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UNESCO’s contribution to the United Nations 2023 Water Conference
At the United Nations 2023 Water Conference from 22 to 24 March, UNESCO showcased its longstanding work through a series of side events.
Last update:23 August 2023
This was the first United Nations’ conference on water in 46 years. It was organized in New York from 22 to 24 March to get the world back on track for reaching the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), to ensure access to water and sanitation for all by 2030.
The conference will produced a summary of the proceedings, as well as of new commitments and pledges made by governments, the private sector, international bodies and all other stakeholder groups to accelerate progress towards SDG 6 and other related goals and targets. These commitments and pledges were compiled in the Water Action Agenda.
Discussions at the conference were oriented towards finding solutions, as highlighted by the conference co-hosts, the Governments of Tajikistan and the Netherlands.
Key messages from UNESCO
- Governments will need to work four times faster, on average, to meet their SDG6 targets by 2030. However, they cannot solve this conundrum on their own. Water affects everyone, so everyone needs to take action.
- The accelerating pace of change to water systems is creating new and ever-greater risks to society. In parallel, demand for water is intensifying not only when it comes to domestic use but also in other sectors such as agriculture, energy and industry. Decades of global water research have provided clear evidence of these trends and identified critical problems and opportunities.
- However, there are still too many gaps in our knowledge of the water cycle and the impact of competing water uses – domestic, agricultural, industrial, for energy generation, etc - on this cycle. That is why we need a regular science-based global assessment of water resources to generate a comprehensive knowledge base and integrate fragmented data and information to support policy, regulation and decision-making. This assessment would be undertaken by national entities and validated through a specific intergovernmental process.
- Groundwater is fundamental to life on Earth but many aquifers are becoming overexploited or polluted. We urgently need high-level commitments and concerted action to deepen our knowledge of groundwater and manage it sustainably. This is one of the recommendations of the UN-Water Groundwater Summit organized by UNESCO last December. Special attention will need to be paid to groundwater management and protection in Africa and in Small Island Developing States.
- There were 468 known transboundary aquifers in 2021. Globally, only a handful of arrangements have been developed for the management of these shared aquifers. Governments, the private sector and other stakeholder groups need to commit voluntarily to accelerating progress on transboundary water cooperation. That is why UNESCO is part of the Transboundary Water Cooperation Coalition launched at the UN-Water Groundwater Summit organized by UNESCO at its Paris headquarters last December.
- Previous output-based approaches have not paid sufficient attention to education and training, or to attracting and retaining the skilled workforce needed to deliver water- and sanitation-related services. It will be essential to build human and institutional capacity, in order to improve the level of service, operate and maintain technology, create jobs in the water sector and monitor performance, including at community level.
- Partnerships and cooperation will be essential to accelerate progress towards SDG 6 (and 16 other SDGs) and realize the human rights to water and sanitation. That is why partnerships and cooperation have been chosen as the theme of the World Water Development Report being launched on 22 March; this report has been produced by UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Programme on behalf of UN-Water, a grouping of more than 30 United Nations agencies.
- Less than 17% of the water sector’s total workforce is composed of women. In 2021, UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Programme launched the Call for Action initiative for gender equality in the water domain. It calls upon governments, international organizations, professionals and policy-makers in the water sector, academia, the private sector and non-governmental organizations to join forces to accelerate progress towards gender equality in water for a more just, sustainable and peaceful future.
To be effective in making our approach of managing water sustainable, we need to include Indigenous Peoples as stakeholders and rights holders, who take inspiration from their skills, values and holistic perspectives.
UNESCO events
UNESCO was a partner in 26 side events taking place in parallel to the official conference programme. These side events were organized by member states with various United Nations agencies and other stakeholders. These side events contributed directly to the conference’s outcomes through the following streams:
- Raising the profile of science – support a science-based global water assessment;
- Raising the profile of groundwater and cooperation;
- Filling the gap in capacity;
- Launch of the United Nations' World Water Development Report 2023;
- Celebration of the United Nations World Water Day on 22 March 2023, which coincides with the first day of the UN 2023 Water Conference and the launch of the UN World Water Development Report. UNESCO is one of the coordinators of the World Water Day campaign.
- Mainstreaming gender equality in water management.
- Indigenous Peoples and Water: Joint commitments to transforming water governance, climate adaptation and biodiversity: indigenous peoples, member states and the United Nations system
- Building resilience to climate change in Small Island Developing States through water security
Programme
You can consult the PDF version of the programme, or the schedule below.
Full list of UNESCO events
Unless otherwise indicated, all side events in the following table took place at United Nations Headquarters, 405 E 42nd St, New York City, NY, USA.
