W4CCMH - Water for Climate Change Mental Health - Integrating inclusive water strategies in climate services
United Nations University - MERIT (UNU-MERIT)
(
United Nations / Multilateral body
)
#SDGAction51888
Description
Objectives: Water insecurities and water-related disasters can impact mental health through direct and indirect impacts. Possible mental health and psychosocial outcomes are extensive (WHO, 2022). The existing mechanisms to support the impacts of water-related climate risks on mental health by government and non-government agencies are often disaggregated, and in many countries, specific action plans and initiatives to support affected households and communities are limited or absent (WHO, 2014). There is a visible gap in the coordination of effective practices to provide affected people with the required mental health and psychosocial services (MHPSS). As communities continue to cope with and respond to water-related climate risks and environmental degradation, we argue that water governance frameworks must be amplified to include these dimensions and support practitioners to build psychological resilience within communities and ourselves. Building on existing research from the United Nations University - Climate Resilience Initiative project (https://cri.merit.unu.edu/), our water action agenda will support a collective ‘call for action’ towards the aggregated knowledge and better understanding of robust evidence and ‘fit to propose’ solutions to address mental health implications of water insecurities and disaster events, and overall, boosting the water for climate resilience agenda. Implementation methodologies: Our agenda is threefold. Research (understanding , developing indicators), Capacity development (awareness building, climate literacy, training for service providers, educational materials, workshops / webinars, publications for practitioners), Policy (customised recommendation, multi-stakeholder consultations). The engagements will be based on the following activities: Enhancing the understanding of the interlinkages of climate change and climate change related disasters and mental health / psychological well-being, a) how they influence populations’ decision-makings such as family planning, mobility, consumption choices, pro-environmental behaviour, climate activities; b) vulnerability factors and inequalities (e.g., gender, age, intergenerational inequity, socioeconomic status) Multi-country comparative research on current status of a) existing support services that can acknowledge psychological and psychiatric needs, b) identifying multisectoral and community based approaches that enables reducing vulnerabilities and mental health impacts of climate risks Increasing climate literacy and awareness building: a) interlinkages of climate literacy and awareness and engagement to pro-environmental behavior, b) developing the tools or platforms for capacity development (climate communication, role of media, NGOs), b) how can we utilize the capacity to reduce the impacts of climate change on mental health? Identify unique advantages of youth and future generations that contribute to the vision of an inclusive climate resilient future: a) how can we empower the future generation to climate action, b) role of schools and climate education Collate the data and tools from the above, and develop policy recommendations and multi-stakeholder consultations towards integrated climate services to enable building mental health resilience for all Follow-up mechanisms: By developing tools and materials for capacity development based on the aggregated insights from the research, we will ensure that the actors who are involved will be informed, and will be able to gain follow-up sessions, access to published materials, and attend to multi-stakeholder consultations.
We aim to enhance understanding of the following elements by assessing gaps and needs in the existing support mechanisms through capturing reflections from different geographic regions across the world, voices from practices and youth and their capacities to integrate support services in water strategies to contribute in addressing SDG 3, 5, 6, and 13 in particular: Interlinkages of water insecurity and water related disasters, climate change and mental health and psychosocial well-being, with a focus on vulnerability factors and inequalities (e.g., gender, age, indigenous status, disability, socioeconomic status), and how support services can acknowledge psychosocial and psychiatric needs Environmental degradation in landscapes / waterscapes and biodiversity, and its impact on mental health; Emerging concepts of mental health outcomes such as climate change anxiety, eco-grief, solastalgia and how they relate to water insecurities Empowering and accelerating unique advantages of the youth and future generations could contribute to the vision of an inclusive climate resilient future Developing multisectoral and community based approaches to reduce vulnerabilities and mental health impacts of water insecurity and water related disasters; how we can build and implement smart water strategies in climate services to enable building mental health resilience for all
UN system: UNU-MERIT UNU-CRIS UNU-EHS UNU-IAS UNU-INWEH WHO - Climate Change and Health Unit UNICEF - Climate Change Consultant for Climate, Environment, Energy, and DRR UNESCO (tbc: Water and Gender Working Group ) UN-MGCY - DRR Member states: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Directorate for Energy and Climate Change, The Scottish Government Ministry of Sustainability, Innovation and the Environment, Government of Anguilla Ministry of Health, Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe Academic institution Glasgow Caledonian University, UK University of Florence, Italy (tbc) Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria Private sector: Bulgarian Association for Personalized Medicine (tbc) Cigna Healthcare (tbc) Civil society, NGOs: Associazione Italiana Ansia da Cambiamento Climatico Italian Institute for Planetary Health ICATALIST, Spain Green Hope Foundation, Canada (tbc)
UN Water Conference Virtual side event website
Video clip for the UN Water Conference virtual side event
Video clip for the COP 27 UN System Side event in Egypt, Nov 2022
United Nations University - Climate Resilience Initiative (CRI)
This research line is a part of the UNU-Climate Resilience Initiative (CRI) and showcases various insights from different geographic regions and practices to enhance the understanding of the interlinkages between climate change, mental health and psychosocial well-being by capturing reflections from different geographic regions and their capacities to integrate support services in climate response strategies.
