UN General Assembly Thematic Debate. Sustainable Development and Climate Change: Practical solutions in the Energy-Water Nexus

Date: 16 May 2013
Place: UNHQ, New York, USA

The world has made great progress of many of the MDGs in recent years. However, future development is threatened by real concerns about the pressure put on natural resources and the threat of climate change. As highlighted at the Rio+20 Conference, the world needs urgent, practical and sustainable solutions to making development more effective and sustainable.

Energy and water are at the heart of these solutions. They are both fundamental requirements for development and are deeply interrelated. Water supply uses large amounts of energy, whether for pumping, treatment or desalination. Similarly, energy supplies often depend critically on water, for hydroelectricity, cooling or irrigation. Climate change and international security both impact and are impacted by energy and water management.

This thematic debate examined and discussed the challenges and opportunities in managing the water-energy nexus to enhance sustainable development and meet the challenge of climate change. It also provided an informal setting for Member States to exchange their views, ideas, and lessons learned, discuss and generate new ideas on the subject in an interactive manner.

>> Draft programme

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A Matter of Life: Investing in Sanitation

Organizers: World Bank and United Nations
Date: 19 April 2013
Place: World Bank, J Building, Washington DC
Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Anthony Lake, Executive Director of UNICEF, Jim McHale, Senior Vice President of American Standard and Rachel Kyte, Vice President for Sustainable Development of the World Bank, engaged on a discussion on the global economics and politics of sanitation.

>> Video recording of session

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Water for Peace or Conflict? Prospects for improved water cooperation

Date: 16 April 2013
Time: 13:00-15:00
Place: Room II, UNESCO HQ, Paris, France
The objective of the seminar was to draw attention to pertinent issues related to international water cooperation: what are the challenges to be addressed and what are the immediate actions to be taken in order to favour water cooperation?

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UNCCD 2nd Scientific Committee: Economic assessment of desertification, sustainable land management and resilience of arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas

Date: 9-12 April 2013
Place: Bonn, Germany
This conference was expected to produce sound scientific outputs and policy-oriented recommendations for decision makers on the economic assessment of desertification, land degradation and sustainable land management in affected areas.

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10th United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF10)

Date: 8-19 April 2013
Place: Istanbul, Turkey
Around 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihood. Forests are also the source of three-fourths of freshwater, help to regulate the impact of storms and floods and store carbon from the atmosphere. Established in 2000 by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Forum is the only international body that addresses all forest and tree policy issues. 10th session considered a range of measures to improve sustainable forest management.

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Post-2015 Consultations: Global leadership meeting on water

Organizers: Facilitated by UN-Water, co-led by UNDESA and UNICEF
Date: 21 March 2013
Place: The Hague, the Netherlands
As part of the Post-2015 Development Agenda Global Thematic Consultations, this High-Level Leadership Meeting brought together Member States, NGOs and civil society to discuss and define recommendations on water for the post-2015 development framework. The meeting was in conjunction with the celebrations of World Water Day 2013..

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World Water Day 2013

Date: 22 March 2013
Place: Worldwide, The Hague and New York
On the occasion of World Water Day 2013 on 22 March, celebrations and events have taken place worldwide.

Official celebrations and a High Level Forum have taken place in The Hague, The Netherlands. The programme of the day included the announcement of winners of 2013 edition of 'Water for Life' UN-Water best practices award, inspirational speeches, presentations, panel and thematic discussions, and a series of public shows on the theme of water cooperation.

A High-Level Interactive Dialogue of the 67th session of the UNGA was also convened in New York to mark the 2013 International Year of Water Cooperation and the 20th anniversary of the proclamation of World Water Day.

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5th Regional consultation on groundwater governance

Organizers: UNESCO, FAO, World Bank, IAH, UNECE
Date: 19-21 March 2013
Place: The Hague, the Netherlands
In the framework of activities celebrating World Water Day 2013 and the UN International Year of Water Cooperation, this consultation focused on the characteristics of groundwater use in North America, Europe and Central Asia and seek to promote the discussion about the specific challenges and priorities within the regional context.

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E-learning Course: Water Footprint - Concept and Application

Organizers: World Bank Institute, Water Footprint Network, University of Twente
Date: 11-15 March 2013
This e-learning course aimed to provide the participants with an introduction to the concept of water footprint and its application. The course was made up of two parts: (1) five self-paced multimedia learning modules, each of which is around 45 minutes; and (2) online facilitated discussion forums.

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High Level Meeting on National Drought Policy

Organizers: WMO, UNCCD, FAO
Date: 11-15 March 2013
Place: Geneva, Switzerland
Drought is widely recognized as a slow creeping natural hazard that occurs as a consequence of the natural climatic variability. In recent years, concern has grown world-wide that droughts may be increasing in frequency and severity given the changing climatic conditions. Responses to droughts in most parts of the world are generally reactive in terms of crisis management and are known to be untimely, poorly coordinated and disintegrated. Consequently, the economic, social and environmental impacts of droughts have increased significantly worldwide. Because of their long-term socio-economic impacts, droughts are by far the most damaging of all natural disasters.

This conference provided practical insight into useful, science-based actions, to address the key drought issues being considered by governments and the private sector under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the various strategies to cope with drought.

