22 March 2018: On World Water Day, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) launched the ‘International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development’ (2018-2028).
Delivering remarks on behalf of the UNGA President, Mahmoud Saikal, Permanent Representative of Afghanistan and UNGA Vice President, noted the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in halving the number of people without access to safe drinking water, and underscored the centrality of water to the achievement of all the SDGs.
He said the Decade of Action needs to be defined by: water and sanitation as priorities for the budgets and policies of national governments; a surge of cooperation on water management and disaster risk reduction (DRR) between different stakeholders, including the UN, governments, international financial institutions, businesses and civil society; and increased water-related investments and innovations.
The Secretary-General presented the Action Plan of the Decade for Action, which has three objectives: transforming the current silo-based approach to water supply, sanitation, water management and DRR into an integrated one to better tackle water stress, combat climate change, and enhance resilience; aligning existing water and sanitation programmes and projects with the 2030 Agenda; and generating the political will for strengthened cooperation and partnerships.
The Minister of Water and Irrigation of Jordan called for advancing effective management of shared water resources.
Supported by Palau for the Small-island Developing States (P-SIDS), she emphasized the centrality of SDG 13 on climate action to achieving SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation.
Egypt, for the Group of the 77 and China (G-77/ China), called for developed countries to increase their investments in water and sanitation projects in developing countries.
Peru and the Netherlands spoke about water’s importance to achieving SDG 16 on peace and security through creating a conducive environment for peace.
During a panel on the ‘Contribution of the Water Decade to the implementation of water related SDGs,’ Ali Al-Ghezawi, Minister of Water and Irrigation of Jordan, emphasized that regional cooperation on water issues is especially important for LLDCs.
Priscilla Achapka, Executive Director Women Environmental Programme, highlighted the need to integrate the gender-related aspects in water planning and management.