Introduction
Water is the invisible thread that runs through the climate system and through every dimension of climate risk, from floods, droughts and storm surges to food security, energy supply, public health and ecosystem integrity. Climate change is felt, above all, through water. Yet adaptation continues to be planned, financed and delivered through fragmented, sector-specific frameworks rather than through the integrating force that water truly is. This structural disconnect leaves risk unmanaged where sectors meet and, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) cautions, actions that focus on sectors and risks in isolation often lead to maladaptation.
The evidence is unambiguous and alarming. Roughly half of the world’s population already experiences severe water scarcity for at least part of the year, and between 3.3 and 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change. Over the past six years, only about one third of the global river catchment area has had normal discharge conditions, and the Global Commission on the Economics of Water warns that more than half of global food production is at risk by 2050, with GDP losses averaging 8 per cent and reaching up to 15% in lower-income countries. In 2024, 2.1 billion people still lacked safely managed drinking water, while the adaptation finance needs of developing countries are estimated at US$310–365 billion per year by 2035, against US$26 billion of international public adaptation finance in 2023. Bridging it demands not incremental adjustments, but a fundamental transformation in how adaptation is governed, financed and integrated across sectors.
This transformation is anchored in the concept of Water Transversality, an integrated, cross-sectoral approach that positions water as the central connecting thread across development systems, explicitly linking it with energy, food, health, environment, climate, economy, governance and social equity. Applied to adaptation, it treats water not as one sector among many competing for adaptation resources, but as the organizing logic of resilience: the medium through which risks travel across sectors, and the point at which coordinated action is most effective. For this dialogue, Water Transversality is understood to have five mutually reinforcing dimensions: policy coherence; integrated finance; nature and infrastructure; knowledge and early action; and inclusion. When applied at the scale of multi-stakeholder partnerships, this approach becomes a powerful lever for accelerating climate adaptation and resilience.
The scientific and policy case for this approach is well established. The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report finds that integrated, multi-sectoral solutions that address social inequities increase the feasibility and effectiveness of adaptation, and that maladaptation can be avoided through flexible, multi-sectoral, inclusive and long-term planning. The IPBES Nexus Assessment points to the value of addressing biodiversity, water, food, health and climate together rather than in isolation. Water now sits within the architecture of the Global Goal on Adaptation: the thematic targets of the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience include water, and the 59 voluntary Belém Adaptation Indicators include water-related metrics. Therefore, transversality-based, water-centred solutions offer a coherent, evidence-informed pathway to adaptation outcomes that are durable, inclusive and equitable.
Objective
The proposed high-level policy dialogue will bring together representatives from governments, intergovernmental organizations, civil society, the private sector, academia, and community-based organizations to advance a multi-stakeholder partnership agenda for climate adaptation and resilience. The dialogue will explore how water can be positioned as a unifying element across sectors such as agriculture, energy, health, urban development, ecosystems, and disaster risk reduction; identify innovative governance models, financing mechanisms, and community-led solutions that bridge global commitments with local implementation; and generate actionable recommendations for strengthening cross-sectoral policy coherence, partnership architectures, and blended finance approaches for adaptation. Ultimately, the dialogue seeks to advance integrated, climate-resilient, nature-positive, and biodiversity-supportive water management pathways aligned with the SDGs.
MINISTERIAL ADDRESS |
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MR. CONRAD K. SANGMA |
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Mr. Conrad K. Sangma, currently a Chief Minister of Meghalaya. His leadership is pivotal to the regional dominance and its alliance at the state level. He has played a crucial role in Meghalaya’s governance, focusing on economic development and tribal welfare. His political journey from a young parliamentarian to the state’s top executive highlights his strategic acumen and commitment to his constituents in Meghalaya. |
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Eminent Speaker |
| Dr. Arvind Kumar |
Mr. Loic Fauchon |
 Dr. Arvind Kumar is a strategist and key-influencer in development sector with more than 31+ years of experience as an author, columnist, Water and Human Rights Pro-activist, and specializes in concepts like ecosystem-based adaptation, water-energy-food nexus, with specific emphasis on Transversal approach of inter-linkages between water, environment and SDGs. He has published over 500 plus research articles and several books. He is a proud recipient of Achievers Award for his contribution to the Environment from International Human Rights Organization in collaboration with United Nations Information Centre, India. |
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| Mr. Satya S. Tripathi | Dr. Eric Tardieu |
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| Ms. Sonja Koeppel | Ms. Mikiko Tanaka |
 Ms. Sonja Koeppel leads the water team at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and serves as secretary to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) and co-secretary to the UNECE/ WHO-Europe Protocol on Water and Health. She has worked for more than 10 years in the secretariat, for example coordinating the activities on climate change adaptation. Before joining UNECE, she worked for UNEP in Nairobi and studied in Budapest, Stuttgart, Bordeaux and Manchester.