UNU-MERIT institutional website
UNU-CRIS institutional website
Related publications:
World Water Development Report 2023, Chapter 6 Health (2023). World Water Development Report 2023
Sanae Okamoto and Nidhi Nagabhatla (2023). Climate Change’s Impact on Mental Health Is Overlooked and Misunderstood — Here’s What Can Be Done Our World, UNU
Sanae Okamoto, Nidhi Nagabhatla (2022). Climate change’s impact on mental health is overlooked and misunderstood – here’s what can be done, THE CONVERSATION
Sanae Okamoto, Nidhi Nagabhatla (2022). Especial | Como a COP27 repercutiu no mundo e sua influência nos rumos da ação climática (Interview in Portuguese), MEDIA TALKS
Nagabhatla, Werners, S.E., Bhandari, S., Okamoto, S., & Caucchi, S. (2022). Learning From European Floods 2021 Towards Resilience-Focused Recovery Pathways: Flood Risk Governance To Facilitate Climate-Resilient Pathways. Joint Publication REPORT: Climate Resilient Water Resources Management - Driving the Conversation Forward. Water and Climate Coalition (WCC) p.10-13.
Nidhi Nagabhatla, Sanae Okamoto, Sisir Bhandari (2021). The new normal of ‘climate grief’: why mental health must feature in adaptation and resilience planning, UNU-MERIT Blog
SDGS & Targets
Goal 3
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
3.1
3.1.1
Maternal mortality ratio
3.1.2
Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel
3.2
3.2.1
Under-five mortality rate
3.2.2
Neonatal mortality rate
3.3
By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases
3.3.1
Number of new HIV infections per 1,000 uninfected population, by sex, age and key populations
3.3.2
Tuberculosis incidence per 100,000 population
3.3.3
Malaria incidence per 1,000 population
3.3.4
Hepatitis B incidence per 100,000 population
3.3.5
Number of people requiring interventions against neglected tropical diseases
3.4
3.4.1
Mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory disease
3.4.2
Suicide mortality rate
3.5
Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol
3.5.1
Coverage of treatment interventions (pharmacological, psychosocial and rehabilitation and aftercare services) for substance use disorders
3.5.2
Alcohol per capita consumption (aged 15 years and older) within a calendar year in litres of pure alcohol
3.6
3.6.1
Death rate due to road traffic injuries
3.7
By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes
3.7.1
Proportion of women of reproductive age (aged 15-49 years) who have their need for family planning satisfied with modern methods
3.7.2
Adolescent birth rate (aged 10-14 years; aged 15-19 years) per 1,000 women in that age group
3.8
Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all
3.8.1
Coverage of essential health services
3.8.2
Proportion of population with large household expenditures on health as a share of total household expenditure or income
3.9
3.9.1
Mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution
3.9.2
Mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene (exposure to unsafe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All (WASH) services)
3.9.3
Mortality rate attributed to unintentional poisoning
3.a
3.a.1
Age-standardized prevalence of current tobacco use among persons aged 15 years and older
3.b
Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non-communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines, in accordance with the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, which affirms the right of developing countries to use to the full the provisions in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regarding flexibilities to protect public health, and, in particular, provide access to medicines for all
3.b.1
Proportion of the target population covered by all vaccines included in their national programme
3.b.2
3.b.3
Proportion of health facilities that have a core set of relevant essential medicines available and affordable on a sustainable basis
3.c
3.c.1
Health worker density and distribution
3.d
Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks
3.d.1
International Health Regulations (IHR) capacity and health emergency preparedness
3.d.2
Percentage of bloodstream infections due to selected antimicrobial-resistant organisms
Goal 5
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
5.1
End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
5.1.1
Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non‑discrimination on the basis of sex
5.2
5.2.1
Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age
5.2.2
Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence
5.3
5.3.1
Proportion of women aged 20-24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18
5.3.2
Proportion of girls and women aged 15-49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, by age
5.4
Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate
5.4.1
Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location
5.5
Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life
5.5.1
Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments
5.5.2
Proportion of women in managerial positions
5.6
Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences
5.6.1
Proportion of women aged 15-49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care
5.6.2
Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education
5.a
Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws
5.a.1
(a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure
5.a.2
Proportion of countries where the legal framework (including customary law) guarantees women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control
5.b
5.b.1
Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex
5.c
Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels
5.c.1
Proportion of countries with systems to track and make public allocations for gender equality and women’s empowerment
Goal 6
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
6.1
By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
