FORUM: "Leveraging Water for Peace." World Water Day 2024. Water can create peace or spark conflict. When water is scarce or polluted, or when people have unequal, or no access, tensions can rise between communities and countries. More than 3 billion people worldwide depend on water that crosses national borders. Yet, only 24 countries have cooperation agreements for all their shared water. As climate change impacts increase, and populations grow, there is an urgent need, within and between countries, to unite around protecting and conserving our most precious resource. Public health and prosperity, food and energy systems, economic productivity and environmental integrity all rely on a well-functioning and equitably managed water cycle.When we cooperate on water, we create a positive ripple effect – fostering harmony, generating prosperity and building resilience to shared challenges. We must act upon the realization that water is not only a resource to be used and competed over – it is a human right, intrinsic to every aspect of life. This World Water Day, we all need to unite around water and use water for peace, laying the foundations of a more stable and prosperous tomorrow. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #WorldWaterDay, #22March., #Acceleratingchange.
EVENTS: On March 22nd at UNHQ in New York; The celebration of the World Water Day 2024 and the launch of the World Water Development Report 2024. under the auspice of the UNESCO entitled :"Water for prosperity and peace" will be held. During the event, Panelists and participants will talk about working together to balance everyone’s needs, with a dedication to ensure no one is left behind, to make water a catalyst for a more peaceful world.
Key messages:
Water can create peace or spark conflict. When water is scarce or polluted, or when people struggle for access, tensions can rise. By cooperating on water, we can balance everyone’s water needs and help stabilize the world.
Prosperity and peace rely on water. As nations manage climate change, mass migration and political unrest, they must put water cooperation at the heart of their plans.
Water can lead us out of crisis. We can foster harmony between communities and countries by uniting around the fair and sustainable use of water – from United Nations conventions at the international level, to actions at the local level.
Programme highlights
- High level Opening Ceremony
- Launch of the United Nations World Water Development Report 2024
- Technical Discussions on Water Cooperation and Peacebuilding.
- Cultural shows and indoor photo exhibition (Walk of Water)
WEBINARS: On March 22nd, from 10.30 – 13.00 (USA-EST); The 2nd High level panel on “Youth Views on VNRs Through a Water Lens’’ will be held virtually. In Observing World Water Day 2024 and acknowledging the critical role of water for a peaceful and prosperous society, the Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT) and Cansu Global are proud to present the findings of their Junior Researchers that have looked at the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) of UN Member States through a water lens. Watch the event!
Statement of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on World Water Day2024; March 22nd.
Action for water is action for peace. And today it is needed more than ever.
Our world is in turbulent waters. Conflicts are raging, inequality is rife, pollution and biodiversity loss are rampant, and, as humanity continues to burn fossil fuels, the climate crisis is accelerating with a deadly force — further threatening peace.
Our planet is heating up — seas are rising, rains patterns are changing, and river flows are shrinking. That is resulting in droughts in some regions, and floods and coastal erosion in others. Meanwhile, pollution and overconsumption are imperilling the availability of fresh, clean, accessible water on which all life depends. Dwindling supplies can increase competition and inflame tensions between people, communities, and countries. That is increasing the risk of conflict.
Water for peace is the theme of this year’s World Water Day. Achieving it relies on far greater cooperation. Today, 153 countries share water resources. Yet only 24 have reported cooperation agreements for all their shared water. We must accelerate efforts to work together across borders, and I urge all countries to join and implement the United Nations Water Convention — which promotes managing shared water resources sustainably.
Cooperating to safeguard water can power and sustain peace. Water stewardship can strengthen multilateralism and ties between communities and build resilience to climate disasters. It can also drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals — which are the foundation of peaceful societies — including by improving health, reducing poverty and inequality, and boosting food and water security.
Let’s commit to work together to make water a force for cooperation, harmony and stability, and so help to create a world of peace and prosperity for all.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
WEBINAR: 2nd High-Level Panel on“Youth Viewing the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs)Through a Water Lens” on March 22nd 2024, from 10.30 to 13.00 (USA-EST).
For more than 55 years, the Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT) has been
committed to empowering Youth and ensuring their participation actively in shaping the societies
in which they live through education, building and developing capacity, networking, recognition,
and ensuring their participation in policy and decision making.
The RASIT Youth Sustainable Development Studies Center, founded in 1986, strives to empower
Youth and enhance their participation in the scholarly exchange of knowledge on sustainable
development and promotes joint research and studies across sciences on sustainable development
issues. The Center is comprised of an inter-disciplinary group of youth and junior professionals,
whose work focuses on contemporary issues and challenges, inter alia, education, health, water,
food and agriculture, energy, environment, multilateralism, and beyond.
The Potential of Youth leadership as partners for sustainable development has been one of the
main objectives of RASIT.
In its second edition, the Royal Academy of Science International Trust and Cansu Global are
presenting to the International Community the Youth assessments, observations, analyses, and
vision of the Member States’ Voluntary National Reports presented at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum meetings.
"Our Water, Our Future" Introductory Remarks.
As part of their commitment to Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
UN Member States conduct Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) documenting their progress in
achieving sustainable development that leaves no one behind. These VNRs are not only an
accountability mechanism; they provide – through documenting successes and lessons learned on
shared implementation challenges – a rich source of knowledge on how to accelerate progress.
Water security is one of the most critical challenges of our time. We all need water every day, for
personal consumption and hygiene, for domestic uses and economic activities; and for the
ecosystems that surround and sustain us. With the world’s rapidly growing human population and
expanding economic activities, freshwater becomes increasingly scarce and polluted; in addition,
the effects of climate change on the water cycle affect the availability of the resource and cause
water-related disasters to become more frequent and disruptive.
How we deal with water today will determine our future.
The multilevel and multi-directional relationships between the natural and human systems with
respect to water resources mean that water challenges cannot be addressed from within the water
sector alone. If water is not featured adequately in national development strategies and the
planning of different segments of society, the risks presented by water scarcity, water pollution,
and the disruption of the water cycle will increasingly manifest themselves through declining
economic prosperity and upsetting the social order.
Rationale
Cansu Global, originally a program of the Royal Academy of Science International Trust
(RASIT) and presently transitioning to an Intergovernmental Organization, zooms in on the
critical importance of water for inclusive socio-economic development. As an interdisciplinary
partnership, it supports the development and implementation of comprehensive solutions for
water-related development challenges in different communities across the globe.
Cansu Global strives to remove institutional and socio-cultural barriers for concerted action by
furthering “ … the responsible use of science, technology, and innovation as drivers of
sustainable development and to build the capacities necessary for sustainable
transformations.” (Political Declaration of the HLPF 2023 paragraph 38q).
In this context, RASIT’s young scientists under the supervision of Cansu Global, have
conducted an inductive thematic analysis of the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) to gain
insight into how Member States are incorporating water in their sustainable development
approach and actions.
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LIVESTREAM: Observing World Water Day 2024 and acknowledging the critical role of water for a peacefuland prosperous society, the Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT) and Cansu
Global are proud to present the findings of their Junior Researchers that have looked at the
Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) of UN Member States through a water lens.
PUBLICATION: The Special Rapporteur on the human rights to water and sanitation presents stories of transboundary cooperation that show the benefits of a human rights approach to transboundary water management. Read the Report: “Water as an argument for peace, twinning and cooperation”.
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