On Thursday, 23 March 2023, the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) co-hosted at UN Headquarters in New York the event ‘Our water world: on the frontlines of water access and governance,’ aimed at addressing key areas through ongoing research projects, presenting policymakers with scientific knowledge to achieve .

The highlighted frontlines were coastal and riverine communities, rivers and delta systems, small island developing states, and clean and accessible water as common good or commodity. In addition, the event raised a discussion on the vital relevance of academia in achieving Goal 6 and the .

This was an official side event within the framework of the , co-organized by UNAI and the , a member institution in Norway and the initiative’s SDG Hub for , jointly with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and other stakeholders.

As stated in the 2030 Agenda, academia partners with governments and parliaments to implement the Goals. “Not only do universities do a lot of work concerning collecting data, analyzing information, conducting research, and providing policy advice, but they also provide advocacy, training, and quality education,” said Omar Hernández, UNAI’s Program Manager.

He added that higher education institutions offer “as well creative solutions and ideas to the global challenges that we face, such as water insecurity.” And countries such as the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) are experiencing challenges as of now. On that note, the Permanent Representative of Palau to the UN, Ambassador Ilana Seid, voiced her concerns.

“These countries are facing a severe saltwater intrusion environment,” the diplomat said. Ambassador Seid suggested that we need to build water infrastructure that is more climate resilient. “Designing the solutions tailored to local communities, instead of very complex and broad solutions, has been found to be more productive,” she explained.

When working with local communities and understanding them, we can better understand their problems and develop better-suited solutions for everyone. This approach is indeed helpful in addressing the complexities of this issue, in addition to the international perspective we need to keep in mind, which was the focus of the Executive Director of the International Water Association.

“On every front, we have this vicious path where people are not getting enough water,” Kala Vairavamoorthy expressed. Going forward from here, he accentuated the importance of a paradigm shift in our perspective on the water. For example, “instead of using only high-quality water for everything, we can use different grades of water for different things,” he suggested.

“We have surface water, groundwater, and stormwater, but we also have leakage, which can potentially be high-quality drinking water. And by looking at the whole urban water system through different lenses, we can identify the best ways to use different kinds of water,” the expert argued during his presentation.

Professor Harsha Ratnaweera from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences stated that “actions in one country toward the water can lead to consequences in another.” For example, a unilateral move to build a dam could drastically distress the water flow of another country. Therefore, he thinks the focus should be on creating productive and collaborative water corporations.

Such corporations, he said, are to be “based and rooted in trust and respect.” In this aspect, he proposed that higher education institutions actually play a critical role, particularly considering their students. “If we can create an understanding and engagement in this world’s youth, then they will engage in water action in the next decade,” he explained.

Elisabeta Po?i, Executive Director of the Water Supply and Sewerage Association of Albania, spoke on the challenges in Southeast Europe. To face these various challenges, “looking at the regional level, we will require governments to use evidence-based policies, invest in people and foster partnerships,” Po?i concluded.

In closing the event, Dr. Tore S?tersdal from the University of Bergen mentioned that “the issues are very clear and are very pressing.” In his view, it is essential to empower universities and college, uplifts the higher education sector around the world, and make these institutions even “more prepared to precisely address these issues.”

Click to read the commitments made as part of the , and check out the that was launched prior to the Conference.