guatemala, Ecuador
Central Asia: Tajikistan Membership of Advisory Panel Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction Jagan Chapagain, IFRC Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU Secretary-General Implementing Partners: UN Development Programme UN Environment Programme UN Women Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (OHRLLS UN Development Coordination Office (UNDCO) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Executive Office of the Secretary-General Green Climate Fund Microsoft GSMA Insurance Development Forum Climate Action Network  SG’s Youth Advisory Group African Development Bank COP 27 Presidency COP 28 Presidency

The Caribbean has been hit by increasingly severe weather events caused by climate change, while also being seismically active and volcanic. Representatives will identify best practices to address cross border movements and work on protocols for cross-border evacuations of people affected by disasters in the OECS. The protocols will help guide governments in strategically building resilience, recognizing the conditions that threaten the survival, livelihood, and dignity of their citizens, particularly the most vulnerable, when they are forced to move. The OECS' goal is to plan for the possibility of cross-border evacuations while ensuring more effective outcomes for the affected people. The human security approach goes beyond immediate responses and is prevention-oriented, analyzing the underlying causes of complex challenges and developing solutions that protect and empower the most vulnerable community members. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is set to host the workshop, in partnership with the donor, the UN Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS). Other contributing stakeholders include the UN Resident Coordinator Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Platform for Disaster Displacement (PDD) and the OECS Commission.  As the region braces itself for the future effects of climate change, this workshop represents a crucial step towards safeguarding the well-being of the Eastern Caribbean's communities. The OECS' innovative and collaborative approach to addressing climate-induced displacement and environmental migration will be closely watched by experts and policymakers across the globe. For information on the work of the IOM and its work in the Eastern Caribbean, call, text or WhatsApp (767) 275-3225 or malleyne@iom.int

NEW YORK, 16 March 2023 — UN Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the seven young climate leaders who will form his next Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change and called on young people everywhere to ratchet up the pressure, acknowledging their vital role keeping the world’s climate goals alive. The announcement comes as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meets in Switzerland to finalize its landmark Synthesis Report, the first since the Paris Agreement was struck in 2015. The report is expected to confirm that the world is dramatically off-track in its climate efforts but can still keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius with deep and urgent emissions cuts in all sectors. “Climate change is the fight of our lives – and young people have been on the frontlines leading the charge for climate justice. The unrelenting conviction of young people is central to keeping climate goals within reach, kicking the world’s addiction to fossil fuels, and delivering climate justice,” said the Secretary-General. “Today, I am proud to announce the seven young leaders who will form my next Youth Advisory Group, working side-by-side with young climate activists and experts around the world. I thank my inaugural Youth Advisory Group for their tireless work throughout their two-year term to bring youth perspectives directly to me.” “I urge young climate advocates everywhere to keep raising your voices. I am honoured to stand with young people around the world for bolder climate action.” The seven members of the new Youth Advisory Group are: Ayisha Siddiqa (United States) is a Pakistani- American human rights and tribal land defender. She is the Co-founder of Polluters Out and Fossil Free University. Her work focuses on uplifting the rights of marginalized communities while holding polluting companies accountable at the international level. She is currently a research scholar at NYU School of Law, university working to bridge the environmental and human rights sector with the youth climate movement. Ayisha was recently named a Time magazine Woman of the Year. Beniamin Strzelecki (Poland) is a climate action and energy transition advocate. He coordinated a global network of youth-led energy organizations and worked with intergovernmental entities, including the International Renewable Energy Agency, Sustainable Energy for All, and the UN Industrial Development Organization to create opportunities for young people in the energy transition field. As a researcher, Beniamin worked on the economics of renewable power generation deployment at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the German Institute for Economic Research. He currently co-chairs the Student Energy Summit 2023 and continues his studies at New York University Abu Dhabi. Fatou Jeng (The Gambia) is dedicated to grassroots, national, and international mobilization as a climate educator, frontline activist, and campaigner. Fatou founded Clean Earth Gambia in 2017, a youth-led, local climate organization that has mobilized thousands of Gambian young people to help marginalized and vulnerable communities build resilience to climate change. She has served as Co-lead for the YOUNGO women and gender working group and is also a member of the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC) where she supports the implementation of the network’s projects. Fatou holds a Master's degree in Environment, Development, and Policy from the University of Sussex. She is also a gender climate negotiator for The Gambia to the UNFCCC and was recognized as TOP 100 Young African Conservation Leader by WWF in 2022 Jevanic Henry (Saint Lucia) is a climate and development professional and advocate. He previously served as Climate Change Special Envoy for the Caribbean Youth Environment Network and was a United Nations Foundation’s Next Generation Fellow. Jevanic worked as a Foreign Service Officer with the Government of Saint Lucia, as well as with the climate change unit of the Commonwealth Secretariat and co-authored a practical guide on enhancing access to climate finance. He is currently an Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Fellow, assigned