Archived events stories

2013

High Level Meeting on National Drought Policy

Organizers: WMO, UNCCD, FAO
Date: 11-15 March 2013
Place: Geneva, Switzerland
Drought is widely recognized as a slow creeping natural hazard that occurs as a consequence of the natural climatic variability. In recent years, concern has grown world-wide that droughts may be increasing in frequency and severity given the changing climatic conditions. Responses to droughts in most parts of the world are generally reactive in terms of crisis management and are known to be untimely, poorly coordinated and disintegrated. Consequently, the economic, social and environmental impacts of droughts have increased significantly worldwide. Because of their long-term socio-economic impacts, droughts are by far the most damaging of all natural disasters.
This conference provided practical insight into useful, science-based actions, to address the key drought issues being considered by governments and the private sector under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the various strategies to cope with drought.
>> Press release: Risk-management strategies needed to make societies drought-resilient, UN urges >> Final Declaration

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Corporate Water Stewardship and the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Drawing from the India Experience

Organizers: United Nations Global Compact, Pacific Institute
Date: 4-7 March 2013
Place: Mumbai, India

This conference convened companies, government agencies, civil society groups, academia and others to explore critical and complex corporate water management issues and seek to advance effective and equitable solutions. Media is invited to attend on 5 March. >> Conference agenda

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United Nations Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters

Organizers: UN Secretary General and UNSGAB
Date: 6 March 2013
Place: Economic and Social Council Chamber, United Nations, New York

Global changes, including climate change, increased population pressure, declining ecosystems, and unplanned urbanization are drastically increasing the risks of water-related disasters. Green growth will not materialize without adequately addressing water-related disasters. As highlighted during the current discourse in the Rio+20 process, integrated approaches to water resource management are critical for building the social, economic, and environmental pillars of sustainable development.
Having these in mind, this UN Special Session on Water and Disasters, an initiative of UN Secretary-General, was held at the United Nations to raise awareness, share experiences and good practices, and discuss ways forward towards global actions on water and disasters.
The summary of discussions will contribute, not only to future discussions of ECOSOC, Post Rio+20, Post-Hyogo and Post-2015, but also to help establishing global and regional dialogue and cooperation processes to improve disaster prevention and preparedness by countries.

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Post-2015 Development Agenda Consultation on Water: Water Resources Management and Wastewater Management and Water Quality

Date: 27-28 February 2013
Place: Geneva, Switzerland

The objective of this meeting was to allow for more profound technical and political debate and synthesize the discussions of two of the three streams of the Post-2015 water consultation: Water Resources Management and Wastewater Management and Water Quality, facilitated by UNECE and ONU-Habitat / Aquafed respectively. The meeting facilitated the development of a short document that reflects the discussions that have taken place both online and during this meeting.

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Ways to integrate efforts in furthering water dialogue and cooperation

Organizers: UN Permanent Mission of Tajikistan, UN-Water, EastWest Institute.
Date: 22 February 2013
Place: Conference Room 5, UN Headquarters NY

This side event assisted the preparation processes of global high-level events to be organized for the implementation of the International Year of Water Cooperation, including World Water Day in March 2013 and the High-Level International Conference on Water Cooperation to be held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in August 2013.

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Addressing inequalities in the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene

Organizers: Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations, Special rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation, UNICEF, UN-Women, WaterAid
Date: 21 February 2013
Place: Conference Room 5, UN Headquarters NY

This special event focused on how to address inequalities in the post-2015 development agenda, including women's rights and gender inequality, for water, sanitation and hygiene.

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Water in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

Organizers: UN-Water
Date: 20 February 2013
Place: World Bank HQ, Washington, USA

This event introduced the two following processes that will feed into the overarching inter-governmental process to develop post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): (1) The technical discussion on water-related targets and indicators, and (2) The thematic Consultation on Water. The event was webcasted live.

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2013 TUNZA International Youth Conference on the Environment

Date: 10-14 February 2013
Place: Nairobi, Kenya

Organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the 2013 TUNZA International Youth Conference on the Environment gathered some 250 youth delegates from over 100 countries to examine ways in which global youth can directly tackle today's most pressing environmental issues, and encourage their peers to take action. Links between human health and environmental degradation were the main themes of the conference.

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Official Launching Ceremony of the International Year of Water Cooperation 2013

Date: 11 February 2013
Place: UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France

UNESCO officially launched the International Year of Water Cooperation 2013 during a high-level event with the participation of eminent personalities, distinguished scientists, UN agencies and the youth from the world over.
Representatives of governments, local communities, specialized NGOs and UN organizations joined eminent specialists and youths to discuss:

• How water cooperation can best contribute to the Global Agenda on Sustainable Development for the post-2015 era so as to effectively address the needs of all societies.
• Harnessing cooperation at all levels to address water-related challenges, including:
  • Regional cooperative mechanisms;
  • Government action at the national level;
  • Action at the local level;
  • Cooperation at the basin level.
• Science, capacity building and partnerships.

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International Annual UN-Water Zaragoza Conference 2012/2013 'Preparing for the 2013 International Year. Water Cooperation: Making it Happen!'

 

Date: 8-10 January 2013
Place: Zaragoza, Spain

In preparation of the 2013 International Year of Water Cooperation, and World Water Day 2013, the 2012/2013 Zaragoza International Annual UN-Water Conference focused on how to make water cooperation happen. The conference will identified the best approaches to promote effective cooperation at different scales and how we can do 'better' in water cooperation through sharing lessons from experiences, and inspiring participants to do 'better'.
The conference will introduced the key skills required for water cooperation, with particular attention to their important role in the process of negotiation and mediation and with examples of their application in national and international water settings.
The outcomes of the conference included:

• A series of documented case studies that illustrate how different tools and approaches for dispute resolution are implemented in practice;
• A synthesis of lessons learned on the use of approaches for dispute resolution and how to improve water cooperation;
• A feedback on the main messages for World Water Day 2013.