Rome Water Dialogue Report is Finally Out Marking the Successful Launch of FAO's new Water Journey!

FAO held its Rome Water Dialogue, a special event on the road to the UN 2023 Water Conference, in Rome, Italy on 29 November 2022. The event aimed to discuss the contributions of the National Water Roadmap initiative toward achieving global commitments and the SDGs at the national level. It was also an opportunity to discuss innovative solutions and actions for sustainability, water, and food security.

 The event was led by Dr Lifeng Li, Director of FAO’s Land and Water Division. During the event, a number of countries shared their existing national-level water strategies and actions. The event also witnessed the successful launch of FAO’s new Water Journey. Based on the discussions a formal publication is now out highlighting the main outcomes of the Dialogue Rome Water Dialogue: Summary Report  

The report highlights the need for Integrated management of land, soil, and water to develop innovative solutions and actions for sustainability, water, and food security. It also underlines that the majority of water is lost through mismanagement, leakage, pollution, and waste at all points in the distribution and use system, therefore investment in better water management, storage, treatment, and reuse is considered essential.

 The report includes several key messages and concludes with FAO’s reaffirmation to take the discussions of the event forward, to support countries in developing National Water Roadmaps, and to further strengthen the intersectoral water collaboration efforts on this important FAO Water Journey, to which the Rome Water Dialogue provided a crucial milestone.