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STORY: UN / WORLD WATER DEVELOPMENT
TRT: 01:45
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 22 MARCH 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
22 MARCH 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, speakers, press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Connor, Editor-in-Chief of the UN World Water Development Report, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO):
“None of the Sustainable Development Goals 6 targets - That's the Sustainable Development Goal for water - None of the targets are on track.”
4. Wide shot, speakers
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Connor, Editor-in-Chief of the UN World Water Development Report, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO):
“Most disputes over water do not lead to violent altercations. Rather they usually end up before the courts. But that doesn't mean that it can't generate high levels of social unrest, and tensions. The water related impacts of violent conflict include forced migration, food security, and exposure to additional exposure to health threats.”
6. Wide shot, speakers
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Connor, Editor-in-Chief of the UN World Water Development Report, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO):
“Since most disputes occur at the local level, participatory community-based water governance structures can provide acritical peacebuilding asset provided that these institutions are equipped to perform such a role. The benefits of water security include health, education, food and energy security, economic development and employment and a variety of ecosystem services. It is through these benefits that water leads to prosperity. And equitable sharing of these benefits promotes peace. When it comes to water, what we're saying is sharing truly is caring.”
8. Wide shot, speakers
The United Nations World Water Development Report 2024, published by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water, highlighted that tensions over water are exacerbating conflicts worldwide.
According to the report, to preserve peace, States must boost international cooperation and transboundary agreements.
Today 2.2 billion people still live without access to safely managed drinking water and 3.5 billion lack access to safely managed sanitation.
The UN goal of ensuring this access for all by 2030 is therefore far from being attained, and there is reason to fear that these inequalities may continue to rise.
Between 2002 and 2021 droughts affected more than 1.4 billion people.
As of 2022, roughly half of the world’s population experienced severe water scarcity for at least part of the year, while one quarter faced ‘extremely high’ levels of water stress, using over 80 percent of their annual renewable freshwater supply.
Climate change is projected to increase the frequency and severity of these phenomena, with acute risks for social stability.
The first impact is the deterioration of living conditions, leading to heightened food insecurity and health risks.
Water scarcity also has consequences on social development, particularly for girls and women.
The lack of water security has also been identified as one of the drivers of migration.
This displacement can, in turn, contribute to water insecurity by placing added strain on water systems and resources in settlement locations, thereby fueling social tensions.
This water scarcity can increase the risk of conflict.
In this context, cooperation on transboundary water management appears to be a powerful lever for maintaining peace.
By creating conditions for regular dialogue between all parties and instituting the necessary legal frameworks, this cooperation has the potential to resolve most disputes relating to water, and therefore prevent the emergence or exacerbation of wider-ranging conflicts
