The fourth annual SDG 6 and Water Action Agenda special event during the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) highlighted challenges and opportunities around stakeholder inclusion and good governance of water resources, the need for strong political will and public investment, and a willingness to adopt and adapt innovative approaches.
The event launched the first-ever UN System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation and discussed follow-up to the UN 2023 Water Conference and preparations for the UN 2026 Water Conference. Participants also “shared recommendations for achieving the necessary sixfold increase in progress in order to reach the water and sanitation goals for 2030,” the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) summary of the meeting reports.
“The Water Action Agenda, which comprises over 840 commitments from governments, civil society, and the private sector, was launched during the water conference in March 2023,” ENB writes. Following the UN 2023 Water Conference, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution calling for the development of a UN system-wide strategy for water and sanitation and for convening water conferences in 2026 and 2028. Leaders from governments, Indigenous Peoples, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector discussed opportunities to build on these and other recent meetings to advance the water agenda.
The keynote speaker, Keith Harper, Vice Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), said including Indigenous perspectives means understanding that water is life, noting UNPFII recommendations to guarantee Indigenous Peoples’ rights to clean water, clean up rivers and streams, and ban pollution.
During the session on national perspectives, government representatives welcomed the new UN System-wide Strategy on Water and Sanitation. Several highlighted the importance of communication and education about the strategy within UN Member States. Many governments emphasized the importance of policy coherence and mainstreaming and supported the strategy’s focus on integrating water and sanitation issues into other processes.
Representatives from civil society called for enhancing transboundary water cooperation, including through building capacity to negotiate new agreements. They also called for including all stakeholders, including youth.
The launch of the 2024 SDG 6 Country Acceleration Case Studies from Cambodia, the Czech Republic, and Jordan also took place. The full-day SDG 6 and Water Action Agenda Special Event took place on 16 July 2024, at UN Headquarters in New York, US. [ENB Coverage of SDG 6 and Water Action Agenda Special Event]
