22 Mar 2024
Thank you Chair, and to the panelists for your insights. I also thank Indonesia, Netherlands, Tajikistan, UN DESA, and UN Water for organizing today’s meeting.
This year’s commemoration of World Water Day, as with past years, is a reminder that we have an ongoing crisis of water. We see it in record-making floods, droughts, heat waves, and wildfires. They are in one nation or region today, and in another tomorrow.
But extremities in weather patterns are just part of the story. Over 2 billion people across the world still lack access to safely managed drinking water, and over 3 billion people lack safely managed sanitation. The interaction of the water crisis with other crises, such as climate change, are putting at risk all the Sustainable Development Goals. We have now breached the planetary boundaries for water, and urgent action is needed to restore balance to the global water cycle.
The good news is we have what it takes to get back on track. The world is not short on scientific knowledge, technologies, capabilities, or finance. What we need to do is to come together toward a common goal. Let me share three ways how.
First, we need to treat the global water cycle as a global common good, to be protected and preserved in our collective interests. We need to actively pursue global collaboration for water action. We also need a fundamental shift away from the mindset of aid, to one of investment. We must invest in water as a global common good, to benefit all countries, rich or poor. Doing these reorients the global governance of water, organizes our capabilities and resources, and ensures we work towards a water future that is both inclusive and sustainable.
Second, we must build on the collective responsibility of both governments and businesses to serve the public good. Beyond the cooperation between countries, businesses are a key player to implementing sustainable water solutions. Across various fields, businesses and their partnerships with governments play important roles in driving innovation, unlocking investments and financing, and promoting a whole-of-society approach to water sustainability.
Third, we have to strengthen the role of multilateralism in advancing water action. Doing so will not only spur collaboration between us all, but also mobilise resources for more effective deployment of water solutions globally. We need holistic, systematic, and global governance for water, which today remains fragmented and siloed. In this regard, the UN’s ongoing work to finalise a UN system wide strategy for water and sanitation, as well as the swift appointment of the Special Envoy for Water will be important catalysts to enhance coordination across the UN on water issues.
Let me conclude by saying we are running out of time. We have to turn the water crisis to our advantage. We should treat it as an opportunity to course-correct, to step up political will, and to reorientate ourselves toward a more sustainable and equitable water future. We have what it takes to get back on track, and we simply must do so.
Thank you, and I wish everyone a happy world water day.