ECLAC participates in the Webinar “What does the valuation of water mean in practice and why is it important for the United Nations Conference on Water?”.

On December 7 and 14, the Webinar “What does water valuation mean in practice and why is it important for the United Nations Conference on Water?” organized by Deltares, the “Valuing Water” initiative promoted by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Global Water Partnership (GWP). This was directed, through two sessions, the first focused on Latin America and the second on the Caribbean, to relevant actors and stakeholders in the water sector in the region. Between the two sessions, around 200 attendees joined virtually.

In both sessions, ECLAC participated in the opening speech of the Webinar through the Natural Resources Division. In it, the Economic Affairs Officer of the Water and Energy Unit, Dr. Silvia Saravia, presented the regional perspectives on water in Latin America and the Caribbean, presenting data at the regional level and taking into account social, economic and environmental under analysis. She then shared ECLAC’s proposal for a sustainable and inclusive water transition for the region, which is based on the global acceleration framework of SDG 6 and its pillars of governance, financing, innovation, capacity development, and data and information. Finally, the next “Regional Water Dialogues” were presented, which will take place in preparation for the United Nations Conference on Water 2023.

After the opening by ECLAC, the “Valuing Water” Initiative introduced the Principles of Water Valuation and the interrelationships with SDG 6 and the Accelerator Framework, presented the Valuing Water Initiative and its theory of change, and described the regional process towards the UN Conference on Water. Both interventions made it possible to visualize the synergies between ECLAC’s sustainable and inclusive water transition proposal and the Water Valuation Principles, which will materialize in a joint session within the Regional Water Dialogues on February 3. This will take the form of a “Rain of Solutions” to Value Water and accelerate compliance with SDG 6 in the region.

Thus, to end the Webinar, ECLAC and the Valuing Water Initiative stressed the importance of the event, which will take place in February at the ECLAC headquarters in Santiago de Chile, and the joint session with a view to preparing the region for the UN Conference in New York, encouraging attendees to register for said event at the following link.