UN Water Conference Marked by Enthusiasm, Uncertainty

What, in the end, did all the buzz accomplish?

To draw attention to ambitious global goals for water, sanitation, and ecosystems, the United Nations brought together people passionate about water for three days of panel discussions, speeches, commitments to action, and networking.

More than 10,500 people, virtually or in person, attended the first water conference convened by the UN in 46 years. The line to pick up security badges on the opening morning wrapped around Manhattan’s East 45th Street and down 2nd Avenue. Wait times, at peak, were upward of two and a half hours.

Inside the UN complex, crowds were just as prevalent. Sessions were so jammed that security guards had to turn people away from conference rooms.

An energetic, bustling atmosphere was partly the point. The conference functioned as a pep rally of sorts, a venue to muster support for a massive global effort that is far from being on track: safely managed water, sanitation, and ecosystems for all by 2030. The conference, however, was constrained by an agreement that no political declaration would be made. That meant the primary outcome would be voluntary commitments from participants.

Great Lakes Take Global Stage

For three days last week the world came together at the United Nations in New York City to discuss ways to place water at the center of decision-making.

The UN Water Conference, the first such event in 46 years, was billed as a marquee attraction, a chance to corral public and political attention and train it on the global challenges of too much water, too little water, and water that is too polluted.

Public officials, business leaders, and scientists from the Great Lakes region attended the conference, linking global debates about freshwater supply and management with local experience. Their involvement had two aims. First, they highlighted the work being done to protect the Great Lakes. Shared by Canada, the United States, and tribal nations, the lakes demand international cooperation. The conference coincided with an announcement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Canada would spend $420 million Canadian (US$306 million) over the next decade on Great Lakes protection. Second, they gleaned lessons from other participants that could be transplanted back home.

Main themes emerged, according to interviews with several attendees. Freshwater biodiversity is often overlooked. Indigenous groups ought to have a stronger voice in water management decisions. Local governments are essential for adapting to the extremes of a warming planet. Dotting the landscape with natural features that protect against floods and droughts and trap carbon — “nature-based solutions” — is an important companion to the pipes and pumps of legacy infrastructure. And the challenges today are a business opportunity for the Great Lakes.

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