Skip to main content
New York City skyline over the water

UN 2023 Water Conference

Photo by Chris Schippers / Pexels
On 22-24 March, the United Nations headquarters in New York hosted a historic conference on freshwater. SIWI has played an active role to ensure that countries finally tackle the urgent water crisis and deliver on commitments already made. Learn more about our positions and analysis.
Your guide to the UN 2023 Water Conference (white text and logo on dark blue background)
Get a quick overview of what the UN 2023 Water Conference is and what to expect.
Download your guide

It is hard to overestimate the importance of the  UN 2023 Water Conference. Compared to the last such meeting in 1977, we now have a much better understanding of global water challenges, and the world has committed to solving many of them, for example through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in 2015. But progress to achieve the agenda has stalled after the Covid-19 pandemic, and we are now getting more and more off track. 

SIWI is firmly committed to reversing this dangerous trend and has actively supported the UN 2023 Water Conference, including sending a delegation of experts to New York. 

We also took part in the New York Water Week, happening alongside the UN conference, and we contributed to the Water Action Agenda launched to accelerate necessary water actions.

Loading related content carousel…

Unknown block type: Unknown

{
  "layout": "homeVideoBlock",
  "homeVideoTitle": "Related videos",
  "homeVideoList": [
    {
      "homeVideoUrl": "<iframe title=\"What needs to happen for WASH?\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/KKdYN7HShzo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen></iframe>",
      "videoListTitle": "What needs to happen for WASH?",
      "videoPreambleText": "We catch up with Alejandro Jiménez, Director of the Water & Sanitation Department, SIWI, about what needs to happen for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, at the UN 2023 Water Conference."
    },
    {
      "homeVideoUrl": "<iframe title=\"¿Qué importancia tiene la Conferencia sobre el agua?\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/MUZqFL9gi8o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen></iframe>",
      "videoListTitle": "¿Qué importancia tiene la Conferencia sobre el agua?",
      "videoPreambleText": "Lourdes Álvarez, Senior Manager, Latin America and the Caribbean, SIWI "
    },
    {
      "homeVideoUrl": "<iframe title=\"What does it take to build resilient and fair communities?\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/LbEyRvW3Zys?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen></iframe>",
      "videoListTitle": "What does it take to build resilient and fair communities?",
      "videoPreambleText": "Xanani Baloyi, SIWI Programme Officer and Gender Equality Focal point attending the UN Water Conference, speaks about water diplomacy, in particular from the perspective of gender equality and marginalised communities."
    },
    {
      "homeVideoUrl": "<iframe title=\"Hopes from UN 2023 Water Conference\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/GOoy1Ta1Nj4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen></iframe>",
      "videoListTitle": "Hopes from UN 2023 Water Conference",
      "videoPreambleText": "José Pablo Murillo, SIWI talks about his hopes for the United Nations 2023 Water Conference."
    },
    {
      "homeVideoUrl": "<iframe title=\"Indigenous voices for water at the UN 2023 Water Conference\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/eTdQHjnR0vE?list=PLMji74tzbBsMFvMfH9Ae1zggDsEN-IPYB\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen></iframe>",
      "videoListTitle": "Indigenous voices for water at the UN 2023 Water Conference",
      "videoPreambleText": "We met with Huong, Rojieka and Saengrawee from three different communities in South East Asia. . They voice what they want to see happen at the Conference, and what they need from the international community to fulfil their rights and obligations towards water.\r\n"
    },
    {
      "homeVideoUrl": "<iframe title=\"4 water actions cities should take to mitigate climate change\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/2n-1V1UWHJg?list=PLMji74tzbBsMFvMfH9Ae1zggDsEN-IPYB\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen></iframe>",
      "videoListTitle": "4 water actions cities should take to mitigate climate change",
      "videoPreambleText": "We caught up with Malin Lundberg Ingemarsson of SIWI at the UN 2023 Water Conference to ask about what cities can do in order to mitigate climate change. "
    },
    {
      "homeVideoUrl": "<iframe title=\"Water cooperation is a journey not destination\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/FJmUT2cRt2s?list=PLMji74tzbBsMFvMfH9Ae1zggDsEN-IPYB\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen></iframe>",
      "videoListTitle": "Water cooperation is a journey not destination",
      "videoPreambleText": "Martina Klimes of SIWI talks about what needs to happen for water cooperation to be successful after the UN 2023 Water Conference."
    },
    {
      "homeVideoUrl": "<iframe title=\"Why is water cooperation so important?\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/pCPyF80RcfQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen></iframe>",
      "videoListTitle": "Why is water cooperation so important?",
      "videoPreambleText": "Håkan Tropp explains how the growing pressure on water resource impacts our relationship with nature. In this context, cooperation on water is more necessary than ever."
    }
  ],
  "homeVideoBlockLinkTitle": null,
  "homeVideoBlockLink": []
}

