High-Level Panel

What are the new perspectives on drought in a time of climate change ? Drought is often compared with other natural hazards such as floods, storms, and wildfires. However, unlike these hazards, drought is often a so-called hidden risk, meaning that its onset is not perceived until drought conditions are already having an impact. In many countries worldwide and as a result of climate change, droughts are becoming more severe with higher negative and large-scale impacts. Also, incidences of severe heat waves and short-term dryness (flash droughts) seem to increase.

What are the new perspectives on drought in a time of climate change? Drought is often compared with other natural hazards such as floods, storms, and wildfires. However, unlike these hazards, drought is often a so-called hidden risk, meaning that its onset is not perceived until drought conditions are already having an impact.

Objectives of the Session:

The African Ministers responsible for water critically examining the global water situation and its implication for Africa in 2002 adopted the "Abuja Ministerial Declaration on Water – a key to Sustainable Development in Africa". This declaration established the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW). AMCOW is an intergovernmental institution of the African Union. The vision of AMCOW is an Africa where there is an equitable and sustainable use and management of water resources for poverty alleviation, socio-economic development, regional co-operation and the environment.

"SDG 6 of the 2030 Agenda wants to "Ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation", but the importance of water is also evident for the success of the other goals marked by the 2030 Agenda. Moreover, in the current global context of a health pandemic, water plays a central role in the economic and health recovery of states, promoting resilience, employment opportunities and health benefits and access to innovative financing.

The Session intends to reflect on the role of international cooperation to the achievement of SDG6 taking into consideration concrete projects existing in Portuguese speaking countries. This session will try to identify the main successes achieved, but also the main challenges ahead. Shared experiences allow the diffusion of solutions to be adapted to each country’s reality.

Background
- As the world faces deteriorating environmental conditions, dense populations, and rapid economic growth, Africa and Asia are highly vulnerable to climate change. They must be considered as strategically important locations in responding to global climate change.

The Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) organized the second H.L. Segment in a series of international meetings to develop water scare countries' messages to be submitted to the U.N. Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Water Action Decade, March 2023. Regional and International partners support the roadmap for the Policy dialogues in water-scarce countries to achieve SDGs.

Building on IWRM, the WWC IWRM/transversality Task Force is working on a new vision of water management with the aim to have an impact on the delivery of SDGs, identify the barriers to scale up, and provide a systemic vision and clear directions towards equity in allocation of water across sectoral needs through dialogue and tradeoffs discussions with stakeholders (local communities, public and private sectors, academia, and governing bodies, etc.). Exploring the interlinkages between water, energy, food, health, and education will help in achieving synergies between these sectors.

Despite the progress made in recent years, more than 2 billion people in the world still lack access to water safely managed, and almost half of the world population do not have access to safe sanitation. The Covid-19 pandemic has evidenced even more the imperative need for such basic services and the insufficiency of funds committed to that matter. Finance is a decisive mean to increase Water Security and to provide water services to all.