On the sidelines of the historic conference – held at United Nations Headquarters from 22 to 24 March – SDG . Media Zone is an informal place for experts and senior officials to discuss a variety of water-related topics.
On the first day of the Conference, Conor Lennon from UN News led a conversation focused on building partnerships and strengthening cooperation, to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals on Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), and the realization of human rights to water and sanitation.
The guest was Kristin Meyer, program manager at the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDR), Neil Dhot, Executive Director of the International Federation of Private Water Operators (Aquafed), and Richard Connor, editor-in-chief of the UN World water development report.
The session comes a day after the publication of the 2023 Report, which warned that, with 3 billion people suffering from water shortages, we are facing a global water crisis, unless international cooperation is improved. significantly good.
The following is an edited summary of the SDG Media Zone session.
Conor Lennon (UN News): How has the message of the United Nations World Water Development Report changed over the years?
Richard Conner: Statistically it has grown. More people are covered by water and sanitation services, but we’re certainly not seeing enough progress.
There is growing recognition of the importance of inclusion, whether related to gender or poverty, and that we need to work together. Which leads to this year’s report’s theme of cooperation and partnership.
Conor Lennon: Is it important that the United Nations is organizing a dedication to water issues?
Richard Conner: It’s amazing that there hasn’t been a conference on water in a long time, because water is everywhere. There is the Conference of the Parties (COP) on water, as well as on biodiversity or climate change.
Forty-seven years is a long time to wait, and I expect we’ll be watching in a decade or so, to really gauge what we can achieve, such as a deal. worldwide about the country.
Conor Lennon: Kristin Meyer, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), says that over the past decade, nine out of 10 disasters have been linked to water.
Kristin Meyer: We know that floods and droughts are increasing, from every IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report.
However, if we take appropriate actions, natural disasters will not turn into disasters. That’s why we are promoting international cooperation. We also need to really look at the link between climate change, building resilience, and the role biodiversity and ecosystems play to prevent disaster from happening.
We are seeing a lot of progress in the international debate and in the international community and this is also where we can make the greatest impact, by bringing different factors together. and make a better impact for people in fact.
Conor Lennon: What role should the private sector play in international cooperation?
Neil Dhot: I think the answer lies in public-private partnerships. The way to make them successful is outlined in the World Water Development Report, which talks about full stakeholder collaboration, and that’s key, because you need to have your consent. public for any type of water or wastewater service.
The flow of data is important, but do public authorities make it public. And, in developing countries where you are expanding public water systems and attracting new people to connect, you cannot do it without the help of civil society. In India, for example, we worked with local communities who were able to convince local women to use tap water, instead of more expensive buckets.
So it’s about partnerships – from the global level to the local level.
Conor Lennon: What should be achieved at the UN Water Conference?
Kristin Meyer: We need to build those partnerships to address disaster risk; that means sharing data and knowledge, and involving society as a whole,
The Secretary-General of the United Nations wants more people to have access to early warning systems, and this means having access to the right kind of information, so that they can act accordingly, so that when an danger comes to us, it does not become a disaster.
Neil Dhot: Good implementation of commitments in Action program for water. The whole industry needs to take responsibility for itself. There’s no point in going to New York just to talk. We must start with new partnerships and ways of working together. All the ideas were in the World Water Development Report, so we knew what we needed to do. We just need a renewed sense of action.
