UN Water Conference 2023

INBO was present in New York to convey the voice of basin organizations, through 13 interactive sessions. This major event was an opportunity to take part in constructive meetings and renew physical dialogues with the entire water community.

The UN 2023 Water Conference consisted of an opening and closing ceremony, six plenary meetings and five multi-stakeholder interactive dialogues. The five interactive dialogues covered the following themes:

• 1: Water for Health: Access to safe drinking water and sanitation, including the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation (SDGs 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 and SDGs 1, 3, 4, 5, 17) – March 22, 2023 (AM);
• 2: Water for sustainable development: water valuation, water-energy-food interfaces and sustainable economic and urban development (SDGs 6.3, 6.4, 6.5 and SDGs 2, 8, 9, 11, 12) – March 22, 2023 (afternoon);
• 3: Water for climate, resilience and the environment: From source to sea, biodiversity, climate, resilience and DRR (SDGs 6.5, 6.6, 7, 11.5, 13, 14, 15) – March 23, 2023 (AM);
• 4: Water for Cooperation: Transboundary and international water cooperation, cross-sector cooperation, including scientific cooperation, and water in the 2030 Agenda (SDGs 6.5, 6.b and SDGs 16, 17) – March 23, 2023 (PM);
• 5: Decade of Action for Water: Accelerate implementation of the Decade’s goals, in particular through the UN Secretary-General’s Action Plan – March 24, 2023 (AM).

INBO promoted its initiatives that were the subject of commitments to the Water Action Agenda on the occasion of this Conference and in relation to these interactive dialogues:

•  The Dakar Action Plan  for lake, river and aquifer basins (click here for details) launched at the World Water Forum, Dakar, 2022, linked to IDs 2 and 4.
• The Transboundary Coalition (click here for details) linked to IDs 2 and 4. The United Nations Conference on the midterm comprehensive review of the implementation of the goals of the International Decade of Action on “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028, or “UN Water Conference 2023”, will be held in New York, from March 22 to 24, 2023, in accordance with UN General Assembly resolutions 73/226 and 75/212. Key outcomes of the UN Water Conference 2023 will include the Water Agenda for Action – a set of voluntary commitments by governments and stakeholders to accelerate implementation to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 and other water-related goals and targets.
• The Water & Nature Declaration : no water safety without ecology safety, no ecological safety without water safety, linked to ID3.
• Water and climate project incubator

INBO is also a partner in the following commitments:

• Inclusive and sustainable governance – Youth and international policies in the Artois Picardie basin
• The Republic of Korea’s efforts to achieve sustainable development in the water sector
• Improving the balance between conservation and development in rural areas
• The BIO-PLATEAUX project, for cross-border coordination of water and biodiversity between French Guiana, Brazil and Suriname.

INBO is delighted to have been able to bring its values to the forefront of the international scene: the issues of cooperation, the foundations of Integrated Water Resources Management, were paramount during the exchanges organized within the framework of this historic conference.

At the end of the discussions, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for water, “the most precious common good”, to be “at the center of the global political agenda”, and announced that the appointment of a special envoy on water was under consideration, a measure which opens up prospects for strengthening international cooperation around this vital resource.