If anything is obvious, it is that without water there is no life. So much so that when searching for life on other planets, confirming the presence of water is the first criterion taken into account. However, on the planet we know best, one in four people does not have access to clean water and almost half of its inhabitants lack adequate sanitation. The blue planet is also where the climate crisis and overexploitation have already left 3 billion people suffering from water scarcity.
Despite the fact that civil society, along with scientific institutions and multilateral organizations, have been warning for years about the depth and tremendous impact of the global water crisis we are going through, it has taken nearly half a century for the United Nations to withstand a new World Water Conference, to deal with it. Finally, more than 6,500 people, representatives of governments, businesses, multilateral organizations and social organizations, from the 22 gives this vital element of our planet the commitment it deserves”.
However, the feeling of being late was the majority among the participants. Years have passed and we are nowhere near on track to achieve SDG 6 (ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all) by 2030. United Nations, is on track to mid-term with no significant progress. Meanwhile, nearly a million people die each year from diseases related to water consumption in poor conditions and lack of proper sanitation and hygiene.
The success of the World Water Conference can only be judged relatively. The lack of a mutual declaration, which was excluded from the beginning of the agenda to avoid tension and facilitate joint work, reduces the political weight of the results.
At the New York conference, they discussed common challenges, political ambitions and commitments to address the water crisis. It is undoubtedly good news that water is finally moving to the forefront of the global political agenda, recognizing the obvious importance of its link to health, sustainable development or the climate crisis.
It is also true that civil society has managed to hear the demands of the Water Justice Manifesto, endorsed by more than 500 organizations from around the world: It is time to protect and manage water as a commons a global governance that has human rights as its axis and in which women play a central role. Although they are not involved in decisions about water, they are responsible for providing water to their homes in many rural areas of the world.
However, when the lights are out and the closing speeches have been held, the success of the conference can only be put into perspective. The lack of a mutual declaration, which was excluded from the beginning of the agenda to avoid tension and facilitate joint work, reduces the political weight of the results. The commitments for resources and measures, which amount to 300,000 million dollars after the announcements in the final plenary session, are nevertheless far from the figures estimated for the achievement of SDG 6 in 2030. They are also voluntary commitments, and there is no mechanism at the moment to ensure they are met, nor do they really require new resources.
Hopefully, the new figure of the special envoy on water, as well as the numerous voices calling for a formal and stable space in the United Nations to address the water crisis, are signs that point to a solid global governance structure for water that increases its relevance for policy and liaison with other key areas such as the conferences (COP) on climate, desertification or biodiversity.
Much remains to be done and it will be civil society that continues to call for a clear agenda committed to the right to water and its sustainable management to not only leave no one behind but put the most vulnerable first to put. The recently formed People’s Water Forum and the Water Justice Manifesto are good examples of the ability to articulate networks and generate proposals from a global civil society aware of what is at stake for us, both rights and social on the sustainability of our planet.
We must put the human right to water at the heart of the water crisis response, prioritizing it over other interests, whether business or political
To push in this direction, several Spanish organizations have joined forces to promote the #AguaParaTodas* campaign, with which we are demanding a fair and sustainable solution to the water crisis. We address our demands to the United Nations and to the governments that met at the conference, but especially to the government of Spain. Although this has played a minor role in New York, it needs to step up its commitment to universalizing the rights to water and sanitation. We play in it a lot.
We must put the human right to water at the heart of the water crisis response, prioritizing it over other interests, whether business or political. There is also an urgent need for Spanish cooperation to rise to the challenge and increase its commitment to the right to water and sanitation, particularly in rural areas and in the most vulnerable regions of the world. It is time for a new water fund for sub-Saharan Africa, one of the regions where water, climate and food crises are converging with the greatest intensity and most dramatic consequences. All of this must be done while ensuring that aid actually gets to where it is needed and by enacting legislation so that our corporate social responsibility, both on and off state, includes binding policies and measures that prevent hoarding prevent water.
It is urgent. We cannot afford another half century of delay.
Alberto Guijarro is a specialist in studies and political advocacy at ONGAWA. carolina garcia He is a communications specialist at Alianza por la Solidaridad.
“Water for All” is a campaign promoted by ONGAWA, Alianza por la Solidaridad-ActionAid, Ecodes, Enraiza Derechos, Acción contra el hambre, UN Etxea and the Coordinator of ONGD in Spain.
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