Invited experts debated success factors of local water action to increase climate resilience, including examples from mangrove conservation in Ecuador (Diego Jara, IUCN), on urban drainage for flood resilience in Colombia (Abby Ortega, ZEF), as well as lessons learned from eco-system based risk reduction around the world (Simone Sandholz, UNU-EHS) and on how to best face negative impacts of climate change on drinking water (Thomas Kistemann, IHPH).