Director-General QU Dongyu

UN 2023 WATER CONFERENCE Side Event: National Water Roadmaps towards the 2030 Agenda

by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General

22/03/2023

UN 2023 Water Conference

Side Event:  

National Water Roadmaps towards the 2030 Agenda 

Opening remarks

By

Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General

22 March 2023

 

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,


Welcome to this Side Event on National Water Roadmaps. Water is one of the world’s most precious resources, and it is crucial for agriculture. Over 95% of food is produced on land, starting with soils and water. For this reason water is food, and food is water!

 

Yet, the world is facing severe water challenges. The climate crisis is increasing the frequency and intensity of droughts and floods, impacting farmers, crops, livestock, food security, economies and livelihoods.

Currently 2.3 billion people live in water-stressed countries, and approximately 10% of the global population live in countries with high and critical water stress. These impacts disproportionally affect women and girls, making water an equity issue.

Agriculture is responsible for 72% of global freshwater withdrawals, and consumption is growing to match increased demand for food, fibre and feed. We need to start using water in a sustainable and equitable way – with priority actions in agriculture.

National Water Roadmaps are an important tool to address growing complexities and competition around water. These Roadmaps can help to integrate water into national sustainable development strategies, policies and cross-sectoral investment plans. Through participatory country-led dialogues and concrete actions, these Roadmaps can help to end hunger and poverty, and help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

FAO supports Members to develop their National Roadmaps to strengthen inter-sectoral coordination for effective, efficient and coherent water resources management, and to link the roadmaps with existing plans and strategies, and to access the needed financial resources for development and implementation of the roadmaps.

In that regard, I am pleased to inform you that China has committed 1.5 million US Dollars to support roadmaps through the FAO-China South-South Cooperation Trust Fund.

In addition, FAO supports the development of tools to increase water productivity, and we support field projects around the globe aimed at improving the efficient use of water.

FAO also provides the Secretariat for the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG), and last month, Cabo Verde hosted the Second International Forum of WASAG, consolidating its leadership, commitment and partnership with FAO.

In February, the Africa Regional Workshop on National Water Roadmaps took place in Zimbabwe, during which African countries gave clear recommendations on how to address the issue of water in agriculture. They called for a financing mechanism to address the water-food-energy nexus, and to ensure dedicated budgets for water in agriculture.

The Regional Workshop also called for:

  • enhanced access to data and information, at all levels and for all users;
  • capacity development based on local ownership, shared knowledge and partnerships;
  • innovation and technology transfer; and
  • strengthening of indigenous knowledge systems.


FAO is listening to the calls from all its Members and is committed to responding effectively to their needs.


At this UN 2023 Water Conference we are called upon to come up with a bold Water Action Agenda. National Water Roadmaps must form part of that Agenda!

Through the roadmap process, we must unite all sectors to co-create, co-design and co-advocate solutions for water. This is how we can help to transform our agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable, and to achieve our collective goal of the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all – leaving no one behind.

This is how we can help to preserve water and our planet, for people and prosperity.

Thank you.