70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly - 2nd Committee - Side event: “Challenges and Initiatives for the Implementation of the Water-related SDGs in Water-scarce Countries: Learning from Mediterranean and Latin American Countries”

 

 

70^th GA Second Committee Meetings

Side Event “Challenges and Initiatives for the Implementation of the Water-related SDGs in Water-scarce Countries:  Learning from Mediterranean and Latin American Countries”

Statement by FAO LON Director Carla Mucavi

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

I would like to thank DESA for inviting FAO to collaborate in the organization of this Second Committee side event. My appreciation is also extended to all partners, as well as our distinguished speakers and all of you that have joined us today.

 

Water and drought management for agriculture and food security and nutrition is of great importance to our societies. By 2025, two-thirds of the world´s population could be living in water stressed areas.

 

The growing global population, rapid urbanization, and degradation of natural resources means that we need to produce more food in a more sustainable way, using less natural resources, including water.

 

Drought also poses many challenges. It ranks as the single most common natural cause of severe food shortages. And there is consensus today that agriculture is the first sector to be impacted by water scarcity and drought as well as being the most affected one.

 

There is also evidence that climate change is impacting the severity, frequency, duration and spatial extent of droughts, and exacerbating water scarcity. This means that water management will continue to be a priority in the coming years.

 

The importance of water  is recognized in the 2030 Agenda through Sustainable Development Goal Number Six. And the issue of water also cuts across all  SDGs.In recent years, we have seen an increase in investments to deal with water scarcity and drought in many countries. At the same time, much of the work on drought is still of ad hoc nature. And the most common policy response in many countries remains emergency responses after a drought hits.

 

What experience shows us is that well targeted, comprehensive and integrated strategies to deal with water scarcity and drought lead to better results. In this context, pro-active drought risk management and the sustainable optimization of water productivity under water scarcity conditions are essential fronts to move on.

 

Indeed, several countries have implemented plans specifically targeting the improvement of water resources management, such as Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Kiribati, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa, and Spain among many others.

 

FAO has also tailored its support to water scarce and drought prone countries based on what we have learnt from past actions efforts. That leads to a support that is tailored to the specific needs and context of each country. This support also seeks to combine efforts to address water scarcity in agriculture and strengthen capacity to improve drought preparedness and response activities.

 

Allow me to say a few words on the FAO Regional Initiative on Water Scarcity in the Near East and North Africa, which is an example of how we are bringing these different elements together. . This initiative aims at supporting countries of the NENA Region in their pursuit of food and water security and sustainable social and economic development in the context of severe water scarcity.

 

The effort began with a consultative process with countries and partners that revealed the need to upscale the water governance dimension and to apply an analytical approach to specific focus areas.

 

In an initial phase, the regional initiative mapped the water scarcity situation and identified priorities for action in six countries:  Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia and Yemen. The process is also being up-scaled to other countries.

 

The first output of this regional initiative was a Regional Collaborative Strategy on sustainable agriculture water management for food security, the result of a participatory process involving governments of the region, donors, regional organization and non-state actors.

 

Seven main areas of action were identified:

• Strategic planning and policies;
• strengthening governance mechanisms;
• improving water management performance and productivity in major food systems;
• increasing water supply through non-conventional ways such as treating waste water and desalinization;
• climate change adaptation, resilience and drought management;
• building sustainability;
• and, benchmarking, monitoring and reporting of water consumption and productivity:

 

The Regional Collaborative Strategy represents a framework to assist countries in identifying and streamlining policies, investments, governance and practice that can sustainably improve agricultural productivity and food security in the Region. It seeks to find structured mechanisms to address problems related to water; to identify and help fill gaps in water management; to advocate and support cooperation and coordination amongst stakeholders at all levels; and to support and complement existing actions.

 

I also want to highlight the importance of collaboration and partnerships for addressing the sustainable development challenges we face, including those of water scarcity and drought. FAO is committed to working together with different partners at all levels, identifying synergies, complementing and coordinating action, and building on what already exists. This is, today, an integral part of our way of working and is reflected in our regional initiative on water scarcity which currently involves over 15 partners directly. They include the League of Arab States, the Arab Water Council, CIHEAM, UNESCO, WFP and the German Cooperation Agency.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

FAO’s experience shows that sound policies grounded in science and shared knowledge are the first, and the best, line of defense against water scarcity and drought. We must continue boosting national capacity to cope with these challenges. We cannot prevent water shortage and drought as these are natural phenomena, but with the right actions we can prevent them from causing disasters and famine.

 

I want to emphasize that unless we secure a shift towards such policies, we face the prospect of repeated humanitarian catastrophe stemming from drought, increased water and food insecurity.

 

This is what is at stake. We have the tools to address the problem. We need to ensure that our action reaches the necessary scale.

 

FAO stands committed to continuing our collaboration with partners and the provision of support to water scarce countries in their efforts to manage their scarce resources sustainably and mitigate the impacts of drought.

 

Thank you for your attention.