UN World Water Development Report 2023

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About the report-

• The United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) is the UN system’s principal authoritative report on water, providing decision-makers with the critical knowledge and the tools necessary to formulate and implement sustainable water policies and actions. 
• Launched annually on World Water Day (March 22nd), this year’s edition, titled partnerships and cooperation for water, is uniquely poised to inform and inspire the dialogues and deliberations scheduled to take place at the UN 2023 Water Conference.
• The production of the report, funded entirely by the Italian government, is coordinated and published by the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) on behalf of the UN Water members and partners, and represents a shining example of the United Nations’ delivering as one’ partnership.

Key findings-

• According to the report, globally, 2 billion people (26% of the population) do not have safe drinking water and 3.6 billion (46%) lack access to safely managed sanitation.
• Between two and three billion people experience water shortages for at least one month per year, posing severe risks to livelihoods, notably through food security and access to electricity. 
• The global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to double from 930 million in 2016 to 1.7–2.4 billion people in 2050. 
• The growing incidence of extreme and prolonged droughts is also stressing ecosystems, with dire consequences for both plant and animal species.
• It said that nearly every water-related intervention involves some kind of cooperation.  Cooperation is critical to achieving all water-related goals and targets. Inclusive stakeholder participation promotes buy-in and ownership.

Note: 

• The UN will held the UN 2023 Water Conference, the first of its kind event in the last 50 years, on March 22-24 in New York.
• It was co-hosted by the Governments of Tajikistan and the Netherlands with the support of  UN-Water  and the  UNDESA secretariat .
• One of the main outcomes of the conference will be  the adoption  by the international community and stakeholders  of Voluntary  Commitments –  which will be collected on  the Water Action Agenda.

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