Review of SDGs implementation: SDG 6 – Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Monday, 9 July 2018
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Conference Room 4, UNHQ
Official meeting
Statements
Statements
Presentations
SDG 6 - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, reflects the increased attention on water and sanitation issues in the global agenda. Fresh water, in sufficient quantity and quality, is essential for all aspects of life and sustainable development. The human right to water and sanitation are widely recognized by Member States. Water resources are embedded in all forms of development (e.g. food security, health and poverty reduction), in sustaining economic growth in agriculture, industry and energy generation, and in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Agriculture (including irrigation, livestock and aquaculture) is by far the largest water consumer, accounting for 69 per cent of annual water withdrawals globally. Industry (including power generation) accounts for 19 per cent and households for 12 per cent. All these water uses can pollute freshwater resources. Most wastewater from municipal, industrial and agricultural sources is discharged back into water bodies without treatment. If not treated, this pollution further reduces the availability of fresh water for drinking and other uses, and also degrades ecosystems. The 2030 Agenda establishes that those challenges can be met by adopting a more integrated approach to managing and allocating water resources, including the protection of ecosystems upon which societies and economies depend. The concept of integrated water resources management (IWRM) requires governments to consider how water resources link different parts of society and how decisions in one sector may affect water users in other sectors. It is an approach that must involve all actors and stakeholders, from all levels, who use and potentially pollute water so that it is managed equitably and sustainably.
Proposed guiding questions:
- Equal accessto sufficientsafe and affordable water and adequate and equitable sanitation and
hygiene can mean the difference between prosperity and poverty, well-being and ill-health,
and even living and dying. What are the main entry points to eliminating inequalities in the
access to water and sanitation services?
- Financial needs in the water sector remain high. More funding is required, ranging from more
effective use of existing resources through to providing new financing paradigms to create
greater opportunities for making rapid progress in future years. What are the most viable
innovative funding models that can best advance SDG 6 implementation?
- A lack of capacity is constraining water resources development and management and human
resource shortages are reported in all key areas, including: agriculture and irrigated farming;
water-related risks management; water and sanitation services; wastewater treatment,
recycling and reuse technologies; data collection and desalination. How can we link with SDG
8 by finding ways to encourage decent work and economic growth in the water sector?
- Who are the furthest behind and who is at risk of being left behind for this SDG?
Chair:
- H.E. Mr. Mahmadamin Mahmadaminov, Vice-President of ECOSOC
Presentations:
- Ms. Yongyi Min, Sustainable Development Goal Monitoring Section, Statistics Division of UN
DESA
- Mr. Stefan Uhlenbrook, Coordinator ofthe UN World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP),
UNESCO, on SDG 6 Synthesis Report 2018 on Water and Sanitation
Keynote speaker:
- Ms. Mina Guli, water advocate, ultra runner
Moderator:
- Mr. Joakim Harlin, Vice Chair of UN-Water
Panellists:
- H.E. Mr. Danilo Türk, Chair of the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace, former
President of Slovenia
- H.E. Ms. Lucía Ruiz, Vice Minister of Environment of Peru
- Mr. Callist Tindimugaya, Commissioner for Water Resources Planning and Regulation, Ministry
of Water and Environment, Uganda
- Ms. Claudia Sadoff, Director of the International Water Management Institute
Lead discussants:
- Mr. Ney Maranhão, Director of National Water Resources Agency of Brazil
- Mr. Thomas Stratenwerth, Head of Division and acting Deputy Director General, Ministry for
Environment, Germany
- Mr. Neil Jeffery, CEO, Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor
- Mr. Florencio Marerua, Country Director, Mozambique, WaterAid (NGO Major Group)
Followed by interactive discussion
H.E. Mr. Danilo Türk
Chair of the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace, former President of Slovenia
Prof Danilo Türk had a rich and varied career as an academic, as a diplomat and as UN official. In the years 1984-1992, he wrote several UN reports on human rights. In the years 1992-2000 he was Ambassador, Permanent representative of Slovenia to the UN in New York. He served on the UN Security Council in 1998-1999 and was President of the Security Council twice. Between 2000-2005, he served as UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, at the invitation of Mr. Kofi Annan, then UN Secretary-General. In that period, he worked on a variety of diplomatic projects of the UN, including in the field of preventive diplomacy. In the year 2016 he was a candidate for the post of UN Secretary-General. His genuine commitment as Chairman of the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace (2015-2017) was key to the success of the work of the Panel.
H.E. Ms. Lucía Ruiz
Deputy Minister of Environment of Peru
Ms. Lucía Ruiz is the Deputy Minister of Strategic Development of Natural Resources of the Ministry of Environment of Peru. She is a lawyer with a Masters’ degree on Business Administration (MBA), a Masters in Sustainable Development, and a Masters in Judicial Research. She has complementary studies in Governance and Policy Management, Environmental and Natural Resources Law, Public Management, among others.
Ms. Ruiz has over twenty-five years of work experience, twenty of them dedicated to topics related to Natural Resource Management, with special emphasis in water resource management, as well as protected natural environments and environmental issues. She has also experience in the management of projects that put forward the participation of the private sector propelling local capacities. She is a professor in Water Law and panelist in several national and international events related to natural resources and protected natural environments.
