Together with partners, the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) joins in the establishment of a Heads of State Panel on Water, a global undertaking aimed at mobilizing support for implementing the water-related Sustainable Development Goals. The panel was launched during the World Economic Forum in Davos.
To mobilise global support for implementing the water-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim have announced a Heads of State Panel on Water.
The panel shows the importance of working in partnership in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“The new panel can help motivate the action we need to turn ideas into reality,” said Ban Ki-moon as the announcement to form the panel was made in Davos on Thursday, 21 January.
The Heads of State Panel on Water will be the first global effort at Heads of State level that mobilises an integrated agenda for strengthening economic resilience to ensure growth and sustainable development in a climate-change exposed and water-insecure world. The panel will be supported by a partnership between the World Bank, World Economic Forum, World Water Council, Stockholm International Water Institute, and the World Resources Institute with support from the Government of the Netherlands.
The World Bank’s Jim Young Kim said: “Achieving the water global goal would have multiple benefits, including laying the foundations for food and energy security, sustainable urbanisation, and ultimately climate security. My hope is that this panel accelerates action in many countries so that we can make water more accessible to all.”
“We need to use our scarce and finite water resources more efficiently. It is encouraging to see that CEOs, city mayors and government leaders around the world are becoming more aware of the water challenges we all face, because we are all essential to the solution. SIWI is honoured to be part of this important undertaking with world leaders to help navigate the way forward,” said SIWI’s Executive Director, Torgny Holmgren.
