Durban – The High Level Panel on Water (HLPW) has pledged to work closely and collaboratively with all water stakeholders to ensure that the water related targets of 2030 Agenda and beyond are achieved.
In a joint statement read to the media during the Water Summit on Wednesday, the members of the panel said they are taking action in their own countries to accelerate the achievement of universal access through new service delivery and sector financial models.
In recognising the importance of data in water management, the panel announced that Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will on Thursday launch the Panel’s Water Data initiative, with a focus on policies, innovation and harmonisation to improve access to water related data.
Prime Minister Turnbull will also announce the opening of a challenge to innovators to enable resource-poor farmers to have access to and make use of affordable and up to date water data.
“To strengthen sustainable water management and water use, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, recently started a multi-stakeholder dialogue on the approach and principles for valuing water.
“This dialogue aims at developing a set of shared principles top motivate and encourage governments, business and civil society to consider water’s multiple values and to guide the transparent incorporation of these values into their decision-making,” the panel said in a statement read by Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane.
The statement said the dialogue will become global early in April, with a web based consultation and discussion on the draft principles.
Regional multi-stakeholder meetings in several countries will be organised in the period of May till July 2017.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina will host a meeting of South and East Asian leaders in Dhaka from 28 - 29 July 2017 to discuss ways and means of strengthening cross-border collaboration and boosting access to safe drinking water and sanitation in Asia. – SAnews.gov.za
