Turning the Tide: UN 2023 Water Conference Commits to a Water-Secure Future
The United Nations 2023 Water Conference marked a milestone moment in the global water crisis by bringing together governments, businesses, and civil society to commit billions of dollars to advance Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) connected to water.
The conference aimed to address the global water crisis, ensuring equitable access to water for all and accelerating sustainable development. Access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene is a declared human right and the most basic human need for health and well-being. However, 2 billion people worldwide still lack access to safe drinking water, and 40% of the world's population is affected by water scarcity.
Here’s what the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) accomplished at the UN Water Conference:
Report Launch: Measuring Progress: Water-related ecosystems and the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).
Co-leading the drafting of the concept note for Interactive Dialogue 3: “Water for Climate, Resilience and Environment: Source to Sea, Biodiversity, Climate, Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction,” where a strong recommendation is being made to raise the value of wetlands as nature-based solutions.
Co-leading on the chapter for the Environment for the 2023 World Water Development Report
Side Event: Circular Economy – a key component of a water-smart society
Side Event: Groundwater: An Invisible Cross-Sectoral Fundament for Implementation of the Water Action Agenda
Side Event: Global Network of Isotope-enabled Water Analysis Laboratories"
Exhibit: Walk of Water Exhibition
Side Event: Sustainable Lake Management - a catalyst to accelerate global commitment to the Water Action Agenda
Side Event: Wastewater surveillance for public health monitoring: using the one-health approach to meeting the SDGs
Side Event: Source-to-sea collaboration: A game changer for the whole water cycle
Another key outcome of the conference is the assembly of The Water Action Agenda, which captures over 700 commitments aimed at driving transformation from a global water crisis to a water-secure world. The agenda represents the global community's bold resolve to address the water challenges through a more coordinated and results-driven approach.
The Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, highlighted key game-changers, including reducing pressure on the hydrological system, developing new food systems, designing and implementing a new global water information system, and integrating the approach on water, ecosystems, and climate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen communities.
A number of follow-up steps are also under consideration, including the appointment of a Special Envoy on Water. The conference outcomes will also receive concrete follow-up in three key upcoming Summits, the SDG Summit during the UN General Assembly in September 2023, the Summit of the Future in 2024, and the World Social Summit in 2025. This Water Action Agenda is a significant step in ensuring a water-secure future for everyone, everywhere, on a healthy planet.
