The United Nations World Water Development Report
© UNESCO
The United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR), released every year with a focus on different strategic water issues each year, is the UN’s flagship report on water. It is a comprehensive review that gives an overall picture of the state of the world's freshwater resources and aims to provide decision-makers with the tools to implement sustainable use of our water.
Through a series of assessments, the Reports provide a mechanism for monitoring changes in the resource and its management and tracking progress towards achieving targets, particularly those of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, 2000-2015), and now those of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, 2016-2030). The Reports also offer best practices as well as in-depth theoretical analyses to help stimulate ideas and actions for better stewardship in the water sector.
The development of the WWDR, coordinated by WWAP, is a joint effort of the UN agencies and entities, which make up UN-Water, working in partnership with governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders.
WWDR 2019
© UN Water
The 2019 edition of the World Water Development Report (WWDR 2019) entitled ‘Leaving No One Behind’ seeks to inform policy and decision-makers, inside and outside the water community, how improvements in water resources management and access to water supply and sanitation services are essential to overcoming poverty and addressing various other social and economic inequities. It was launched at the Human Rights Council, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva (Switzerland), on 19 March 2019.
