United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
UNESCO’s Water Science Programme was founded on the International Hydrological Programme (IHP), which has evolved from an internationally coordinated hydrological research programme into an encompassing inter-governmental programme to facilitate research, education and capacity building, and enhance water resources management and governance.
By delivering education and training, providing data and information, developing and testing tools and methodologies IHP contributes directly and/or indirectly to SDG 6 and its targets. Further to its contribution across SDG 6’s targets UNESCO along with UNECE are co-custodian agencies for the indicator 6.5.2 on transboundary water cooperation.
In August 2018, they jointly produced a report presenting the global indicator baseline. http://www.sdg6monitoring.org/indicators/target-65/indicators652/ Considering the entire water cycle, UNESCO IHP also contribute to implement many other goals that are related to water such as those on poverty reduction and equality [1, 10, 16] , agriculture [2], health [3], education [4], gender [5], energy [7], the economy and infrastructure [8 – 12], climate change and resilience [13], and the environment [14, 15]. Furthermore, IHP also provides contribution to achieve SDG 17, by enhancing global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in particular developing countries.
UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) coordinates the work of UN-Water 31 members and 39 partners in the UN World Water Development Report (WWDR), the flagship report on freshwater providing an authoritative picture of the state, use and management of the world’s freshwater resources.
The annual WWDR provides the thematic backbone of the World Water Day and focus on relevant interlinkages between SDG 6 and other SDGs (e.g., water and jobs, nature-based solutions, leaving no one behind, water and climate). WWAP coordinated also the production of the UN-Water SDG 6 Synthesis Report.
In addition, WWAP implements transdisciplinary projects, science-policy dialogues, develop case studies, and enhances capacity at a national level and inform policy and decision-making process.
Gender project
WfWP SC members are members of the working group and act as experts for the UNESCO WWAP gender project.
Mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on menstrual health and hygiene UN-Water 18 May, 2020 A new brief by UNICEF is aimed at helping responding agencies anticipate and mitigate the collateral/secondary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on girls’ and women’s ability to manage their menstruation. Primary … Read more
The 2020 Data Drive: Joining Forces to Report on Progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 UN-Water 4 May, 2020 The SDG 6 Synthesis Report 2018 concluded that the world is far from reaching SDG 6 on water and sanitation, which may jeopardize the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Develop … Read more
UN World Water Development Report 2020 ‘Water and Climate Change’ UN-Water 21 March, 2020 Water resources an essential part of the solution to climate change. Launch of the UN World Water Development Report on 22 March Paris/Geneva — Climate change will affect the availability, quality and quantity … Read more
Joint celebration of World Meteorological Day and World Water Day in Geneva UN-Water 9 March, 2020 In 2020, World Water Day (22 March) and World Meteorological Day (23 March) share the same theme: Climate Change and Water. This provides an important opportunity to twin the two international observan … Read more
World Water Day 2020 – Water and Climate Change UN-Water 16 January, 2020 World Water Day, on 22 March every year, is about focusing attention on the importance of water. This year’s theme, ‘Water and Climate Change’, explores how water and climate change are inextricably linked. As the global popul … Read more