UN Water Conference Reflections

Written by: Julieta Marino Tartaglino and Ruth Hollands

Edited by : Julieta Marino Tartaglino

It's disappointing to learn that this is the first water conference in almost 50 years, 46 to be exact, having the biggest take away be the fact that demand for water will outweigh supply in the next 7 years. This is an alarming thought. Especially for those communities who already have water insecurity and the biodiversity who depend on it. As much as one can value the opportunity to be a youth representative at this conference, a sad fact to keep in mind was the challenges colleagues faced in obtaining a visa to be a part of the event, most importantly those from countries who face these water insecurities.

Additionally, it is hard to convey the sense of being overwhelmed by the way the conference’s handle of overflow rooms, an occurrence for every event. Most of the conference rooms were too small for the amount of interest that there was for each session, while accessibility wise being unsound and having no space for people to move around in the rooms. Logistically, some of the events were hard to reach or be a part of.

However, for the events we were able to be involved in, we appreciated the gender focused events and the diversity from indigenous communities that we were able to engage with.

While countries have different issues and agendas, water is a shared resource and a crucial one for life, health and justice. As we stand, over two million people live under different water dangers, from lack of access, lack of sanitation, security threats, scarcity and a myriad of other problems; while in response, the conference saw 689 Commitments made by stakeholders.

Having this conference allows Parties to cooperate on a better platform at the international level, and access resources and stakeholders otherwise out of reach. Water is all encompassing, and all actors need to be involved in the drafting of policy, the promotion of access, the investment on water resilience, the fight for sanitation standards and the dialogues pushing for security and equality. The need for access to information is crucial, from local communities to international actors, all need to be educated on the importance of water, the need for urgent action and access tools for better advocacy.

The conference was a huge wake up call on where we are in regard to water availability for all. We are hopeful that as a global community we will be able to pay more attention to these issues as they're critical for our Planet’s survival and wellbeing.