Alert: Water critical to Sustainable Development Goals

Today, on 25 September, 193 world leaders will commit to 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Without water, however, these goals cannot be achieved. SIWI will be in New York to further amplify the importance of water to the global development agenda.

The United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda will be held from 25 to 27 September 2015, in New York, convened as a high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly. One of the 17 global goals (Goal 6) aims to ensure access to water and sanitation for all.

SIWI welcomes a dedicated Sustainable Development Goal on water. It is paramount for addressing our world’s water-related challenges. Water’s relevance to the implementation of the goals should not be limited to Goal 6 however. Access to water is a prerequisite for the achievement of the majority of the other goals such as poverty, health, food, energy, climate, and infrastructure.

SIWI Executive Director, Torgny Holmgren will participate in a high-level event, Catalyzing Implementation and Achievement of the Water-related SDGs, which will take place on the margins of the summit this Sunday. Speakers include several heads of state, ministers, UNDP Administrator Ms. Helen Clark, Secretary-General of the United Nations Secretary H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon and President of 70th session of the UNGA H.E. Mr. Mogens Lykketoft.

Representatives from the Swedish Government, including Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven and Minister for Environment, Åsa Romson will also attend the summit, and continue to reinforce Sweden’s commitment to sustainable development.

In his opening address at the recent World Water Week in Stockholm, the Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven said “when the international community is shaping a new sustainable development agenda, water management and allocation must be at its heart. Not only as a separate goal but as an essential vehicle for development and health”. SIWI Director of World Water Week, International Processes and Prizes, Karin Léxen will also attend the summit.

• Interview requests: SIWI’s Executive Director Torgny Holmgren is on location at the UN from 25 to 28 September. Karin Lexén is in New York from 25 September to 1 October. Both are available for interviews about water’s role as a link between all development goals, and its crucial role in the upcoming climate agreement.
• More information on the Summit
• More information about the high-level event
• Follow SIWI’s updates in Social Media! Twitter: @siwi_water and Facebook: Stockholm International Water Institute.