9 August 2013: The final report of the Water Thematic Consultation describes water access as “a fundamental right for all” and underscores linkages among water and each of the themes of consultation on the post-2015 development agenda. The report reflects six months of consultations on the role of water in the post-2015 development agenda, including online discussions, face-to-face dialogues and the High-Level Meeting on Water. It summarizes discussions and provides recommendations in three main areas: water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); water resource management (WRM); and wastewater management and water quality.
The report recommends: an aspirational, easy-to-communicate water goal with measurable targets and indicators; recognizing water in goals related to energy, food and health; and ensuring the post-2015 water agenda is inter-generational and promotes equitable, smart water use. It advocates addressing the unfinished business and neglected issues of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by recognizing linkages and rights, ensuring integration across sectors and tackling water inequalities.
On WASH, the report recommends, inter alia: ensuring universal access to safe and sustainable WASH; and reducing inequalities and advancing gender equity and public health through WASH access, including in education and health facilities. On WRM, the report recommends, inter alia: implementing integrated WRM (IWRM) approaches; improving water governance systems; including IWRM in adaptation, mitigation and resilience strategies; and establishing long-term transboundary cooperation. Wastewater management and water quality recommendations focus on reducing and removing pollution and reusing water by: devising and implementing targets to prevent polluting substances from entering water bodies; collecting and treating used water and wastewater; and implementing policies for reusing and recycling water. The report also includes recommendations on human rights approaches to water and sanitation, and the water-food-energy nexus.
Looking forward, the report highlights how the consultation’s outcomes can inform key discussions and reports, including the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) Open Working Group (OWG) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN Secretary-General’s report to the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
UN-Water, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) co-led the Water Thematic Consultation, which was co-hosted by Jordan, Liberia, Mozambique, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The High-Level Consultation on Water in the Post-2015 Development Agenda took place from 21-22 March 2013, in The Hague, the Netherlands. [Publication: The Post 2015 Water Thematic Consultation Report] [IISD RS Coverage of HLM] [Global Consultation on Water][IISD RS coverage of the High-Level Consultationon Water]