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FIRST INTRODUCTORY WEBINAR ON THE 2022 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “GROUNDWATER, KEY TO THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPPEMENT GOALS”

27.05.2021

 

Register here.

 

As a universal call to action adopted by all UN Member States to achieve sustainable and equitable development for all, the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are our common blueprint to protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. 

Water cuts across all SDGs and the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation are central to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. Water is (inter alia) crucial for advancing human rights, health, education, and work, as well as for food security, reducing poverty and inequality, tackling climate change, and enabling peace, justice, and sustainability. The eight targets of SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation cover universal and equitable access to water, sanitation, and hygiene; water quality; water-use efficiency; IWRM; water-related ecosystems; international cooperation; and local participation. Beyond SDG 6 a dozen SDG targets such as target 2.4 (resilience of agricultural systems to floods and droughts), target 3.3 (water-borne diseases), or target 11.5 (water-related disasters) are directly linked to freshwater. 

This webinar will underline the vital importance of preserving the quality and availability of groundwater in the face of climate change and increasing pressures on the resource, as well as explore the role and importance of the sustainable management of groundwater in the context of the SDGs and the SDG water-related targets.

It will also introduce the upcoming International Conference on Groundwater and the SDGs:

Groundwater: Key to the Sustainable Development Goals

which will take place in 2022 (date TBC) and will be co-organised by the French Chapter of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (CFH-AIH), UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP) and the French Water Partnership (FWP).

 

Agenda and speakers:

 

Opening:

  • Abou Amani, Director of the Division of Water Sciences and Secretary of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme of UNESCO
  • Dave Kreamer, President of the International Association of Hydrogeologists
  • Federico Properzi, Chief Technical Adviser of UN-Water

Agathe Euzen, Research Director at CNRS and Science Deputy-Director for Sustainable Development at the Institute of Ecology and the Environment (INEE CNRS)

  • Introduction to SDGs and the role of groundwater

Stéphane Gillis, Managing Director of the Aube Departmental Water Syndicate (SDDEA)

  • How can a local government integrate the water-related SDG targets? SDDEA 2100 strategy on integrated and sustainable freshwater management (Aube, France)

Christian Szacowny, Grand Est France Regional multi-stakeholder network

  • NGOs, groundwater and the SDGs: Sharing experiences and knowledge from Africa and South-East Asia

Nathalie Dorfliger, Watershed Science and Stewardship Director and Jehanne Fabre, Head of Global Water Stewardship (Danone)

  • Sustainable groundwater management and stewardship to achieve the SDGs: Scientific challenges and examples from water and dairy bottling plants in Indonesia and South Africa

Q&A session

Proposals and discussion on the 2022 Conference: content and form

Conclusions and closing remarks:

  • Gérard Payen, global water actor and Vice President of the French Water Partnership
  • Patrick Lachassagne, hydrogeologist and President of the French Chapter of the International Association of Hydrogeologists

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