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26 Oct 2021 NEW YORK NY, United States

Water Efficiency And Accountability For Equitable Distribution

UN-Water Expert Group warns that the pressure on freshwater resources will not relax Fair distribution will benefit those in greater need.

6 Mar 2021 WASHINGTON DC, United States

Biden administration reengages US with “flawed” UN Human Rights Council as Wall Street bets on water futures

In another reversal of Trump-era policy, US secretary of state Antony Blinken has announced the intention of the Biden administration to “reengage immediately and robustly” with the council.The Trump administration withdrew from the UNHRC in 2018 citing entrenched bias against Israel and concern at the council’s willingness to admit nations which were themselves frequent abusers of human rights...

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24 Sep 2020 REDMOND WA, United States

Microsoft Announces Ambitious Water Stewardship, Advocacy Plans

Microsoft has announced a commitment to be water positive in its operations by 2030. The corporation described its intension to reduce its water intensity, or water used per megawatt of energy consumed, and to replenish water used in water-stressed regions of operations in a 21 September blog by its President Brad Smith...

30 Jun 2020 ACCRA, Ghana

Ghana Accedes To Water And Watercourses Conventions For Transboundary Cooperation

Ghana has confirmed accession to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), becoming the third African country and 44th Party to join the Convention, managed by United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Ghana also has become a Party to the Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (Watercourses Convention)...

16 Apr 2020 WASHINGTON DC, United States

Investing In Water Access To Address Coronavirus

The World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research non-profit organization, has called for immediate implementation of solutions to increase water supplies and access for the most vulnerable, to address the spread of coronavirus throughout the world.An 8 April blog emphasises that nearly 1 billion people live in conditions that frequent handwashing is difficult or impossible, saying that governments must “take steps to not only expand water access now to control COVID-19, but to create resilient communities by addressing the root problems of water insecurity...

15 Apr 2020 GENEVA, Switzerland

UN-Water Collates Member And Partner Statements On COVID Pandemic

While there is no single United Nations entity dedicated exclusively to water issues, over 30 UN organisations carry out water and sanitation programmes, reflecting the fact that water issues run through all of the UN’s main focus areas.UN-Water, which coordinates the efforts of UN entities and international organizations working on water and sanitation issues, has brought together water and sanitation-related information from UN-Water Members and Partners in the light of the coronavirus global emergency to ensure the most up-to-date information, resources and guidance as they become available...

26 Mar 2020 NEW YORK NY, United States

Guterres: "The Solution Is Clear"

In a World Water Day address, United Nation Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described water as "the primary medium through which we perceive the effect of climate disruption, from extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, to glacial melting, saltwater intrusion and sea level rise". The United Nations’ World Water Day 2020 focused on “Water and Climate Change”...

29 Sep 2019 NEW YORK NY, United States

UN-Water Highlights Climate Change Impacts On Water Stresses

A new policy brief from UN-Water, the interagency mechanism that coordinates the efforts of United Nations entities and international organizations working on water and sanitation issues, highlights that climate change increases variability in the water cycle and makes extreme weather events more frequent...

22 Sep 2019 STOCKHOLM, Sweden

Increased Ambition, Investment And Action Required In Pursuit Of SDG 6 Goal

The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and 23 co-signing entities have called for “wise and resilient water management [that] offers a pathway for integrated and transformative action that leverages synergies across the global agendas.”An open letter from multilateral institutions and NGOs, in advance of the United Nations Climate Action Summit (New York, September 21 to September 23, 2019), reiterates the lack of global progress on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 and cites UN-Water’s SDG6 Synthesis Report (2018)...

7 Sep 2019 STOCKHOLM, Sweden

World's Poorest Suffer Under Weak Government Systems, Funding Gap: GLAAS Report

The World Health Organization (WHO) and UN-Water have published the most recent version of the UN-Water Global Assessment and Analysis of Sanitation and Drinking-Water 2019 (known as the GLAAS Report).The survey of 115 countries and territories reveals that weak government systems and lack of human resources and funds continue to hamper the delivery of water and sanitation (WASH) services in the world’s poorest countries and that efforts to ensure adequate services for all have been undermined...

28 Jul 2019 GENEVA, Switzerland

UN Water: Policy Brief On Climate Change Crisis

Describing the linkage between water challenges and climate change, a new UN Water Policy Brief calls for increased investment in improved hydrological data, institutions and governance, education and capacity development, risk assessment and knowledge sharing.Released July 12, the paper emphasizes the impact of climate change on the variability of the water cycle: weather events create an unpredictability of water availability which, in turn, affects water quality and quantity and further threatens biodiversity and sustainable development...

26 Mar 2019 NAIROBI

Google, UNEP Partnership Will Make Water Data Globally Accessible

Water scarcity is widely considered to be the next major issue impacting the world over the coming years. One way to start tackling the problem is by getting a better understanding of current conditions. Google has partnered with UN Environment and others to provide free and open data on the natural resource around the world...