Locations
At the core of sustainable development
Water
At UNDP, we believe that by working together we can successfully meet the challenges of Water for Sustainable Development
Fresh water on Earth is finite. Climate change is shifting our reliable access to water, upon which civilization depends, and pollution restricts its uses. At UNDP, we believe that by working together, we can overcome these urgent challenges and successfully meet the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water, which is crucial for the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Today, half of the world population, 4 billion people, live with severe water scarcity for at least one month of the year. About half a billion face water scarcity year-round. Approximately 4.2 billion lack sanitation, 2.2 billion people lack safe drinking water, and 700 million people could be displaced due to scarcity of water by 2030, 250 million in Africa alone. This is not inevitable; solutions exist. By improving how we manage, conserve and protect our water, we can improve lives. Improved water management can be catalytic in leaving no one behind, in communities fighting poverty and hunger, safeguarding health and reducing child mortality, and protecting natural resources.
UNDP works across the full range of water resources challenges and is engaged in applied water management across all the Sustainable Development Goals, in portfolios as diverse as Nature, Climate, Energy, Waste, Inclusive Growth and Disaster Risk Reduction. UNDP is also the custodian of the largest transboundary water portfolio in the UN system, and a key contributor to the Water Action Agenda and Water Action Decade (2018-2028).
UNDP focuses on integrated water management under three pillars: water access, water security and water quality. UNDP’s long history of thought leadership in the water sector, local expertise and partnerships supported by our global country office network enable us to combine established best practice with a commitment to innovation in sustainable and integrated water resource management.
Event
UN 2023 Water Conference: “Our watershed moment: Uniting the world for water”
22-24 March 2023, New York
UNDP Engagements and event recordings
Water at the core of sustainable development
UNDP works with partners from local to global scale and applies a number of cross-cutting approaches to ensure safe, equitable and reliable access to clean water resources for all, leaving no one behind.
- Water for development
- Transboundary waters
- Ecosystem restoration
- Sanitation and health
- Food and agriculture production
- Climate change adaptation
- Water and energy
- Disaster risk reduction
- Conflict reduction
- Environmental peacebuilding
- Capacity development
- Finance
- Innovation