| Time | Session title | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 22-24 March 2023 | Walk of Water exhibition | Corridor 1B |
| Monday 20 March 2023 | ||
| 12:00-14:00 | Universities Marathon Relay NY Water Week 2023 (Opening Plenary) | CUNY Advanced Research Center, Auditorium, 85 St Nicholas Terrace, New York |
| Tuesday 21 March 2023 | ||
| 10:00-18:00 | Sixth UN Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters - Connecting Midterm Reviews of Water and Disaster Risk Reduction under Climate Change - Science and Technology Panel | Trusteeship Council chamber |
| 14:00-16:00 | Universities Marathon Relay NY Water Week 2023 (Capstone Plenary) | Harlem Stage, 150 Convent Ave, New York |
| Wednesday 22 March 2023 | ||
| 11:00 - 12:15 | Partnerships and Cooperation for Water: The main findings of the United Nations World Water Development Report 2023 and experiences from the countries | Side Event Room 5 |
| 12:30 - 13:45 | Sustainability in good governance of groundwater resources | ECOSOC Chamber |
| 12:30 - 13:45 | Global Network of Isotope-Enabled Water Analysis Laboratories | Side Event Room 8 |
| 12:30 - 13:45 | Multistakeholder Commitments to the Water Action Agenda – Integrated Water and Climate Solutions – From Science to Decisions to Actions | Side Event Room A |
| 12:30 - 13:45 | Pathway Forward: Water-resilient, Sustainable and Inclusive in Asia and the Pacific | Trusteeship Council chamber |
| 13:15 - 14:30 | Too much and too little - Accelerating IWRM for climate-resilient water management, climate action and ecosystem conservation | Side Event Room 2 |
| 14:00 - 15:15 | 2025 International year of glaciers’ preservation | ECOSOC Chamber |
| 14:00 - 15:15 | Accelerating Women’s Inclusion in Water | Side Event Room B |
| 14:00 - 15:15 | Transboundary cooperation and science for sustainable management of Amazon waters | Side Event Room 8 |
| 15:00 - 18:00 | Interactive dialogue 2: Water for sustainable development | Conference Room 4 |
| 17:00-18:15 | From UNEA to General Assembly: Taking action for Sustainable Lake Management - as a catalyst to accelerate global commitment in the Water Action Agenda | Side Event Room 8 |
| 18:30 - 19:45 | International and transboundary cooperation of integrated water management: from data collection to implementation | Side Event Room 7 |
| Thursday 23 March 2023 | ||
| 08:00 - 09:15 | Responding to the UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action: Realizing Early Warning Systems for All in a World with Increasing Water Related Hazards | Side Event Room 2 |
| 08:00 - 09:15 | The Source to Sea Approach: Ocean Literacy as a powerful tool to address climate change and promote sustainable blue businesses while encouraging cross-sectoral partnerships and bridging SDGs 6 &14 | Side Event Room B |
| 09:30 - 10:45 | Transdisciplinary Ecohydrology for acceleration of SDG – methodology of science and patterns of implementation | Side Event Room 6 |
| 09:30 - 10:45 | Inclusivity in disaster preparedness: youth leadership as a critical ingredient to improve resilience to waterrelated disasters | Side Event Room B |
| 11:00 - 12:15 | Water for Nature, Nature for Water: Policies, Solutions and Commitments for Sustainable Development | Side Event Room C |
| 11:00 - 12:15 | Water Management and Gender in Caribbean Rural Farming Ecosystems | Side Event Room 6 |
| 12:30 - 13:45 | Taking next steps for a water and climate resilient world through capacity development of people and organizations | ECOSOC chamber |
| 12:30 - 13:45 | Achieving a balance between protection and development – Water for rural prosperity | Side Event Room 9 |
| 12:30 - 13:45 | Water and agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean | Side Event Room 6 |
| 13:15 - 14:30 | Stronger together: Building resilience and prosperity through integrated and evidence-based management of the Ocean–Water continuum | Side event Room B |
| 13:30 - 14:50 | Indigenous Peoples and Water: Joint Commitments to transforming water governance, climate adaptation and biodiversity: Indigenous Peoples, Member States and the UN system | Doha Conference Room (304 E 45th st, 11th Fl), UNDP |
| 15:30 - 16:45 | Committing to advance transboundary water cooperation worldwide for sustainable development, climate action, stability and peace | ECOSOC chamber |
| 17:00 - 18:15 | Source-to-sea collaboration: A game changer for the whole water cycle | Side Event Room 8 |
| 17:00 - 18:15 | Towards Achievement of Water Action Agenda: Reaching Beyond the Borders | ECOSOC chamber |
| 17:00 - 18:15 | Supporting gender equality in the Water Action Agenda with Global Multi-stakeholder effort | Side Event Room 6 |
| 18:30 - 19:45 | Big Earth Data: A Game Changer to Promote Implementation SDG 6 | Side Event Room 8 |
| Friday 24 March 2023 | ||
| 08:00 - 09:15 | Groundwater: an invisible cross-sectoral fundament for implementation of the Water Action Agenda | Trusteeship Council chamber |
| 11:00 - 12:15 | Science-Based Global Water Assessment | ECOSOC chamber |
| 13:15 - 14:30 | Public Dialogue on the UN-Water SDG 6 Synthesis Report 2023 | Side Event Room 2 |
| 13:15 - 14:30 | Women and Water in Latin America | 601 Lexington Avenue - Acquisition Suite, N.Y |
| 15:30 - 16:45 | Inclusive Science for Water Security | Trusteeship Council Chamber |
| 15:30 - 16:45 | SIDS resilience to Climate Change through Water Security: Towards SDGs and SAMOA Pathway achievement | Side Event Room 6 |
UNESCO's expertise
UNESCO is supporting Member States’ efforts to understand their water resources better and manage these sustainably, as part of the drive to reach global targets under Sustainable Development Goal 6, through two international programmes: