Water is a dealmaker for the Sustainable Development Goals, and for the health and prosperity of people and planet. But our progress on water related goals and targets remains alarmingly off track, jeopardising the entire sustainable development agenda.

The UN 2023 Water Conference and the Water Action Agenda aimed to unite the world for water. The key building blocks of the Water Action Agenda are: commitment to action, sustained and scalable implementation, follow-up and review processes. These blocks will enable replication and scaling up of what works and bring successful solutions to global scale. 

UN 2023 Water Conference virtual side event

Fundación Avina, SouthSouthNorth and Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano co-hosted a virtual side event titled: Local voices from the global South: Community action at the centre of resilient water solutions.

Context

Based on the Regional Resilience Hubs of Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, this event highlighted local voices from the global South in communicating water solutions to reduce climate change vulnerabilities. 

The Resilience Hub is an inclusively built virtual and physical space that aims to mobilise greater levels of ambition and action on building resilience to climate change.

During 2022, Fundación Avina and SouthSouthNorth led the Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Africa Resilience Hubs respectively. To this end, thematic virtual dialogues were held to identify key messages that local stakeholders want to raise to the global community. This included a specific theme on water resources as key issues in climate change vulnerability for vulnerable communities in both regions. Some of the key messages identified in relation to water were as follows: 

1. Decision-making should provide space for the participation of watershed inhabitants and users, this should be achieved in a democratic manner. Special attention should be given to indigenous rights and consultation mechanisms. 
2. It is essential to strengthen the capacities of local communities with respect to their water rights so that they can achieve effective participation in decision-making spaces. 
3. The capacity of the global community needs to be strengthened to meaningfully engage with local actors. Localising financial and climate jargon will facilitate community members sitting at the negotiating table as equal partners to ensure the success of adaptation projects on the ground

Virtual side event

The virtual side event shared the results of the Regional Resilience Hub events and highlighted three main issues:

1. The importance of promoting regional collaborative processes to strengthen climate resilience in the water sector in the regions.
2. The critical need to include local voices in decision-making processes, particularly those of women, young people, local communities and Indigenous Peoples and respecting and promoting local knowledge.
3. The need for local communities to access climate finance, ensuring ownership of their water projects.

Event recording available below:

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Local voices from the global South - Side event partners