IHE Delft Rector: UN Water Conference offers guidance for years to come

About four months after the UN 2023 Water Conference, IHE Delft Rector Eddy Moors reflects on the impact of the event, which gathered some 10,000 participants at the UN headquarters in New York City and online.

“At conferences, speakers often use grand words about their great intentions. But unfortunately, most of these words are forgotten as soon as you leave the conference hall. Fortunately, this is, to a certain extent, not the case with the UN 2023 Water Conference: since returning from New York a few months ago, almost all the meetings I have been involved in have included discussions on the Conference outcome. This is positive, as the Conference topic is too important to fade into oblivion: the water action called for in the meeting halls of the UN Headquarters back in March is key to the future of humanity and the planet.

In the water sector and beyond, people are looking at how they can make use of the momentum created by the Conference, and how they can implement the intentions they proudly shared at the historic meeting. The more than 800 Water Action Agenda commitments that have been registered also are hot topic: there is a lot of determination to live up to the commitments so that they create the positive change they are promising. However, as expected, the practical implementation is not there yet. Some action has already started, but it’s clear that this is an effort that will span over years and decades and beyond: the transition to a more sustainable global approach to water will have to be permanent.

Governments, funding organizations, private businesses, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions – including IHE Delft – now have the huge task of implementing the commitments. How can strategies and practices be changed, how can budgets be made available, how can we do better? This is both urgent and long-term. Urgent because the 2 billion people whose human rights are compromised because of their lack of access to safely managed water and sanitation, as well as the restoration and protection of our water resources really cannot wait any longer. Long-term because our efforts can never stop.

The more than a dozen commitments IHE Delft is involved with will make a difference. All are related in some way to capacity development, a key factor that I and my colleagues advocated for in all our interactions related to the Conference. Let me give an example: together with partners, we will work to strengthen regional training centres and networks of training centres. We will work to create stronger links between organizations that provide water-related education and capacity development. The goal is to ensure that countries that want capacity-development support receive it in a more systemic and structural way: piecemeal projects don’t make a lasting impact. This effort is closely linked to the Capacity Development Initiative, which was launched by UN-Water with IHE Delft support in 2022.

In his remarks to close the Conference, UN General Assembly President Csaba Kőrősi listed several areas that have the potential to spark faster progress. A network to build the capacity of institutions and people is among these gamechangers. To change the game, we need to use a different approach than what we have done so far. For IHE Delft, it will mean, for example, a stronger focus to train people within their regions, to include other sectors outside of the water sector, and to complement our Netherlands-based education and training. Our joint efforts with partners in Uruguay demonstrate how it can work.

Some of my most engaging and rewarding meetings in New York involved young people taking part in the Conference and in New York Water Week. The Conference was more diverse than other meetings I have attended, with more young delegates, more minority delegates and a better gender balance than often is the case at this type of meetings. There were also people from sectors beyond the water sector. This was positive, as improved diversity is needed to help us break down the silos that prevent progress on water challenges. We need all perspectives, including from various cultures and religions, to work together to make a difference. As long as one group or one sector works in isolation, we won’t see any true progress. At IHE Delft, we do our part by bringing people from all over the world together, and by working in inter- and trans-disciplinary ways.

Looking ahead, I hope my meetings will continue to highlight UN 2023 Water Conference outcomes. But even more than hearing talk about the outcomes, I hope to see implementation. The global attention to water brought by the Conference must be sustained and translated into action. The world can’t afford to miss this opportunity - there’s too much at stake.”

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