Interview with Josefina Maestu on the post-2015 period (from min. 33:27)

18 September 2012 - In an interview with the Spanish radio station 'Aragón Radio' Mrs. Josefina Maestu, director of UNW-DPAC, focused on the importance of the post-2015 process and reflected on what comes after the MDGs deadline.

Interview with Josefina Maestu on water at Rio+20

3 July 2012 – In today's interview with the Spanish radio station Gestiona Radio Mrs. Josefina Maestu, director of UNW-DPAC, focused on the Rio+20 Summit and its importance for the global water agenda. "Rio+20 has been a success both in terms of the outcome document and the commitments made (with more than 700)" stated Mrs. Maestu. She highlighted the agreements made by Member States to establish Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and by the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. In addition, she emphasized the importance of the outcome document on identifying the green economy as a tool to achieve sustainable development and for taking steps to go beyond Gross Domestic Product.

The importance of strengthening the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and creating a strategy for sustainable development financing, among others, have also been pointed out by the outcome document in its call for a wide range of action. All these are important moves for water, Mrs. Maestu indicated, as they establish a wider international agenda for water. Member States have gone beyond reaffirming commitments made for the MDGs and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI), on water and sanitation as a human right, and for the International Decade for Action "Water for Life".

Rio+20 has opened the agenda to work towards universal access to basic water and sanitation services, to move towards the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and to adequately prepare for dramatic events such as floods, droughts and scarcity. Importantly, the agreement on the need to take measures to reduce pollution and improve efficiency can lead to a focus on this in international cooperation, as requested by Member States. "This is very much needed in light of the environmental planetary boundaries", concluded Mrs. Maestu.

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