UN Water Conference adopts 700 commitments to address water crisis

New York: The UN 2023 Water Conference 2023,  has adopted  the “Water Action Agenda ” with almost 700 commitments to protect a water-secure future for all.

The three-day summit ended on March 24, 2023 was held in New York in which more than 2,000 government representatives, scientists, academics, civil society groups, indigenous peoples, members of the private sector, and youth delegates attended the conference.

“The conference, and its 2,000 participants, forged an “ambitious vision”, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said.

“Your dedication to action and transformation is propelling us towards a sustainable, equitable and inclusive water-secure future for people and planet alike,” he said.

“This conference demonstrated a central truth: as humanity’s most precious global common good, water unites us all, and it flows across a number of global challenges” he added.

The commitments were captured in the Water Action Agenda, the key outcome of the Conference. They were made by countries in Asia and the Pacific, Europe, North America and Africa.

From protecting the spread of disease to fighting poverty, the natural resource also flows through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at a time when the world is grappling with climate change, water scarcity, and pollution.

“That’s why water needs to be at the centre of the global political agenda,” he said. “All of humanity’s hopes for the future depend, in some way, on charting a new science-based course to bring the Water Action Agenda to life.”

Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said Water Action Agenda commitments cover a wide range of actions, from capacity-building to data and monitoring systems, to improving the resilience of infrastructure.

“This is just the beginning,” he said. “The online platform hosting the Water Action Agenda will remain open for submissions and available for all to view through the Conference website.”

“At the 2023 UN Water Conference, a determined global community came together to make a difference not only for the future of water but for the future of the world,” he said.

General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi said the $300 billion in pledges made to buoy the transformative Water Action Agenda has the potential of unlocking at least $1 trillion of socioeconomic and eco-system gains.

“The outcome of this conference is not a legally binding document, but it still turns the page of history,” he said, in closing remarks. “You have reconfirmed the promise to implement the human right to water and sanitation for all.”

That means reaching the millions who are not even aware of this conference, he said.

“We will keep our ears and minds open to scientific evidence as we move forward to realize the transformation discussed,” he said. Civil society and the private sector are at the heart of this transformation and “key to our success” he said, adding that they must be part of more inclusive partnerships and solutions.

Meanwhile during the UN Water Conference, Two countries joined the Convention, against the backdrop of a growing global water crisis. On Thursday Nigeria became the 48h country to join the treaty.

The fast-growing country, the most populous in Africa, is dealing directly with the effects of desertification, having seen Lake Chad, an important water source, shrink by around 90 per cent since the 1970s.

 On Friday, Iraq also joined, the first in the Middle East to do so. Nineteen of the 22 Arab countries are considered water scarce, and nearly all Arab States draw upon transboundary water resources that cross one or more international boundaries.

According to the UN , by 2050, an estimated six billion people will face water scarcity due to climate change, pollution and increasingly unsustainable consumption and production.