About the High-Level Political Forum

Access to clean water is one of the basic human rights and elementary to human dignity and development. Access to water, for many people, is a matter of daily survival and having a safe and reliable water supply can help to break the vicious circle of poverty.

Water is central to feeding the nine billion people on this Earth. Globally, approximately 70 per cent of the freshwater used annually is in the agricultural production of food. Ensuring access to water, as well as implementing water-efficient methods that can withstand the increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns caused by climate change, are crucial aspects of improving food security

The COVID-19 pandemic clearly demonstrates that ensuring water and sanitation for all is crucial for public health as well as resilience, both on the individual and societal level. Lack of access to water, sanitation and hygiene significantly impairs human health. Of special worry is the fact that 35 per cent of healthcare facilities in low- and middle-income countries lack provisions for proper handwashing, a problem that needs addressing in order to avoid future pandemics.

Sustainable economic growth is not possible without the sustainable use of natural resources. Global freshwater resources are finite and poor water governance has detrimental impacts on economic productivity in the long run as production will be adeversely affected by water shocks in the light on climate change. This risks undermining the availability of decent work.

It is now universally accepted that water is an essential natural resource upon which nearly all social and economic activities and ecosystem functions depend. Sustainable development and human rights perspectives both call for reductions in inequities and tackling disparities in access to WASH services as access to clean water and sanitation is a universal human right.

Water is a key factor for a majority of global supply chains and water demand is projected to increase from most sectors. Nearly half of the targets in SDG 12 require improved management and governance of water resources and wastewater treatment.

People and nature alike experience climate change primarily through impacts to the water cycle. Changes to the frequency, timing and magnitude of hydrologic events as a result of increasing temperatures are becoming the new normal. The world is at risk of experiencing a continuous rise in extreme weather events, which could destroy any developments low-income countries have made over that last decades. In 2017 alone nearly 100 million people were directly affected by natural disasters, 78 per cent of which were the result of floods, storms or drought. Water therefore needs to be a central part of all climate strategies. Currently, we do see that water is prioritised in many NDCs that address adaptation, and that its role for mitigation is becoming more acknowledged.

Water is a resource shared by all and water cooperation can be an important factor in strengthening political stability and peace. At the international level, established water cooperation systems in shared river basins can be a critical feature of international cooperation and of the pursuit for solutions to transboundary problems.

The SDGs can only be reached through partnerships and joint efforts across geographical and societal boundaries. It is crucial that disadvantaged groups are better represented in decision-making processes to ensure that through the Agenda 2030 process, the UN provides even greater leadership, guidance and facilitates dialogues between member states and other stakeholders.