In 1992, the UN adopted a resolution to declare March 22 World Water Day to raise awareness and inspire action to address global water and sanitation needs in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 6. Just prior to this year’s UN Water Conference (that began on World Water Day), the Global Commission on the Economics of Water released a report, “Turning the Tide: A Call to Collective Action,” that disclosed the alarming statistic that mismanagement of freshwater could result in a global shortfall of 40% by 2030.[1]

The report outlines seven recommendations toward a sustainable and just water future: recognize the global interconnectedness of water security; cultivate a collective mindset toward the management, stabilization and governance of global water; mobilize stakeholders across multiple sectors of society and increase public-private partnerships and investments to stabilize global water; establish appropriate water pricing; reduce subsidies for agriculture and water and subsequently reduce excessive water use; establish “Just Water Partnerships” that provide investments in water projects in low- and middle-income countries; and encourage actions that have near-term water-positive outcomes.

While the report attributes the global water crisis to human action, it also emphasizes collective human action as the only way to rectify the situation.  This year’s theme of World Water Day, “Accelerating Change,” and the theme of the UN 2023 Water Conference, “Uniting the World for Water,” both speak to the sense of urgency and the need for collective action. Water is linked to the success of all SDGs, and the authors of the report assert, “We will fail on climate change if we do not solve water. We will also fail on all the Sustainable Development Goals. No person, place, economy or ecosystem will be spared.”[2]

The Water Conference hosted approximately 10,000 participants (online and in-person), and a key outcome was the creation of the Water Action Agenda emphasizing coordinated and results-driven innovation and investment. At the culmination of the Conference, 700 commitments had been made by Member States, multilateral banks, NGOs, and the private sector toward securing global water security.

[1] Global Commission on the Economics of Water. “Turning the Tide: A Call to Collective Action.” Global Commission on the Economics of Water, 16 Mar. 2023, https://watercommission.org/publication/turning-the-tide-a-call-to-collective-action/.

[2] Global Commission on the Economics of Water. “Turning the Tide: A Call to Collective Action.” Global Commission on the Economics of Water, 16 Mar. 2023, https://watercommission.org/publication/turning-the-tide-a-call-to-collective-action/.