The United Nations will try to reach global commitments for a transformation in the way of managing water, during the 2023 Water Conference that starts this Wednesday, World Water Day, and is the first of its kind since 1977.
The 2023 Water Conference can and must be a turning point”, said Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for Water in the Netherlands, who, together with Tajikistan, chairs the global meeting, with the theme “Water for Sustainable Development ”.
According to information released by the UN, at least 12 heads of state and government, around 80 ministers and senior government officials and more than 6,500 representatives of civil society are expected to participate in the conference, which will last until Friday.
The meeting aims to define a new Action Agenda for Water, within the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically in regard to Goal 6, on drinking water and sanitation.
The Dutch envoy emphasized that the world cannot continue to treat water as something local or regional, but as a global issue and “radically change” the way it is managed.
According to the UN, there are commitments and urgent actions in areas ranging from the protection of aquifers, the fight against pollution, the supply of drinking water or the integration of water policies with climate policies.
Unlike other United Nations conferences, at the Water conference countries will not negotiate a grand global agreement, but will try to reach concrete voluntary commitments from governments, companies and other actors.
In addition to the plenary sessions, the day includes dialogues on specific topics such as “Water and Health”, “Water and Sustainable Development” or “Water and Climate Change” and around 550 side events.
The last United Nations Conference on Water was held in 1977 in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
March 22 was proclaimed World Water Day by Resolution 47/193 of the United Nations General Assembly of December 22, 1992.
Source: Observadora
