UN-Water has announced the 43rd UN-Water Meeting scheduled for 24–25 March 2026 to coordinate the UN’s approach to water and sanitation issues.

• Event details and organiser: UN-Water (listed via the International Water Management Institute IWMI) will hold the meeting on 24 March 2026 – 25 March 2026, 09:00–17:00 (Europe/Rome).

  • Date: 24 March 2026 – 25 March 2026
  • Time: 09:00 am – 5:00 pm (Europe/Rome)
  • Agenda/Subject: Coordinate the UN’s approach to water and sanitation issues.

• Logistics and background: The event is published on IWMI’s events page and cross-listed on SDG.iisd.org; calendar links are provided (ICS, Google Calendar, iCalendar/webcal, Office 365, Outlook Live). Location is indicated by timezone (Europe/Rome); no specific physical venue or pricing/funding details are provided.

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) will host the 2026 South African International Water Week (SAIWW) in Johannesburg.

• Event details: Host: International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Event: South African International Water Week (SAIWW); Dates: March 16–18, 2026; Times: 9:00 am–5:00 pm (Africa/Johannesburg); Location: The Houghton Hotel, Lloys Ellis Avenue, Johannesburg, 2198, South Africa. The event aims to bring together cross-sector participants to confront water security challenges and convert them into investment opportunities.
• Agenda & logistics:
  • Agenda/Subject: focus on water security, investment opportunities, and cross-sector collaboration.
  • Registration & resources: event page and calendar links available (IWMI event page, ICS/iCalendar, Google Calendar, Office 365/Outlook links).

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) are hosting a public briefing on emerging wildfire solutions and federal policy to accelerate their deployment.

• Event announcement & details: The briefing titled “Igniting Innovation: Progress and a Path Forward for Wildfire Policy” will be held on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST at Russell Senate Office Building (SR-385), 2 Constitution Ave NE, Washington, DC; a reception follows and a live webcast will stream at www.eesi.org/livecast. Panelists listed: Kelly Martin (Owner, Lasair Fire Consulting Group LLC), Sara Clark (Partner, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger), and Dr. Hannah Safford (Associate Director, Climate and Environment, Federation of American Scientists). The event is free and attendees are asked to RSVP to expedite check-in.
• Scope, evidence, and context: The briefing will cover preparedness, response, recovery, fuels management, smart zoning, upgraded building codes, and early detection with emphasis on federal policy support for rapid, cost-effective implementation at scale. Background facts cited in the announcement include that wildfires are increasing in intensity and season length and are estimated to cost the United States up to $424 billion annually and displace tens of thousands of people.

Governor Gavin Newsom announced a set of appointments to state boards, commissions, and administrative positions on January 14, 2026.

• Main announcement: Governor Newsom announced appointments including Anthony Pham as Skilled Nursing Facility Administrator at the Barstow Veterans Home of California (compensation $135,264, no Senate confirmation required), DeVon Young as Deputy Administrator of the West Los Angeles Veterans Home of California (compensation $148,836, no Senate confirmation required), and Rachel Wigginton as Special Assistant for Planning and Science at the Delta Stewardship Council (compensation $135,264, no Senate confirmation required). Several appointees to boards and councils (Civil Rights Council, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission, State Mining and Geology Board) were also named; positions requiring Senate confirmation are noted with $100 per diem compensation where applicable.

• Background and details: Appointees’ prior roles and education are listed (e.g., Pham: multiple skilled nursing facility administrator roles and MSC/BS in Gerontology, USC; Wigginton: Senior Environmental Scientist, PhD in Ecology, UC Davis). Several appointees (Christian Acevedo, Ivette Peña, Candice Cho, Vasudha Talla, Nicholas Mueller, Stephanie Landregan, Larry Sheingold) hold positions that require Senate confirmation and are specified with $100 per diem; implementation is immediate as appointments announced on Jan. 14, 2026.

The Mining Remediation Authority has announced progress and international engagement one year after launching the UK’s first mine water heat Living Laboratory in Gateshead.

• Project announcement and status: The Mining Remediation Authority reports the Living Lab has produced thousands of hours of thermal, hydrological and geophysical data, is open-access, and monitors interactions between three operational mine water heat schemes (including Gateshead Energy Company and a privately funded scheme at Lanchester Wines). The schemes currently provide low-carbon heat to around 350 homes and businesses and the Authority operates more than 80 mine water treatment schemes across Great Britain.
• Collaboration and outputs: The Living Lab is engaging researchers from the United States (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) and Germany (Fraunhofer IEG) to compare datasets, is being used by universities (Leeds, Durham, Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt, Hull) and the British Geological Survey, and has released a three-part public video series; featured at the World Geothermal Congress, Calgary (June 2026) as a poster highlighting UK contributions.
  • World Geothermal Congress sub-bullet: Date: June 2026; Location: Calgary; Subject: presentation/poster on mine water heat research and Living Lab data.