What happened in New York and online

SIWI took an active part in the conversation and amplify a broad range of water voices. See the list of sessions we were involved with:

With SIWI speaker

Indigenous Peoples Pre-Summit for United Nations Water Conference 

  • Date: Monday 20 March and Tuesday 21 March, 9am-5pm EDT 
  • Location: 221 East 52nd Street 
  • Convenors: International Indian Treaty Council, Aborigen Forum, Asia Indigenous Peoples’ Pact, Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee and Caribbean Network of Indigenous Tribal Peoples.
    Intergovernmental: Fondo para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas de América Latina y El Caribe (FILAC) 
  • SIWI presence: David Hebart-Coleman (tbc)

Webinars

What’s Next for Water? What needs to happen after the UN 2023 Water Conference | New York Water Week event

World Water Day 2023: “Water for People and Cooperation Partnership | New York Water Week event

  • Date: Monday 20 March, 9am EDT
  • Location: online
  • Organized by International Water Resources Association
  • SIWI Speaker: Dani Gaillard
  • More information on IWRA website

Diagram: Join SIWI to New York | March 2023 UN 2023 Water Conference - 22-24 March: The UN 2023 Water Conference is the first UN Conference on freshwater in almost 50 years. It aims to accelerate action on existing water-related commitments and will serve a mid-term review of the Water Action Decade. New York Water Week - 18 - 24 March: ew York Water Week is taking place alongside the UN conference as a meeting place for anyone interested in water. Many of the inspiring events can also be followed online.

SIWI has taken an active part in the preparation of the UN 2023 Water Conference, sharing expertise and reflections. Here are some areas we will continue to champion during and after the event:

  • Strengthen water governance. SIWI welcomes the rapidly growing interest in good water governance. Ahead of the conference we shared these ten principles.
  • Good governance is always inclusive. In the lead-up to the conference, SIWI has advocated for more inclusive processes, and this will characterize all our activities.
  • We call on governments to immediately double investments in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). SIWI will advise on how to achieve SDG 6, on time.
  • We help cities boost their climate action. SIWI will host a side-event with tools and guidance for cities to become more climate resilient while also cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
  • We offer policy advice to governments based on new climate knowledge. SIWI will also offer climate mitigation advice to countries and international institutions based on new research.
  • We provide training in source-to-sea management. SIWI will organize a range of activities on this method to combat fragmented governance.
  • We facilitate transboundary water cooperation. SIWI will offer guidance to regions and basins on collaboration around shared waters despite increasing geopolitical tensions.
  • We accelerate the Water Action Agenda. After the conference, SIWI will not only continue to support individual actors but also offer World Water Week as an arena for implementation and collaboration.

In addition to hosting our own events at the UN 2023 Water Conference, SIWI experts will participate in activities organized by other organizations and take part in the New York Water Week between 18 and 24 March.

 

Join the growing water movement

In the lead-up to the UN 2023 Water Conference, many organizations will share their research, commitments, and calls to action. SIWI will take active part in the conversation and amplify a broad range of water voices.

Webinar series

Learn more with us

SIWI will host a series of free webinars on different water topics, and share guides and explainers to accelerate water action.
YOUR INFORMATION