UN 2023 Water Conference: from Pledge to Practice

During the UN 2023 Water Conference, taking place from 22 until 24 March, IUCN NL, Tropenbos International and WWF organise the event ‘From Pledge to Practice: a roadmap towards action with guidelines for implementing the Freshwater Challenge and the UN Water Action Agenda’. The session aims to further develop the roadmap together with CSOs, companies and governmental institutions.

Photo: © Britta Jaschinski / IUCN NL

Date: Wednesday, 22 March
Time: 8:30 – 10:30 am (with breakfast snack)
Location: Water House, Consulate General of the Netherlands (21st floor, 666 3rd Av., New York City)
For whom: Representatives from governments, NGOs and the private sector from all over the world present in New York City during the UN 2023 Water Conference.

Commitments to ensure access to water

In the run-up to the UN 2023 Water Conference, governments and others are making commitments, such as the Freshwater Challenge and the pledges under the UN Water Action Agenda. Many of these pledges are ambitious and urgently needed to ensure continued provisioning of water for healthy ecosystems, productive landscapes and access to water for local communities.

Pledge to Practice Roadmap

In this side event, we launch the Pledge to Practice Roadmap to ensure the implementation of these commitments. This roadmap includes a series of guidelines that address the key implementation challenges with practical recommendations and pathways, supported by evidence, knowledge and best practices from the field.

Side event agenda

8:30 am – Welcome
8:40 am – Opening by Coenraad Krijger, Director IUCN NL.
9:05 am – Introduction of the Pledge to Practice Roadmap by Bart Geenen, Head Freshwater Programme WWF Netherlands, and Joost van Montfort, Director Tropenbos International.
9:10 am – A governmental perspective on the identification of needs and opportunities to implement and put pledges into practice by Omer van Renterghem, Theme Expert Land, water and ecosystems in the Inclusive Green Growth Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
9:20 am – Pledges and cases of CSOs illustrating the urgency and the potential to apply the Pledge to Practice roadmap in countries. By Nigel Asquith of Fundación Natura Bolivia, Pauline Nantongo of ECOTRUST Uganda and Erika Benitez and Maryi Serrano of FCDS Colombia.
9:50 am – Companies about nature-based solutions. What and who are needed to develop inclusive business cases that involve private sector actors and private (plus public) investors? By Erik van Eekelen of Ecoshape, Reinaldo Penailillo Burgos of Deltares and Reinout Viersma of Van Oord.
10:20 am – Next steps: finalising and operationalise the roadmap and put in practice in 2023 and 2024. Who does what and who else is needed on the table? Facilitated by Coenraad Krijger of IUCN NL.