The 2021 edition of the UN World Water Development Report (WWDR) on "Valuing Water" was launched on World Water Day, on 22 March 2021, in an online event organized by FAO, on behalf of UN-Water. UNESCO supported FAO in developing the high-level segment of the programme. As much as 1300 participants from all regions connected to the event.
WWDR is UN-Water’s flagship report on water and sanitation issues, focusing on a different theme each year. The report is published by UNESCO, on behalf of UN-Water and its production is coordinated by the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme.
The theme of this year is the value of water. The report shows that the inability to recognize the value of water is the main cause of water waste and misuse. Given the difficulty of attributing an objective and indisputable value to a fundamental resource to life, it is necessary to examine water’s various dimensions in order to understand the various aspects of its “value”, including its social, environmental and cultural dimensions. This is especially true in times of growing scarcity and against the backdrop of population growth and climate change.
Following the Director-General of FAO, Mr. QU Dongyu’s speech, the UNESCO Director-General, Ms. Audrey Azoulay underlined the importance of preserving our most precious resource, “A blue gold to which 2.2 billion people lack access worldwide”. She drew attention to the fact that ‘Difficulties in accessing water can also be measured in terms of educational and economic losses. An estimated 443 million days of school are lost every year due to water-related illnesses”.
UN-Water Chair and President of IFAD, Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo, intervened highlighting that “to safeguard water for everyone and everything, policy makers need to understand the complexity of how people perceive and value water. So the aim of this year’s World Water Day campaign was to capture as many different views as possible”.
The event continued with a video message of the Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Vatican, on behalf of His Holiness Pope Francis, who reiterated that water is a basic and universal human right and that it would be crucial to establish a legal framework to guarantee access to water resources worldwide.
Ms. Marina Sereni, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, stated that “Italy has been traditionally engaged in fostering international cooperation on the use of water” and its commitment is showed also by financially supporting the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme in the production of WWDR.
The event foresaw also the participation of the Vice-president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia Mr. David Choquehuanca, who stressed the importance of water as a human right and highlighted the United Nation’s role in ensuring democratic access to water for all. Mr. Serigne Mbaye Thiam, Minister of Water and Sanitation of the Republic of Senegal, encouraged stakeholders to work together in a more holistic approach to address water management issues, and Mr. Jonathan Malagón González, Minister of Housing, Cities and Territory of the Republic of Colombia, described the actions taken by his country to make progress in terms of access to water resources.
Mr. Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, The Kingdom of Netherlands, said this year’s theme of ‘valuing water’ is particularly relevant during the pandemic, adding that ‘washing hands frequently is simple and effective to stop COVID from spreading, yet three quarters of households in developing world are unable to follow this rule. Clean water, the first line of defence against COVID19 is out of reach for far too many people’. He added ‘if we want to build back better, we need to build back bluer.'
Ms. Michela Miletto, Coordinator of UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme presented the main findings of the World Water Development Report 2021 highlighting the challenges to the valuation of water across differing sectors and perspectives and identifying ways in which valuation can be promoted as a tool to help achieve sustainability.
The presentation was followed by the interactive discussion on “what does water mean to you”, the campaign promoted by UN-Water for World Water Day 2021, aimed at exploring what water means to people, its true value and how we can better protect this vital resources. Mr. Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation commented on the results of this listening exercise.
FAO Deputy Director-General, Ms. Maria Helena Semedo concluded the event and reiterated that FAO stands ready to “continue to and contribute to the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to reach better production, better nutrition, better environment and a better life.”