UN World Water Conference

(MainsGS3:Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.)

Context:

• Recently, the World Water Conference that was convened by the United Nations was the first UN conference on freshwater in almost 50 years.

Sustainable management of water:

• The conference also marked a mid-term review of the Water Action Decade 2018-2028 (to advance the water agenda by energising existing programmes and projects, and inspiring water action to achieve the 2030 Agenda, in particular Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), which envisages the sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

• The last U.N. Water Conference was held in 1977, and it was groundbreaking in achieving just this. 
• In particular, it resulted in the first global ‘Action Plan’ recognising that “all peoples, whatever their stage of development and social and economic conditions, have the right to have access to drinking water in quantities and of a quality equal to their basic needs.”

Central outcome:

• The central outcome of the conference was the international Water Action Agenda, to which governments, multilateral institutions, businesses, and non-governmental organisations submitted over 670 commitments to address water security issues. 
• Nearly 164 governments and 75 multilateral organisations have made commitments. 
• While the commitments embodied in the Water Action Agenda are voluntary and, therefore, legally non-binding, the voluntary commitments are expected to inspire the collective political will, which is needed to address the many water challenges.

Resources lacking:

• The commitments made at the conference must be scrutinised to see whether they will yield universal, safe, affordable and equitable access to water that is consistent with SDG 6. 
• Meeting this target by 2030 (as envisioned by the SDG) will incur capital expenditures of $114 billion per year. 
• The World Bank estimates recurring operations and maintenance for basic water and sanitation service (WASH) costs to rise from about $4 billion to over $30 billion per year by 2030, which is far more than the capital costs for basic WASH services. 
• The World Resources Institute (WRI) is of the view that the commitments made by the states reflected rigour, scope, and ambition but they lacked proper finance and targets that are quantifiable in nature. 
• The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is the only international funding mechanism that has been able to cover more than 300 watersheds and an even greater number of aquifers across the political boundaries of two or more states with its grant and concessional loan.
• Investment of this range would require valuing water, which in turn requires robust water measurement and accounting.

India’s commitments:

• India’s commitments at the conference were: an investment of $240 billion in the water sector and efforts to restore groundwater level. 
• A 2021 CAG report says that groundwater extraction in India increased from 58% to 63% between 2004-17. 
• This has been further exacerbated by climate change resulting in intermittent rainfall, which further undermines the recharge potential.
• The revised Groundwater Bill 2017 vests State groundwater boards with creating laws, managing water allocation and other relevant issues. 
• The State boards are understaffed, and lack in expertise and prioritising socio-political conflicts over groundwater resources.
• In international law, states possess the authority to make voluntary commitments to address issues of global concern. 

Transboundary cooperation:

• The 2023 Water Conference takes place within the context of SDG 6, and not within the context of the UN Water Convention 1997 and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Water Convention 1992, the two legally binding legal instruments on regulation of trans-boundary river water courses. 
• But the target embodied in 6.5 of the SDG 6 focusing on ‘implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM) at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate’ is a common thread between the Water Conference and the two conventions.
• These commitments are distinguished from other legal forms because they are not made pursuant to a consensus instrument to which the parties have agreed. 

Conclusion:

• In a report entitled ‘Water for Sustainable Development 2018–2028’, the U.N. recognised the urgent need for action given that we are not on track to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) no. 6 for water: “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”.