February 2013: As part of the Global Thematic Consultation on Water in the post-2015 development agenda, online discussions have concluded on three key areas, and discussions on cross-cutting issues have begun. The online consultations aim to: stimulate inclusive discussion on water-related priority issues; analyze and share experiences from the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on water and sanitation; examine policy options to inform the post-2015 agenda; and foster a shared vision on a post-2015 goal on water.

Online discussions have already addressed: Water Resources Management, which included a discussion on Voices; Wastewater Management and Water Quality; and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). For five weeks, from 14 January-17 February 2013, the World We Want 2015 platform hosted discussions in each area, with each week devoted to a specific sub-topic.

The Water Resources Management discussion addressed the linkages among water and energy, climate change, nature, food, governing and managing water, and water for peace.

The Wastewater Management and Water Quality discussion, which was led by the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), focused on: wastewater in an urbanizing world; wastewater’s impacts on oceans, including nitrogen and phosphorous challenges; wastewater reuse and innovation; collecting and treating urban water after use; and economic opportunities in wastewater.

The WASH discussion covered: aspirational objectives of the joint monitoring programme; WASH in schools; WASH and governance; WASH and environmental sustainability; and WASH and economic development.

The cross-cutting consultations began in February with a week on inequalities; the second week considers how to ensure that water features high on the post-2015 agenda.

A summary of the online consultations is expected in early March. A High-level Meeting on Water, which will be held in The Hague, the Netherlands, from 21-22 March 2013, in conjunction with Water Water Day, will review the consultation’s findings, and develop a statement and recommendations.

UN-Water, the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) co-lead the thematic consultation on water, which is supported by the Governments of the Netherlands and Switzerland. The Water Consultation is one of 11 consultations on key topics related to the post-2015 agenda. [Water Consultation Website] [Publication: Water Resource Management Framing Paper] [Publication: Water for Energy, Energy for Water Framing Paper] [Publication: Climate Change and Water Related Risks Framing Paper] [Publication: Water for Food Framing Paper] [Publication: Water for Nature, Nature for Water Framing Paper] [Publication: Governing and Managing Water Resources Framing Paper] [Publication: The Wastewater and Water Quality Framing Paper] [Publication: Economic Opportunities in Wastewater Framing Paper] [Publication: Universal Access in Our Time? WASH Week 1 Framing Paper] [Publication: WASH and Governance Framing Paper] [Publication: WASH and Environmental Sustainability Framing Paper] [Publication: WASH and Economic Development Framing Paper] [Publication: Water for Peace Framing Paper] [Publication: Water and Inequalities Framing Paper]