High-Level Panel on Water publishes report entitled Making Every Drop Count: An Agenda for Water Action

In March this year, the High-Level Panel on Water (HLPW) published its final report, "Making Every Drop Count: An Agenda for Water Action". The report stresses the need for action to avoid greater water shortage and defines three priorities for action: improving the understanding and valuation of water, leading integrated agendas to ensure access to water, and international cooperation.

The HLPW had been convened by the UN and the World Bank Group to contribute to the achievement of SDG 6 and further important SDGs to counteract a global water crisis. The report stresses the necessity of actions to avoid great water shortage and stresses that water should not be seen as a given any longer. Within three priority levels specific recommendations have been formulated:

1. A foundation for action based on an increased understanding of water, the improvement of its governance and its social, cultural, environmental and economic valuation.
2. Leading an integrated agenda at local, national and regional levels to ensure access to water and sanitation and to increase the resilience of societies and economies.
3. Catalysing change, building partnerships and international cooperation at the global level to be achieved by the promotion of innovations, partnerships and strengthened global water cooperation.

Addressing governments, international organizations, the private sector, civil society and citizens, the recommendations aim towards achieving a better understanding, valuation and management of water at different scales in order to enable the necessary changes for the implementation of the SDGs. Ongoing initiatives like the OECD Water Governance Initiative, the launch of new cooperative initiatives, the UN High Level Meetings, and the Water Action Decade are suggested to support the implementation of the recommendations by 2030.

The full outcome report can be downloaded here.