to the Permanent Mission of Saint Lucia to the United Nations in New York. Josefa Tauli (Philippines) is an Ibaloi-Kankanaey Igorot indigenous youth activist. She is Policy Co-coordinator of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN), which serves as the youth constituency to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). An advocate for meaningful youth participation, human rights, and Indigenous Peoples’ rights and knowledge, she has coordinated the engagement of youth delegations to more than 10 rounds of CBD negotiations during the development of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. She is also the Advocacy Officer of Partners for Indigenous Knowledge Philippines (PIKP), a learning network of 3 organizations and individuals with initiatives on promoting and strengthening Indigenous knowledge. Joice Mendez (Colombia/Paraguay) is a migrant, social entrepreneur, and climate advocate focused on the nexus of water, food and energy justice. Joice co-founded several local and regional youth organizations, including the Moema Viezzer Environmental Education Observatory, the Latin American Observatory of Geopolitics of Energy, and the binational Youth Collective of the Parana Basin 3 from the Cultivating Good Water Initiative– a recipient of the UN-Water Best Practice Award in 2015. Joice has also supported Paraguay's National Conference of Youth since 2016 and the National Forum of Water and Youth, and continues to be active in YOUNGO, the Climate Reality Project América Latina, SDG7 Youth Constituency, and the Youth Adaptation Network of the Global Center on Adaptation. Saoirse Exton (Ireland) is a climate justice activist with Fridays for Future. As a proud Gaeilgeoir (Irish-language speaker), Saoirse believes that the wealth of knowledge held in traditional languages and storytelling can re-establish the vital concept of Earth as sacred within capitalism imposed mindsets. In 2021, she was one of 100 inaugural winners of the Rise, an initiative of Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust, for her work researching and rewriting Irish mythology from different perspectives, including bringing women and queer characters to the foreground. “The climate crisis is the culmination of centuries of exploitative and extractivist policy and attitudes. It is vital that we, as young people, are brought into the fray of decision-making on climate change so that we may continue to represent our generation in protecting our planet,” said Saoirse Exton. “Young people, Indigenous peoples are hungry for social-ecological justice. I hope this opportunity to be here creates change for our communities on the frontline who are impacted the most by climate change and biodiversity loss, yet continually show us the path toward the transformation in governance and values that we urgently need,” said Josefa Tauli. "We are facing a climate emergency that is affecting the most vulnerable people, particularly women and girls. With 7 years of climate experience, my goal is to champion climate adaptation and encourage world leaders to prioritize climate justice in their actions,” said Fatou Jeng. “Coming from a small island developing state, the climate crisis continues to be relentless in negatively impacting lives and livelihoods. Our survival is now dependent on a global community which is unified in urgently advancing the climate agenda, with the power of young people being a catalyst to drive this much needed accelerated action,” said Jevanic Henry. "Rapid and ambitious decarbonization of the energy sector is the backbone of meeting the climate goals and I hope that as a member of the Youth Advisory Group I will be able to bring the attention of the Secretary-General and other global leaders to priorities that we have been emphasizing as young people in the energy transition movement, ranging from access to finance to capacity building, to creation of opportunities for young professionals," said Beniamin Strzelecki. “As an organizer and youth activist, I have been working towards pushing the intergovernmental space further on climate ambition. It is a great honor to continue doing this work as an advisor to the Secretary-General,” said Ayisha Siddiqa. “I'm very thrilled to join the Secretary General in his efforts to deliver climate justice through effective loss and damage schemes, supporting access to finance to youth, and fostering energy justice frameworks for the global energy transition. As a migrant youth, I understand climate change doesn't have borders, and that we need to learn to act within the logic of nature,” said Joice Mendez The members of the Youth Advisory Group are drawn from all regions as well as small island states, and bring a wide diversity of experiences, backgrounds, and areas of climate expertise. They were short-listed and selected from a large pool of candidates nominated by respected youth and climate organization from around the world, following the same process used for selection of the inaugural Youth Advisory Group (2020 to 2022). "The youth climate movement is not only demanding climate action, but they are also leading the charge towards a more sustainable future. Through their tireless activism, young climate leaders have successfully raised awareness about the urgent need to address the climate crisis while also calling on governments and corporations to take more ambitious action. The Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change offers one important channel here at the UN through which we can work closely with young people as part of our decision-making on climate action, channeling their passion, determination and willingness to speak truth to power to help get the world back on track to achieving the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and delivering on a better future that is equitable, just, and sustainable for all,” said Jayathma Wickramanayake, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth.  The members of the Youth Advisory Group will consult widely, and work collaboratively and inclusively with youth climate movements and leaders around the world, to bring youth perspectives and solutions directly to the Secretary-General, and to major climate moments and decision-making fora. Today’s announcement is part of the UN’s actions to implement the recommendations in Our Common Agenda and take the UN’s youth engagement to the next level in terms of diversity, inclusiveness, empowerment, and impact. More information on the inaugural Youth Advisory Group – which served from 2020 to 2022 – as well as the nomination criteria is here. Media Contact: matthew.coghlan@un.org