>> Press release: Risk-management strategies needed to make societies drought-resilient, UN urges
>> Final Declaration

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Corporate Water Stewardship and the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Drawing from the India Experience

Organizers: United Nations Global Compact, Pacific Institute
Date: 4-7 March 2013
Place: Mumbai, India
This conference convened companies, government agencies, civil society groups, academia and others to explore critical and complex corporate water management issues and seek to advance effective and equitable solutions. Media is invited to attend on 5 March.
>> Conference agenda

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United Nations Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters

Organizers: UN Secretary General and UNSGAB
Date: 6 March 2013
Place: Economic and Social Council Chamber, United Nations, New York
Global changes, including climate change, increased population pressure, declining ecosystems, and unplanned urbanization are drastically increasing the risks of water-related disasters. Green growth will not materialize without adequately addressing water-related disasters. As highlighted during the current discourse in the Rio+20 process, integrated approaches to water resource management are critical for building the social, economic, and environmental pillars of sustainable development.

Having these in mind, this UN Special Session on Water and Disasters, an initiative of UN Secretary-General, was held at the United Nations to raise awareness, share experiences and good practices, and discuss ways forward towards global actions on water and disasters.

The summary of discussions will contribute, not only to future discussions of ECOSOC, Post Rio+20, Post-Hyogo and Post-2015, but also to help establishing global and regional dialogue and cooperation processes to improve disaster prevention and preparedness by countries.

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Post-2015 Development Agenda Consultation on Water: Water Resources Management and Wastewater Management and Water Quality

Date: 27-28 February 2013
Place: Geneva, Switzerland
The objective of this meeting was to allow for more profound technical and political debate and synthesize the discussions of two of the three streams of the Post-2015 water consultation: Water Resources Management and Wastewater Management and Water Quality, facilitated by UNECE and ONU-Habitat / Aquafed respectively. The meeting facilitated the development of a short document that reflects the discussions that have taken place both online and during this meeting.

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Ways to integrate efforts in furthering water dialogue and cooperation

Organizers: UN Permanent Mission of Tajikistan, UN-Water, EastWest Institute.
Date: 22 February 2013
Place: Conference Room 5, UN Headquarters NY
This side event assisted the preparation processes of global high-level events to be organized for the implementation of the International Year of Water Cooperation, including World Water Day in March 2013 and the High-Level International Conference on Water Cooperation to be held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in August 2013.

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Addressing inequalities in the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene

Organizers: Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations, Special rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation, UNICEF, UN-Women, WaterAid
Date: 21 February 2013
Place: Conference Room 5, UN Headquarters NY
This special event focused on how to address inequalities in the post-2015 development agenda, including women's rights and gender inequality, for water, sanitation and hygiene.

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Water in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

Organizers: UN-Water
Date: 20 February 2013
Place: World Bank HQ, Washington, USA
This event introduced the two following processes that will feed into the overarching inter-governmental process to develop post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): (1) The technical discussion on water-related targets and indicators, and (2) The thematic Consultation on Water. The event was webcasted live.

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2013 TUNZA International Youth Conference on the Environment

Date: 10-14 February 2013
Place: Nairobi, Kenya
Organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the 2013 TUNZA International Youth Conference on the Environment gathered some 250 youth delegates from over 100 countries to examine ways in which global youth can directly tackle today's most pressing environmental issues, and encourage their peers to take action. Links between human health and environmental degradation were the main themes of the conference.

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Official Launching Ceremony of the International Year of Water Cooperation 2013

Date: 11 February 2013
Place: UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France
UNESCO officially launched the International Year of Water Cooperation 2013 during a high-level event with the participation of eminent personalities, distinguished scientists, UN agencies and the youth from the world over.

Representatives of governments, local communities, specialized NGOs and UN organizations joined eminent specialists and youths to discuss:

• How water cooperation can best contribute to the Global Agenda on Sustainable Development for the post-2015 era so as to effectively address the needs of all societies.
• Harnessing cooperation at all levels to address water-related challenges, including:
  • Regional cooperative mechanisms;
  • Government action at the national level;
  • Action at the local level;
  • Cooperation at the basin level.
• Science, capacity building and partnerships.

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International Annual UN-Water Zaragoza Conference 2012/2013 'Preparing for the 2013 International Year. Water Cooperation: Making it Happen!'

Date: 8-10 January 2013
Place: Zaragoza, Spain
In preparation of the 2013 International Year of Water Cooperation, and World Water Day 2013, the 2012/2013 Zaragoza International Annual UN-Water Conference focused on how to make water cooperation happen. The conference will identified the best approaches to promote effective cooperation at different scales and how we can do 'better' in water cooperation through sharing lessons from experiences, and inspiring participants to do 'better'.

The conference will introduced the key skills required for water cooperation, with particular attention to their important role in the process of negotiation and mediation and with examples of their application in national and international water settings.

The outcomes of the conference included:

• A series of documented case studies that illustrate how different tools and approaches for dispute resolution are implemented in practice;
• A synthesis of lessons learned on the use of approaches for dispute resolution and how to improve water cooperation;
• A feedback on the main messages for World Water Day 2013.