China Europe Water Platform
Updated on 21 April 2023 - Find in our report all the key messages, commitments and recommendations carried by INBO during the UN 2023 Water Conference's debates on the stakes of water management by and for the basins, in a context of climate change and increased pressure on the resource.
"INBO is strongly committed, together with all its members and partners, to make the March 2023 United Nations Water Conference a historic opportunity to accelerate initiatives for a more efficient and fair management of water resources worldwide. In particular, we believe that basin organizations have an active role to play in better sharing and planning the sustainable use of water resources. Faced with increasing pressures - climate change, demography, urbanization - basin organizations can bring collective strategies, shared information systems, operational solidarity between water users and the consideration of aquatic ecosystems."
Eric Tardieu, INBO Secretary General.
Following the Mar del Plata Conference in 1977, this event represented a rare, unique moment in the history of the international water community! We were therefore fully committed to getting people talking about basins, and above all demonstrating that “through basins and for basins” we can achieve the sustainable development goals more quickly, in particular Goal 6 on water. The conclusions of COP 27 in November 2022 have already confirmed that supporting basin organisations with a clear mandate, adequate human and financial resources and effective governance means securing access to water resources for all.
INBO was present in New York to convey the voice of basin organizations through 13 interactive sessions. This major event was an opportunity to participate in constructive meetings and to renew physical dialogues with the whole water community.
The UN 2023 Water Conference consisted of an opening and closing ceremony, six plenary meetings and five multi-stakeholder interactive dialogues. The five interactive dialogues focused on the following themes:
INBO promoted its initiatives registered as commitments on the Water Action Agenda on the occasion of this Conference and in relation with these interactive dialogues:
The Dakar Action Plan is also a registered commitment on the UN platform: find it here.
The United Nations Conference on the midterm comprehensive review of the implementation of the goals of the International Decade of Action on "Water for Sustainable Development", 2018-2028, or "United Nations Water Conference 2023", will be held in New York, 22-24 March 2023, in accordance with UN General Assembly resolutions 73/226 and 75/212. Key outcomes of the UN Water Conference 2023 will include the Water Agenda - a set of voluntary commitments by governments and stakeholders to accelerate implementation to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 and other water-related goals and targets.
INBO is also a partner in the following commitments:
INBO is pleased to have been able to bring its values to the forefront of the international scene: the cooperation issues, which are the basis of Integrated Water Resources Management, were predominant during the exchanges organized within this historical conference.
At the end of the discussions, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for water, "the most precious common good", to be "at the centre of the world's political agenda" and announced that the appointment of a special envoy on water was being considered, a measure that could open up prospects for strengthening international cooperation on this vital resource.
Organized with Morocco.
Partners: French government, Senegalese government, Spanish government, Finnish government, Swiss government,
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Water Resources Association (IWRA), Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), Gambia River Basin Development Organisation (OMVG), Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS)
Master of ceremony
Introduction
Keynote speaker
Panel
Conclusion
Organized with The Nature Conservancy, WWF, IUCN, World Water Council, CEOWM, Veolia, ABI
Partners: France, Zambia, Vietnam, USA
Welcome Remarks, Statement of Purpose
Keynote on NBS: what, why, where
Panel 1 | Enabling conditions for NBS investment
Panel 2 | Locally-led NBS Catchment Initiatives
Closing remarks
Organized with France (Ministry for the ecological transition and territorial cohesion and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs)
Partners: Senegal (Ministry of Water and Sanitation), Morocco (Ministry of Equipment and Water), Estonia (Ministry of the Environment), Switzerland (Federal Department of Foreign AffairsOFEVFederal government of the Swiss Confederation), Spain (Ministry of the Ecological Transition), Bolivia (Ministerio de Ambiente), Burkina Faso (both the Ministry of Environment, Energy, Water and Sanitation & the Permanent Secretary for IWRM), Chad (Ministry of Urban and Rural Hydraulics), Finland (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry), Ghana (Water Resources Commission), Guinea Bissau (Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy), Lesotho (Ministry of Water), Malta (Energy and Water Agency), Romania (National Administration “Romanian Waters” / "Apele Romane"), Slovenia (Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning), Togo (Ministry of Water and Village Hydraulics), Tunisia (Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fisheries), Turkey (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry), Azerbaijan (Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources), Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), European Commission (DG-INTPA), International Commission for Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR), International Commission of the Congo-Oubangui-Sangha Basin (CICOS), International Meuse Commission (IMC), Komati Basin Water Authority (KOBWA), Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), Lake Kivu and Ruzizi River Basin Authority, Lake Tanganyika Authority (LTA), Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC), Mekong River Commission Secretariat (MRC), Mono Basin Authority (ABM), Niger Basin Authority (NBA), Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM), Organization for the Development of the Gambia River Basin (OMVG), Organization for the Development of the 18. Senegal River Basin (OMVS), Volta Basin Authority (VBA), Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), Water Basin Agency Piracicaba, Capivari and Jundiaí basins (PCJ), Brazil, The Bridge Tank, Initiative pour l'Avenir des Grands Fleuves (IAGF), World Water Council (WWC ; World Water Forum editions organizer), Global Water Partnership (GWP), UNECE.
Moderator
Introduction
Keynote speaker
Panel 1: How is IWRM contributing to implement SDGs, through cross-sectoral integration?
Panel 2: How can IWRM and RBO foster climate adaptation?
Conclusion:
Organized with UNECE and Slovenia.
Introduction
Presentation of the Transboundary Water Cooperation Coalition
Panel 1: advancing transboundary water cooperation through legal and institutional means, and data, information, knowledge and technical support
Moderator
Panel 2: advancing transboundary water cooperation through capacity development and funding and financing
Conclusion
Organized by Consorcio PCJ
Organized by Spain
Organized by Consorcio PCJ
Organized by International Association for Water Law (AIDA)
Organized by RAOB
Organized by GWP China
Organized by the World Water Council
Organized by the OECD
Summary of the session provided by the OECD
Organized by People’s Republic of China
Organized by the OECD
Summary of the session provided by the OECD