26 August 2017: The 27th UN-Water Meeting considered an update on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, related intergovernmental processes, and integrated monitoring and reporting on the Sustainable Development Goal on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), among other agenda items. Participants highlighted that the July 2018 meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will focus on SDG 6. They noted that UN-Water’s preparation of the SDG 6 Synthesis Report as a contribution to the HLPF discussion is an opportunity to provide decision makers with an overview on the status of water and sanitation issues and to offer policy recommendations on how to accelerate SDG 6 implementation.

UN-Water Members and Partners underscored the need to break down the silos between government, the UN and the private sector.

During the discussions on 2030 Agenda topics, custodian agencies for the SDG 6 indicators outlined progress in defining the indicators and developing the dataset necessary to monitor SDG 6 implementation. They indicated that further work is necessary. UN-Water Members and Partners also underscored the need to break down the silos between government, the UN and the private sector to work together in a more integrative and efficient way, and emphasized that the achievement of the SDGs, overall, hinge on SDG 6.

Two half-days were devoted to discussions with UN-Water Partners on agenda items including: report of the fourth meeting of the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace; presentation on the UN-Water and International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) SDG Knowledge Hub partnership; a proposal for a task force on unconventional uses of water; an update on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, related intergovernmental processes, and integrated monitoring and reporting related to SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation); and planning for World Water Days, World Water Development Reports and World Toilet Days.

The 27th UN-Water Meeting convened from 25-26 August 2018, in Stockholm, Sweden. Sixty-four representatives of UN-Water Members and Partners registered for the event, representing the UN Secretariat and UN agencies, funds, programmes and other entities, multilateral environmental agreements and civil society organizations. The two-day meeting took place immediately prior to the World Water Week, which gathers water and sanitation stakeholders annually in Stockholm to discuss water and development issues. [ENB+ Bulletin] [UN-Water]