Excellencies,Distinguished Participants,Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you all for coming to this High-level event. It is an honor for me to participate and moderate this important event towards implementation of the International Decade of Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028.
Today, 2.1 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water and 4.5 billion people lack safely managed sanitation.
Without access to safe drinking water and sanitation, we cannot ensure health, food security, dignity and equality for all. Nor can we help protect our fragile ecosystems.
The impacts of climate change are aggravating these challenges. Recent years have seen increasing frequency of water related natural disasters, causing significant financial loss and casualties.
Integrated implementation of water-related SDGs is therefore critical for ensuring that no one is left behind in relation to access to water and sanitation in a resilient manner.
In this context, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Member States for their visionary leadership in sponsoring and adopting the General Assembly resolution on the International Water Decade. The resolution reflects the strong commitment of Member States to a greater focus on the sustainable development and integrated management of water resources for the achievement of social, economic and environmental objectives.
I look forward to a fruitful discussion during this important event.
Thank you all for coming to this High-level event. It is an honor for me to participate and moderate this important event towards implementation of the International Decade of Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028.
Today, 2.1 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water and 4.5 billion people lack safely managed sanitation.
Without access to safe drinking water and sanitation, we cannot ensure health, food security, dignity and equality for all. Nor can we help protect our fragile ecosystems.
The impacts of climate change are aggravating these challenges. Recent years have seen increasing frequency of water related natural disasters, causing significant financial loss and casualties.
Integrated implementation of water-related SDGs is therefore critical for ensuring that no one is left behind in relation to access to water and sanitation in a resilient manner.
In this context, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Member States for their visionary leadership in sponsoring and adopting the General Assembly resolution on the International Water Decade. The resolution reflects the strong commitment of Member States to a greater focus on the sustainable development and integrated management of water resources for the achievement of social, economic and environmental objectives.
I look forward to a fruitful discussion during this important event.
File date:
Tuesday, September 19, 2017