Water management is a daily concern for most populations, who are faced with water scarcity – of which drought is the most serious expression – and water excess due to the deregulation of the water cycle, taking the form of floods and strong rains. Nine out of ten natural disasters are water related.
At the same time, water's quality is deteriorating, in particular due to human-induced pollution, which increases its lack of availability. These serious problems are expected to increase everywhere.
Demand for water is expected to increase by 50% by 2030, while SDG target 6.1 (universal and equitable access to water and sanitation) is far from being reached. Still today, 2 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water and 1.5 billion do not have access to basic sanitation services.
The One Water Summit's ambition is to boost an international cooperation agenda on water by increasing partnerships between States, local authorities, development and private banks, businesses, philanthropies, scientific experts, NGOs and civil society, in line with previous .
This agenda will be both local and global. It will be focused on regions that are subject to strong demographic, socio-economic and climate-related pressures and already experiencing extremely high water stress. It will also focus on countries that regularly experience some form of water excess, but that must now teach their partners how to better manage their water resources in the face of emerging pressures and challenges facing a finite resource.
is part of , and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.
This cooperation has three priorities:
1. Improve governance of the water and sanitation sector, on a local and global scale;
2. Strengthen the security of water supply for all against a backdrop of increasing pressure on water resources and increasing water-related crises;
3. Bolster the effectiveness of resources and tools, by promoting the development of innovative solutions and inclusive financing mechanisms.
- France is the world's fifth-largest donor in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector. In 2023, water projects accounted for 13% of the AFD's overall projects, equivalent to €1.8 billion. Nearly 89% of these projects also have benefits for the climate, and 25% for biodiversity.
Updated: November 2024