UNGA President Releases Concept Note on Water, Sanitation, Energy

The Office of the President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) has released concept notes for three high-level events and three thematic debates that UNGA President John Ashe will host to encourage consensus building and concrete action on implementation of the post-2015 development agenda. The ‘Water, sanitation and sustainable energy' concept note describes universal access to safe drinking water, basic sanitation and modern energy services as "one of the greatest multifaceted development challenges" facing the world.This thematic debate aims to identify the main water, sanitation and sustainable energy challenges that hinder achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and discuss how to tackle these challenges in an integrated manner in the post-2015 agenda. It also aims to consider means of implementation, including finance infrastructure, human capacity and institutional reforms. Finally, the debate will consider how to utilize conservation measures, ecosystem approaches, science and technology and sustainable use concepts to increase actions at all level on these issues.

To address the water and sanitation challenge, the note recommends seven improvements related to: freshwater management in river basins; freshwater resource use and management in agriculture, industry and households; wastewater management and pollution; investments in improving water productivity; water and energy interdependencies; disaster risk reduction (DRR); integrated water resources management (IWRM), including engaging vulnerable populations; and water scarcity and policy reform.

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