About 193 world leaders will commit to 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Without water, however, these goals cannot be achieved. SIWI, in New York, will further amplify the importance of water to the global development agenda.
The United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda is holding in New York, convened as a high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly. One of the 17 global goals (Goal 6) aims to ensure access to water and sanitation for all.
SIWI welcomes a dedicated Sustainable Development Goal on water. It is paramount for addressing our world’s water-related challenges. Water’s relevance to the implementation of the goals should not be limited to Goal 6 however. Access to water is a prerequisite for the achievement of the majority of the other goals such as poverty, health, food, energy, climate, and infrastructure.
SIWI Executive Director, Torgny Holmgren, will participate in a high-level event, “Catalysing Implementation and Achievement of the Water-related SDGs,” which will take place on the margins of the summit on Sunday. Speakers include several heads of state, ministers, UNDP Administrator Ms. Helen Clark, Secretary-General of the United Nations Secretary H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon and President of 70th session of the UNGA H.E. Mr. Mogens Lykketoft.
Representatives from the Swedish Government, including Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven and Minister for Environment, Åsa Romson, are attending the summit, and continue to reinforce Sweden’s commitment to sustainable development.
In his opening address at the recent World Water Week in Stockholm, the Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven, said: “When the international community is shaping a new sustainable development agenda, water management and allocation must be at its heart. Not only as a separate goal but as an essential vehicle for development and health”. SIWI Director of World Water Week, International Processes and Prizes, Karin Léxen, is also attending the summit.