Mr. Florencio Marerua
Country Director, Mozambique, WaterAid (NGO Major Group)
Mr. Florencio Marerua is currently the Country Director for WaterAid Mozambique. He has worked previously as the Country Director for WWF in Mozambique over a period of five years prior to being appointed to the role of East and Southern Africa Regional Policy and Partnership Advisor for WWF based in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. In his capacity as the Regional Policy and Partnership Advisor, Florencio successfully created strategic partnerships and alliances between WWF Africa and EAC, SADC, NEPAD, COMESA and AU. Florencio also worked as the National Relief Coordinator in Mozambique for World Vision Mozambique before taking up the role of Africa Capacity Building Advisor for World Vision International based in Nairobi, Kenya for a period of eight years. In this capacity, Florencio was responsible for bridging the divide between Relief and Development within World Vision Africa Region by promoting the notion that Disaster Management is Everybody’s Business. He was educated in the United States of America where he graduated with a degree in Business Management.
Mr. Neil Jeffery
CEO, Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor
Neil Jeffery has been Chief Executive of Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) since spring 2014. He has over two decade’s experience of successfully leading and growing social enterprises and innovative partnerships, in both Europe and North America. He previously led various organizations delivering services to base of the pyramid consumers, taking each through complex change processes to promote significantly enhanced institutional capacity and performance. He has worked with various corporates to develop their social investment initiatives.
He holds an MBA with distinction from Sir John Cass Business School, an MA from the University of Cambridge and was a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford. He holds the Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting from Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
Mr. Ney Maranhão
Director of National Water Resources Agency of Brazil
Ney Maranhão is a geologist with specialization in Rock Mechanics and PhD in Civil Engineering in the field of water resources. He has coordinated several infrastructure projects, specially hydroelectric projects and water resources plans. He has along 40 years of professional activity also taught water resources planning courses. In recent years, he has held the positions of Deputy-Superintendent and Superintendent of Water Agency, from 2006 to 2013, and Secretary of Water Resources and Urban Environment of the Ministry of the Environment, from 2013 to 2015. He is currently Director of National Water Resources Agency of Brazil.
Mr. Stefan Uhlenbrook
Coordinator of the UN World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), UNESCO, on SDG 6 Synthesis Report 2018 on Water and Sanitation
Since November 2015, Professor Stefan Uhlenbrook is the Coordinator of the UN World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP, UNESCO programme) and the Director of the Programme Office on Global Water Assessment in Perugia, Italy.
Professor Uhlenbrook’s main expertise includes water assessments, hydrological process research, river basin modelling and water resources management. He is keen on translating science-based water knowledge to effective policies and strategies that contribute to environmental, economic and societal sustainability. Therefore, Stefan is involved in supporting Member States in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly SDG 6 on Water and Sanitation.
Mr. Thomas Stratenwerth
Head of Division and acting Deputy Director General, Ministry for Environment, Germany
Thomas Stratenwerth is currently the Head of Division for the Federal Ministry for Environment in Germany. Since 2007 he was also Chair of the Inter Ministerial Working Group on Adaptation to Climate Change responsible for coordinating the German Government´s overall Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change. Co-organizer of the 2011 “Water-Energy-Food-Nexus Conference” in Bonn.
From 1999-2005 he served as Head or Deputy Head of the German Delegations to the International Commissions for the Protection of the Danube, the Rhine, the Elbe, the Odra and to the Border Water Commissions with Poland, Czech Republic and the Netherlands; Member of the Bureau of the UNECE Water Convention.
Ms. Claudia Sadoff
Director of the International Water Management Institute
Dr. Claudia Sadoff is the Director General of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Sri Lanka. Prior to joining IWMI, she spent over 20 years at the World Bank where she held multiple positions including Global Lead for Water Security and Integrated Resource Management, Leader of the South Asia Water Initiative and the global Water Resources Team, and coordinator of the World Bank Nile Team. She has received appointments from a wide variety of other organizations as well, serving as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Oxford University, Chair of the GWP/OECD Task Force on Water Security and Sustainable Growth, Economic Advisor to IUCN, Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Water Security, Member of the Global Water Partnership Technical Committee and Fulbright scholar at the Thailand Development Research Institute. She holds a PhD in Economics.
Ms. Mina Guli
Water advocate, ultra runner
Mina Guli is the founder and CEO of Thirst, non-profit educating millions of children across China about water. She is a global leader, adventurer and entrepreneur who uses her passion and drive to raise awareness of the global water crisis. A self-confessed non- athlete, she has run across 7 Deserts on 7 Continents in 7 Weeks, and 40 Marathons in 40 Days on 6 Continents down 6 major rivers. Both world firsts, both for water.
Mina has been named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, one of Australia’s most influential women, and by Fortune Magazine as one of the 50 greatest leaders in the world.
In November 2018, Mina begins #RunningDry, which will see her run 100 marathons in 100 days around the world for 1 reason -- water.
