SDGs

Objectives
The Special Session will discuss the significance of material, conceptual and spiritual aspects of water-related cultural heritage. The discussion will focus on the critical relevance of world water heritage for present and future water security, and to promote peace and development. The Special Session flows from the recommendations of the 2020 Tokyo symposium on Water and Culture/Heritage which was organized by the National Institute on Policy Studies of Japan in cooperation with the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Water and Heritage (ISCWater).

The objective of this session is twofold.

The first objective is to highlight the benefits of innovative partnerships for protecting, maintaining and/or strengthening water and sanitation services during crises with concrete examples of successful actions.

The second will be to encourage a dialogue between the public and a representative sample of the diversity of actors present in crises context, in order to collectively identify solutions to foster multi-stakeholder responses for the protection and maintenance of WASH services in crisis contexts.

Water challenges in countries that suffer from water scarcity have become more complex than before, especially in light of population increases, rising standards of living, and an increase in demand for water from competing sectors. In addition, the effects of climate change and complex cooperation with riparian countries sharing international rivers add more pressure, especially with unilaterally adopted decisions that would increase challenges and threaten the stability and peace of the region.

The session will present the application used by the Dakar 2022 Jury to evaluate the contributions of water projects to all 17 SDGs and will conclude with it being made available online for free use by all water stakeholders worldwide.

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.

A panel of Ministers will discuss the outcomes of the Global Water Policy Report 2021 and its relevance to their work, topics for the 2023 report (to be announced at this event) and how to maximise participation and value in the next Water Leaders Survey. The session will also include a brief overview of the report findings and a presentation by a senior United Nations official on how the report will support implementation of the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework.