Source: AUN News

99 percent

Groundwater supplies 99 percent of the world’s liquid freshwater, according to the United Nations World Water Development Report 2022. This natural resource is undervalued and poorly managed since it is poorly understood.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) President, Mr. Houngbo, emphasized the urgent need for policymakers to comprehend groundwater’s critical role and better manage the conflicting demands of water and sanitation systems, agriculture, industry, ecosystems, and climate change adaptation. He noted that the need for water is rising.

View the invisible

The subject of numerous conversations during World Water Week 2022, held in Stockholm, Sweden, from August 23 to September 1, is “Seeing the Unseen: The Value of Water.”

The session on groundwater was one of many events UN-Water is co-hosting to highlight the connections between Sustainable Development Goal 6 (water and sanitation) and other Goals. It also featured presentations from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and others.

Action-packed decade

Before the Paris UN-Water Summit on Groundwater in December and the UN Water Conference in New York in March 2023, officially known as the 2023 Conference for the Midterm Comprehensive Review of Implementation of the UN Decade for Action on Water and Sanitation, these discussions are anticipated to help advance the water agenda (2018-2028).

The Conference’s primary goals are to bring attention to the world’s water crisis and choose a coordinated strategy to fulfill the internationally agreed-upon water-related goals and targets, particularly those outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Analysis by: Advocacy Unified Network