Martin is currently working at the Sustainable Water Policy team at GIZ, advising the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on water policy issues. Due to his background in water and climate change, he particularly focuses on the link between these two fields. Martin has specialized on adaptation to climate change during his position as Associate Professional Officer at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington DC. Prior to that, he advised the KfW water team on mainstreaming adaptation to climate change into the sector portfolio. Martin is proud to hold a Master of Science in IWRM from the Technical University of Cologne and Jordan University as well as a diploma in Regional Sciences of Latin America from the University of Cologne.
Martin Kerres
Martin Kerres
Keynote on "The Water Resources Security Framework: How to emphasize the role of water for overarching goals"
Water Resources Security is key for sustainable development. Water experts and practitioners are aware that the reliable supply of water in an acceptable quality is not only necessary for supplying domestic users, agriculture and industries. The development of our communities depend on water, and so do ecosystems, which provide vital services to us.
Development policies often react to megatrends and the overarching political agenda, adopting crucial issues such as climate change, displacement and migration, food security and economic development. The Water Resources Security Framework gives a structure for highlighting the diversity of water approaches and tools and how they contribute to water related impacts, but also to these impacts beyond water. To give one example, the concept helps to draw the impact chain from climate resilience to water related outcomes such as providing water for healthy ecosystems and further to the level of activities, for example improved monitoring systems.