Expert Groups and Task Forces
UN-Water’s Expert Groups and Task Forces bring together experts to drive progress on a certain theme or towards a specific goal.
UN-Water Expert Groups
Expert Group on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Shares information on 2030 Agenda related developments of UN-Water interest. Advises on the strategic scope of UN-Water’s engagement in the 2030 Agenda and prepares proposals and plans for coordinated interventions among UN Water’s Members and Partners.
- Technical paper on the SDGs
- Technical advice concept note: Addressing Global Water Challenges and Accelerating Progress on SDG 6 at the Country Level
- Water and sanitation interlinkages across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
- Input paper for the post-2020 Biodiversity Framework
- Terms of Reference
- Membership list
Expert Group on Drinking-Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
Support the implementation of the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework. Support coordination and exchange of information between UN-Water Members and Partners on their activities with regards to WASH. Support the work related to the human rights to water and sanitation.
- Terms of Reference
- Membership list
- UN-Water Roadmap for the Integration of Human Rights to Water and Sanitation
Expert Group on Groundwater
Shares information on groundwater-related developments and avoids duplication among UN-Water Members and Partners. Supports the mainstreaming of groundwater in water-related processes.
- Terms of Reference
- Membership list (coming soon)
Expert Group on Regional Level Coordination
Provides an open platform for the exchange of experiences and lessons learned from implementing regional-level work on water.
- Terms of Reference
- Membership list
- Workplan
Expert Group on Transboundary Waters
Coordinates substantive inputs to policy processes related to transboundary waters (surface water and groundwater). Coordinates promotion, awareness-raising, and outreach efforts supporting transboundary water cooperation.
- The United Nations global water conventions: Fostering sustainable development and peace
- Terms of Reference
- Membership list
- Workplan
Expert Group on Water and Climate Change
Supports cooperation and coordination of efforts and messages of UN-Water members and partners on water and climate. Contributes to raising the awareness on the importance of water in climate change adaptation and mitigation and vice versa as well as knowledge on good adaptation practices.
- UN-Water Policy Brief on Climate Change and Water
- COP 26 event
- Terms of Reference
- Membership list
- Summary report of the Water and Climate Change Inter-dependencies workshop.
- Study underway, based on the terms of reference, with preliminary estimates presented at COP 28 and explained in this statement.
Expert Group on Water Quality and Wastewater
Addresses topical questions under consideration by UN-Water as they arise in a virtual way and share the latest state of information and member expertise. Responds to emerging needs for information.
Expert Group on Water Scarcity
Coordinates collaboration between UN-Water members and partners to make effective use of available resources and expertise in addressing the growing imbalance between “supply” and “demand” of water. Increases political prioritization of water scarcity through policy debate to accelerate progress towards the achievement of SDG 6.
UN-Water Task Forces
Task Force on Country Level Engagement
Evaluates how UN-Water might add value to the country level in view of the UN reform process, also building on previous findings of the former UN-Water Task Force on Country-level Coordination.
- UN-Water’s offer to UN Country Teams and Resident Coordinators
- Terms of Reference
- Membership list
- Workplan
- UN-Water Roadmap for the Integration of Human Rights to Water and Sanitation
- Form to request for UN-Water seed funds
Task Force on Innovation
Coordinates the activities of UN-Water Members and Partners on the innovation accelerator of the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework. (Documentation coming soon.)
Task Force on Water Action Decade Implementation
Coordinates the activities of UN-Water Members and Partners in support of the Decade implementation. Facilitates information sharing between Member States, United Nations and other stakeholders, including through reports and Decade website.
- UN Secretary-General’s plan: Water Action Decade 2018-2028
- UN 2023 Water Conference – Proposals on the themes for the interactive dialogues
- Terms of Reference
- Membership list
Task Force on World Toilet Day 2024
Coordinates the World Toilet Day campaigns 2024 on the topic ‘Sanitation for Peace’.
Membership list (please see above). The World Toilet Day 2024 is coordinated by the Expert Group on Drinking-Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
Task Force on World Water Day 2024
Coordinates the World Water Day campaign 2024 on the topic ‘Water for Peace’.
Contact Us
Get in touch to learn more: unwater@un.org mentioning [Expert Groups and Task Forces] in the subject heading.
UN-Water Expert Groups
Expert Groups (EGs), each focusing on a cross-cutting issue in need of coordination, are established by the Senior Programme Managers (SPMs) and gather technical experts from across the UN family and other international organizations. As such, they represent the UN’s collective expertise on the given issue. Expert Groups also provide a platform to exchange information, knowledge and experience, to cross-fertilize activities of individual agencies and to avoid duplication. Expert Groups form a core activity of UN-Water’s effort to increase cooperation and coherence within the United Nations system.
UN-Water Task Forces
UN-Water activities are also carried out through Task Forces (TFs) established by the SPMs in order to draw on the varied expertise of the United Nations system and of UN-Water Partners. Task Forces are time-bound in nature and focus inter-agency collaboration on the delivery of a specific product (e.g. a report or an event). Therefore, Task Forces automatically end at the completion of their task. Task Forces form a core activity of UN-Water’s effort to increase cooperation and coherence within the United Nations system.