Water, a cross-cutting element within the SDGs

Upon invitation by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), FAO’s Land and Water Division Director LI Lifeng participated at the eighth Meeting of the EU-Africa Economic and Social Stakeholders' Network.

During his intervention Li cautioned that the linkages between water, agriculture and nutrition are often overlooked, leading to adverse consequences for human and planetary health.
“Agriculture provides the food we eat, while water is essential for growing crops and raising livestock. At the same time, nutrition is critical for human development and overall health. The linkage between these three factors is crucial to ensuring sustainable food systems and healthy populations”, he added.
Li’s intervention was part of a panel discussion with the title “Water and nutrition: the Zero Hunger objective and water sustainability”.

Other speakers included the President of the World Farmers Organization, Arnold Puech D’Alissac; the Chairperson of Social Affairs and Health Cluster Committee of the African Union Economic and Social Council, Floride Ndakoraniwe and EESC Rapporteurs of recent water-related opinions, Ioannis Vardakastanis and Milena Angelova.

“Water resources management for the four betters: better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life, to achieve Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals” is the main focus of FAO’s work for the biennium 2024-2025, following a recommendation to be endorsed by the 43rd session of the FAO Conference.  
Li also had a meeting with Astrid Schomaker, Director for Green Diplomacy & Multilateralism at DG ENV and several members of her team. They discussed issues related to land, water, and soil and reviewed a number of good examples of collaboration between FAO and DG ENV, including the Global Soil Partnership, which receives important funding from the European Commission. 

The political declaration adopted after the eighth Meeting of the EU-Africa Economic and Social Stakeholders' Network can be found here.
Further information on FAO’s work on water can be found here.