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8 Mar 2023
Vanuatu’s fight for climate justice goes to the Hague
105 of the 193 member states have supported Vanautu’s call to request that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) provide clarification on the obligations of states to protect the climate system and other parts of the environment the environment for present and future generations. Clarity is also sought from the ICJ on the legal consequences under these obligations for States which, by their acts and omissions, have caused significant harm to the climate system and other parts of the environment for Small Island States as well as present and future generations suffering the consequences of climate change...
8 Mar 2023
The UN Water Conference and International Water Law
Tobias Schmitz: In a recent article in the International Journal of Water Resources Development, Professors Asit Biswas and Cecilia Tortajada argue that the upcoming UN Water Conference has not been built sufficiently on the legacy of the last UN Water Conference held in Mar del Plata in 1977. To what extent do you think that the UN 2023 Water Conference is building sufficiently on the legacy of International Water Law since 1977? Dr Mara Tignino: Thank you...
4 Mar 2023
Progress made in documenting damage to water resources and infrastructure in Ukraine
A year into the war in Ukraine, progress is being made in documenting the damage to water resources and infrastructure, although many gaps still remain. The Ukrainian government has requested the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to assist in the assessment of environmental damage in the country, and already it is estimated that 618 critical industrial or infrastructure sites have been damaged or destroyed...
4 Mar 2023
Catarina de Albuquerque speaks to The Water Diplomat
Interview with Catarina de Albuquerque 27/02/2023 Chief Executive Officer, UN-hosted Sanitation and Water for All global partnership Tobias Schmitz: For those people who do not work in the water, sanitation or hygiene (WASH) sector, there may not be a strong awareness of the importance of safely managed water, sanitation and hygiene for our health, for social justice, for economic development and for all life on the planet...
2 Mar 2023
Peace and Water: GOWP brief calls for urgent rethinking of approach to water management
The Global Observatory for Water and Peace (GOWP) has released a brief ahead of the upcoming United Nations Mid-Term Review Conference in March 2023, highlighting the urgent need to fundamentally rethink the global approach to water as a vehicle of peace, rather than as an end in itself. “The global water crisis is a multi-dimensional and complex issue that requires a comprehensive approach...
2 Mar 2023
'Forever' pollution map of Europe created through collaborative journalism
A collaborative research effort by journalists and media across Europe has resulted in the development of an interactive map of pollution by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) across Europe. Dubbed the ‘Forever Pollution Project’ after the alternative name ‘forever chemicals’ that is also used to refer to these highly persistent compounds, the collaborative effort involved long term investigation by a group of 18 newsrooms of the location of more than 2100 sites in Europe that can be considered PFAS ‘hotspots’...
1 Mar 2023
Hearing the Unheard for the UN Water Action Agenda
The UN 2023 Water Conference (UN Water 2023) will take place in March at the UN Headquarters in New York. It has been 46 years since a UN Water Conference was last held. The vision of the Conference is explicitly inclusive: “The Conference and its preparatory process will be organized based on the following three principles: Inclusive: both in terms of (a) the Conference process (ensure vertical and horizontal inclusiveness) and in terms of (b) the results (leaving no-one behind)...
24 Feb 2023
Launch of UN-Water report for Improved Integration Across SDG6
A new report launched by UN Water on the 16th of February reviews the range of targets and indicators across Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) on water and sanitation and reviews options for closer integration across these targets. In describing the motivation for the report, Marianne Kjellen, senior water advisor UNDP, underlined the fact that the task of UN Water is to coordinate the activities of the different UN agencies with water and sanitation related mandates on water and sanitation issues...
22 Feb 2023
Water Security: Issues and challenges for India
Water security in India refers to the availability of adequate and clean water resources to meet the country's growing water demand, while ensuring the sustainability of the water ecosystems. This is in line with the definition of water security provided by UN Water, which is a United Nations inter-agency coordination mechanism on all freshwater-related issues...
22 Feb 2023
Interview with Dominic O’Neill, Sanitation and Health Fund
Tobias Schmitz: The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund is a new UN entity on the international scene. Can you give us some background on the thinking around its emergence? Dominic O’Neill: Wash has always been the poor cousin of the engineering dimension of water infrastructure. While there are people who are passionate about sanitation, within wash it is the ‘Cinderella’ and menstrual hygiene doesn't even get a mention in the fairytale, ironically...
20 Feb 2023
Looming water shortage in Northern Italy
Images from the Copernicus Sentinel 2 satellites from February 15th show reduced flow of the Po River in Italy. This is the second year in a row that the Po valley has been affected by drought. According to the National Association of Reclamation, Irrigation and Land Improvement (ANBI), within the Po Basin, some 70 municipalities have already announced early warning status, and in some municipalities, tanker trucks are being brought in to ensure continued water supplies...
17 Feb 2023
Health risks in Türkiye and Syria due to lack of functional water and sanitation systems
The earthquake that struck in Türkiye and Syria on the 6th of February has destroyed water and sanitation infrastructure in a wide region. Since then, areas in both countries affected by the earthquake are in urgent need of humanitarian aid. In a media release on the 13th of February, Marielle Snel, the Senior Global Humanitarian Waster, Sanitation and Hygiene advisor for Save the Children, stated: “People in the earthquake-affected areas urgently need safe drinking water and latrines...