Side event SE

The Ecological Water Initiative aims to build relationships with national and international institutions working in the field of water resources management,
to generate scientific evidence to support national and local policy reforms in favor of ecological water. Because of its transversality, ecological water management requires a multi-stakeholder and multi-level partnership.

Aligned with the ambition of the WWF, UNICEF RO for West and Central Africa propose t a dialogue between young people from the Sahel, who are deeply affected by water issues and policy makers, as part of the 9th World Water Forum.This dialogue could be one of the panels on Day 3 o water and climate or Day 4 on water, sanitation and gender.From 2021, UNICEF has successfully engaged young people of the 10 countries in the Sahel in inclusive public debates on key issues affecting the region.

The Green PES program has identified six sectors as priorities after a participatory and transparent analysis process, including the Water and Sanitation sector.
The session will discuss (i) the objectives of the Green PES for the water and sanitation sector in a circular economy perspective, (ii) the public policies to be put in place, (iii) the experiences capitalized in other countries and (iv) the investment opportunities to achieve the Green PES objectives for the sector.

The 'Sahel Irrigation Initiative' (2iS) program stemming from the ambition of the Sahel Heads of State, translated into the Dakar Declaration on Irrigation in 2013 aims to accelerate the pace of investments to reach 1,000,000 ha of irrigated areas in the near future. It was welcomed by all stakeholders, as it corresponds to the magnitude of the social, economic and environmental challenges of the Sahel.

Cyanobacteria blooms resulting from the degradation of water quality (eutrophication) in lakes and reservoirs constitute a danger to human health and impact multiple water uses, including drinking water production. In northern countries, which have been confronted with these proliferations for more than 40 years, monitoring of these microorganisms has been set up and actions have been undertaken to (i) limit the dangers for human populations and (ii) fight against these phenomena. In sub-Saharan Africa, this issue is still largely ignored by managers and users of water bodies.

EUNIC Senegal, the network of European institutes involved in cultural cooperation, wishes to question the role that its various members can have in sustainable development.

Aware of its capacity to raise awareness and carry out strong actions, EUNIC Senegal wishes to strengthen its impact and question its practices because cultural institutions and the art and culture sectors have a role to play in sustainable development. What is this role and how can the cultural sector contribute to sustainable development?

As objectives :
- to demonstrate the aquaculture potential in Senegal ;
- to attract potential investors;
- to show the socio-economic impact of aquaculture, its place in the improvement of food security, the creation of employment and income;
- to make visible the role of aquaculture in the conservation of biodiversity in the face of climate change;

Panel discussion on the upcoming High-Level Symposium on Water “Bridging SDG6 and SDG 14” that will occur during the UN Ocean Conference, in Lisbon (27th of June) and the way this Symposium can contribute to the road towards 2023 UN Water Conference, putting fresh and saltwater communities working together.

In a context of scarcity, degradation and conflicts around the water resource, appropriate solutions must be found for humanity. Through this session, Côte d'Ivoire intends to show its contribution to this process of finding solutions through its experience in the field and its expectations.
The country document, without ignoring sub-regional and continental realities, presents an overview of water resources in Côte d'Ivoire and outlines the National Plan for Integrated Water Resources Management (PLANGIRE) which is currently being updated.

The African continent continues to be faced to major challenges in the water sector, particularly in terms of access to safe drinking water and water quality monitoring. Despite progress in recent years, 40% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa does not have access to safe drinking water. The challenge of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 6.1 and 6.3, includes water quality.