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ECLAC will bring the voice and commitments of Latin America and the Caribbean to the United Nations Water Conference

Natural resources
22 March 2023|Briefing note

Next week the United Nations Water Conference will take place in New York, an event that has not been held since 1977. Here, ECLAC will be participating in different events to highlight the needs and commitments of the region, in such a way that they remain framed in the Action Agenda for Water that will be elaborated from there.

The 2023 United Nations Water Conference will take place in New York, from March 22 to 24, 2023. It is the first event of its kind, since the development of the 1977 Water Conference held in Mar del Plata, Argentina 46 years ago. This time, the objective is to evaluate the progress related to SDG No. 6 related to water and sanitation, within the framework of a comprehensive midterm review of the International Decade for Action "Water for Sustainable Development" (2018-2028).

Other objectives of the Conference include:

  • Identify potential challenges and obstacles, as well as opportunities to support the implementation and acceleration of progress of SDG No. 6
  • Exchange views on actions and initiatives needed to accelerate such progress
  • Invite States and other stakeholders to announce voluntary commitments
  • Contribute to the follow-up and review process of the 2030 Agenda by contributing to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

The Conference will have six plenary sessions and five interactive dialogues on: Water and health; Water for development; Water for climate, resilience and the environment; Water for cooperation; and one in relation to the Decade of Action on Water. Here, ECLAC will be participating and raising the voice for Latin America and the Caribbean in the following events:

  1. Side event “Network and Observatory for Water Sustainability in LAC (ROSA): Advancing the Regional Agenda for Water Action in WASH” to be held on Wednesday, March 22 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. (EDT). The concept note for said event, co-organized with the Ministry of Housing, City and Territory of Colombia, with a first version of the agenda can be found at the following link and then you can access the link for registration and online connection data . For in-person registration, complete the following form.
  2. Side event “Promoting Water Security in SICA, Central America and the Dominican Republic: challenges and opportunities”. The event will take place on Thursday, March 23 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. (EDT). Its goal is to showcase regional efforts to increase economic well-being, improve social equity, move toward long-term sustainability, and reduce water-related risks.
  3. Side event “Accelerating the implementation of the Water Action Agenda”, to be held on Friday, March 24, from 8:00 to 9:15 hrs (EDT). The side event has been organized by the five Regional Commissions: for Latin America and the Caribbean, for Asia and the Pacific, for Europe, for Western Asia and Africa with the aim of communicating the preparatory actions for the conference carried out by each region, and the outstanding advances of their countries. Below you can find more information , as well as the concept note to the event.
  4. Side event “Integrating water valuation perspectives towards better decision-making” organized by different countries, together with ECLAC, GWP, Deltares and the Valuing Water Initiative of the Netherlands. It will be held on Friday, March 24 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The event is based on the 5 Principles of Water Valuation of the Valuing Water Initiative , and how it has undertaken a series of processes at multiple levels. The registration and obtaining of data for the online connection can be found by clicking here.
  5. Side event: “Women in Water in Latin America and the Caribbean”, to take place on Friday, March 24, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EDT). This has been gestated by the Community of Women in Water of Latin America and the Caribbean (CMA-LAC), with support from the CCRB - Council of Cuenca Río Bravo, the Latin American Future Foundation, Suwo Di Foundation, Central American Youth Network for Water, coastal Solutions Fellows Program at Cornell University , Cooperativa de Aguas el Patagual Ltda , Red Agua Ecuador and the AMH Mexican Hydraulic Association, in addition to ECLAC. Registration for the event in person is carried out through the following form and more information about it can be found by clicking here .

At the same time, other panels and events in which organizations from the Regional Group of Experts on Water Resources participate, all relevant to the region, can be found at this link.

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