IHP-IX 5.5. Strengthening capacities of the scientific community and decision makers in new frameworks and tools for water governance and resilience.

Capacities of the scientific community and decision makers strengthened on new frameworks and tools, to underpin water governance and build resilience. 1. Engagement with the science community and decision makers, for state-of-the-art research, publications and capacity building on new and emerging frameworks and tools to support water governance and build resilience, including support to accelerate the Agenda 2063 of the African Union. 2. Development and implementation of up scalable, multi-purpose projects to strengthen water governance, build resilience across sectors, and encourage positive behavior change.
3. Collaboration with strategic regional frameworks, such as, but not limited to, strategic cooperation with relevant regional frameworks, including AMCOW and NEPAD Water CoE on water governance and achievement of Agenda 2063 targets, for an evidence-informed change. 4. Development and implementation of projects to strengthen efficiency, effectiveness, and stakeholder confidence and engagement, around frameworks and objectives such as IWRM, nexus, source-to-sea, resilience to shocks, disasters, and climate change
Leading Entity
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Contributing Action Number
CA4.31
Primary Entry Point
4: Accelerate progress and transformational change
Additional Entry Point(s)
2: Engage better for countries
3: Align UN system support for integration
Output(s)
Output 2.2: Diverse stakeholders and partnerships are mobilized by the UN system to support countries’ progress on water and sanitation
Output 3.2: Integrated policy frameworks to manage water and sanitation across sectors are supported by the UN system using latest data and evidence
Output 4.3: Institutional and human resources capacity development support that responds to national needs and priorities is provided by the UN system, contributing to a skilled water and sanitation workforce
Output 4.4: Enabling environments for water and sanitation innovation are supported by the UN system, including policies, partnerships, and transfer of technology to remove barriers, with emphasis on technology transfer needs of developing countries
Output 4.5: Governance of water and sanitation is improved through UN system support, including with emphasis on the needs of developing countries
SDG 6 Target(s)
Cross-cutting work on SDG 6
SDG target 6.5: Implement integrated water resources management (IWRM)
SDG target 6.A: Expand international cooperation and capacity-building
SDG target 6.B: Support stakeholder participation
SDG target 11.5: Reduce number of deaths, people affected and economic losses caused by disasters, including water-related disasters
Water-related work on other SDGs
Type of Engagement
Normative support (e.g. development of normative guidance, guidelines and standards)
Data collection and analysis
Implementation (e.g. direct support and service delivery, pilot or larger scale)
Capacity development and technical assistance
Convening of stakeholders
Policy advice and thought leadership
Geographical Scope
Global level
Regional, transboundary and sub-regional (multi-country) level
Country-level (national, subnational and local)
More information
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000384615

Leading Entity

United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation

The Contributing Actions are key initiatives supporting the United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation, aligning individual and joint efforts across UN entities and partnering organizations to advance global water and sanitation goals. These actions are integrated into the Collaborative Implementation Plan (CIP) Results Framework 2025-2028, which provides a structured approach to achieving system-wide impact through coordinated UN efforts.
The Priority Collaborative Actions outlined in the framework focus on enhancing water security, improving governance, strengthening climate resilience, and accelerating progress on sanitation and hygiene. By fostering system-wide collaboration among UN agencies, these actions help drive policy coherence, knowledge sharing, and innovative solutions to address the world’s most pressing water challenges.