6.1.1
Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services
6.2
By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations
6.2.1
Proportion of population using (a) safely managed sanitation services and (b) a hand-washing facility with soap and water
6.3
By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
6.3.1
Proportion of domestic and industrial wastewater flows safely treated
6.3.2
Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality
6.4
6.4.1
Change in water-use efficiency over time
6.4.2
Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources
6.5
By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate
6.5.1
Degree of integrated water resources management
6.5.2
Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation
6.6
6.6.1
Change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time
6.a
6.a.1
Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance that is part of a government-coordinated spending plan
6.b
Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
6.b.1
Proportion of local administrative units with established and operational policies and procedures for participation of local communities in water and sanitation management
Goal 11
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
11.1
By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums
11.1.1
Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing
11.2
11.2.1
Proportion of population that has convenient access to public transport, by sex, age and persons with disabilities
11.3
11.3.1
Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate
11.3.2
Proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly and democratically
11.4
Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage
11.4.1
Total per capita expenditure on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage, by source of funding (public, private), type of heritage (cultural, natural) and level of government (national, regional, and local/municipal)
11.5
By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations
11.5.1
Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
11.5.2
Direct economic loss attributed to disasters in relation to global domestic product (GDP)
11.5.3
(a) Damage to critical infrastructure and (b) number of disruptions to basic services, attributed to disasters
11.6
By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management
11.6.1
Proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities out of total municipal waste generated, by cities
11.6.2
Annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (e.g. PM2.5 and PM10) in cities (population weighted)
11.7
11.7.1
Average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with disabilities
11.7.2
Proportion of persons victim of non-sexual or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months
11.a
Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning
11.a.1
Number of countries that have national urban policies or regional development plans that (a) respond to population dynamics; (b) ensure balanced territorial development; and (c) increase local fiscal space
11.b
By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels
11.b.1
Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030
11.b.2
Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies
11.c
Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials
Goal 13
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
13.1
Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
13.1.1
Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
13.1.2
Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030
13.1.3
Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies
13.2
Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
13.2.1
Number of countries with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
13.2.2
Total greenhouse gas emissions per year
13.3
Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
13.3.1
Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment
13.a
Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible
13.a.1
Amounts provided and mobilized in United States dollars per year in relation to the continued existing collective mobilization goal of the $100 billion commitment through to 2025
13.b
Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities
13.b.1
Number of least developed countries and small island developing States with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
SDG 14 targets covered
| Name | Description |
|---|
Deliverables & Timeline
Research: the interlinkage of climate risks - mental health - water insecurities / water-related disasters (e.g., support systems, epidemiological landscape, gaps/needs, communities, role of media, education in the different geographic regions.
Capacity development: Develop tools for practitioners and educators; multi-stakeholder consultations, guidebook for media and knowledge disseminations
Policy relevance: Policy recommendations, transition roadmaps
Publication: We aim to disseminate via hosting events (side events at international conferences, webinars, etc.) and to publish ongoing projects and outcomes via reports, policy briefs, Op-eds articles, media outlets, scientific publications continuously.
Resources mobilized
Partnership Progress
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Timeline
Entity
Region
- Africa
- Europe
- Asia and Pacific
- North America
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- West Asia
- Global
Other beneficiaries
Local Government Units Healthcare service providers National or international DRR sectors Civil societies, IGOs, NGOs and NPOs, Donors, and other agencies Youth, children, schools, higher educational institutions Populations with vulnerabilities and inequalities (e.g., gender, age, displacement, socio-economic status, disabilities) Indigenous Peoples Local communities (under alternative learning systems)
Website/More information
Countries
Contact Information
Sanae Okamoto, Dr.