Water is the key medium that links atmospheric temperature rises to changes in human and physical systems. Climate change will alter the hydrological cycle in many ways. The trigger is the warming of the atmosphere and oceans, which will change major weather systems.

This paper begins by describing the existing architecture with regard to international funding for environmental actions, focusing on two pre-eminent institutions within this architecture: the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the World Bank. In many respects, the current situation is tending to