Water and Sustainable Development - Message from UNWATER

Key Messages from UN-Water: A. Success of green economy depends on sustainable, integrated and resource-efficient management of water resources and on safe and sustainable provisioning of water supply and adequate sanitation services. This approach must be underpinned by timely measurement of economic performance in terms of indicators of social and environmental sustainability. B. Effective management of water variability, ecosystem changes and the resulting impacts on livelihoods in a changing climate scenario is central to a climate-resilient and robust green economy. C. In line with the UN General Assembly Resolution 64/292 on the human right to water and sanitation, the highest priority must be given to the ‘bottom billion’ people while addressing inequities in access to water, which are closely linked to energy security as well as food security. D. Universal coverage of water supply and sanitation services must be a central development goal in the post-2015 period. UN-Water urges national governments to set realistic intermediate targets and goals. Key Actions by UN-Water: E. UN-Water can offer solid public policy recommendations and powerful solutions for monitoring progress against key development targets. Our ongoing work is further focused on identifying ways for scaling up green economy approaches and challenges under different development and geographic contexts. F. In support of green economy, UN-Water will continue its capacity development initiatives – including enhancing knowledge generation, facilitating transfer of appropriate technologies and reinforcing cooperation among national governments. G. UN-Water is an effective medium for consolidating and advocating water related green economy messages and providing communication channels for their dissemination. http://www.unwater.org/downloads/UNW_RIOSTATEMENT.pdf