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 Ms. Mikiko Tanaka is the Director and Head of ESCAP Subregional Office for South and South-West Asia in New Delhi, bringing over 26 years of experience within the United Nations system. She served as UN Resident Coordinator in Guyana, where she led strategic dialogues, coordinated UN Country Team efforts for the 2030 Agenda, supported the Voluntary National Review, and guided socio-economic policy responses to COVID-19. Her earlier roles include UNDP leadership positions in Yemen, Timor-Leste, Pakistan, Benin, China, and Lao PDR. Before joining the UN, she worked with an NGO in Thailand and in Japan’s financial sector. She holds master’s degrees in public policy and rural development management and a bachelor’s from International Christian University. |
| Prof. Rabi Mohtar | Mr. C. V. Darlong Diengdoh |
 Prof. Rabi Mohtar is the TEES Endowed Professor at Texas A&M University and Founding Director of the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute. He also served as Founding Director of Strategic Projects at Qatar Foundation and inaugural Director of Global Engineering Programs at Purdue University. His work focuses on conserving natural resources, including land, water, air, and biodiversity, while addressing global challenges such as food and water security. Professor Mohtar has developed sustainable water management programs for arid regions, and his research methods are widely adopted internationally. |
 Mr. Cyril V. Darlong Diengdoh, IAS is a 2010-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Meghalaya cadre. He currently serves as Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya across several key departments, including Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Home (Political), Planning, Investment Promotion and Sustainable Development, Law, Cabinet Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs, General Administration, Water Resources, and Commerce and Industries. He has also held important leadership positions, including Managing Director of the Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation and Executive Director of the Meghalaya Basin Management Agency. His administrative responsibilities span governance, investment promotion, tourism, water resource management, and sustainable development, contributing to Meghalaya’s institutional and developmental priorities. |
| Dr. Nidhi Pundhir | Mr. Fongoh Eric |
 Dr. Nidhi Pundhir is Senior Vice President, Global CSR at HCLTech and Director of HCLFoundation, the company’s CSR arm in India. With over 27 years of experience in humanitarian services, socioeconomic development, human rights and environmental action, she leads global CSR initiatives aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. She has developed impactful programmes addressing poverty, child protection, public health and environmental sustainability, focusing on disadvantaged communities. Previously, she served as Director of Programme Development, Asia, at SOS Children’s Villages and Global Advisor on Child Protection in Development at Plan International. She holds a doctorate in Public Health Management. |
 Mr. Fongoh Eric is the Co-Founder and General Coordinator of the International Centre for Environmental Education and Community Development (ICENECDEV), a Cameroon-based civil society organisation established in 2005. He has decades of experience in environmental development programmes, community engagement and capacity building. His work spans environmental education, climate change, biodiversity conservation, water and waste management, food security, land degradation and disaster risk reduction. He has contributed to policy consultations, United Nations expert meetings and negotiations involving policymakers, including work associated with the Sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6). He has also supported ICENECDEV’s engagement with international environmental and development institutions. |
| Mr. Eric Komla Amedjakou | Ms. Shweta Tyagi |
 Mr. Eric Komla Amedjakou is a Ghanaian environmental and community development professional who serves as Executive Director of Giving Life Nature Volunteer (GILINAVO), a non-governmental organisation working in environmental protection, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. He has been involved in initiatives addressing climate change, land degradation, sanitation, waste management, agriculture and community welfare. Through GILINAVO, he has contributed to community-based environmental activities, including tree planting, environmental awareness campaigns and sanitation programmes. His work also encompasses youth engagement, education, sustainable livelihoods and community participation in conservation. He has represented the organisation in international environmental forums, including United Nations climate change processes, supporting dialogue on environmental sustainability and community development in Ghana. . |
 Ms. Shweta Tyagi is Chief Functionary, India Water Foundation. She is results-focused development sector professional with a 23 years of demonstrated history and a proven ability to manage project teams to deliver multiple projects and programmes across diverse sectors of sustainable Development, Water and Sanitation, Social Development, Livelihood Generation, climate change etc. Excellent knowledge of project management and strategic planning of partnership creation and coordination, as well as advising decision-makers and strengthening capacities. Experience of Natural Resource management among rural communities for implementing. |
For more details please contact –
Ms. Shweta Tyagi
Chief Functionary
India Water Foundation
Email: shweta.tyagi@indiawaterfoundation.org
Mobile: +91 9899819074