HLPF side event highlights the critical role of water to achieve the SDGs
29 July, 2019
During the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) held 9 – 18 July 2019, a side event titled ‘Water, crucial to achieve the SDGs under review at the HLPF 2019’ was organized by the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations, and supported by UNESCO World Water Assessment Program (WWAP) and UN-Water.
SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation provides a unique opportunity to accelerate progress on the 2030 Agenda due to the central role of water in advancing human rights, reducing poverty and inequality and enabling peace, justice and sustainability in all its dimensions. The crosscutting importance of water and sanitation in achieving the SDGs is recognized in the UN-Water SDG 6 Synthesis Report 2018 and further explored in three regional policy papers in 2019 (Africa, Arab Region, Latin America and the Caribbean).
Identifying and understanding the interlinkages between SDG 6 and other SDGs is critical for increasing policy coherence and effectiveness at regional and national scales, and for facilitating integrated implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
During the event, the three regional policy papers include findings and policy recommendations to support the inclusion of water in planning across sectors were presented:
- Policy Brief summarizing findings and policy recommendations from three Regional Policy Papers
- Africa Regional Policy Paper
- Arab States Regional Policy Paper
- Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Regional Policy Paper (Spanish)
More information about the side event is found in the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) SDG knowledge hub.