As the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) marks 30 years of advancing science, policy and capacity development on water, environment and health, this milestone provides an important moment for reflection on the state of global water systems and the challenges ahead. In this context, UNU-INWEH’s new flagship report, highlights how the sustained overdraft of water systems—drawing on both renewable flows and long-term natural storage beyond safe limits—has pushed many basins and aquifers into a post-crisis condition in which historical baselines are no longer attainable without transformative change.
This timely roundtable co-hosted by UNU-INWEH and the Permanent Missions of Canada to the United Nations provides an opportunity to reflect on key challenges and emerging opportunities presented in the report and ahead of upcoming milestone events, helping shape ambition, priorities and collective action for 2026, 2028 and beyond. We are pleased to welcome, as a special guest for this occasion, the Honourable Terry Duguid, Member of Parliament and Chair of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Commons of Canada at this event.
This Water Policy Roundtable, aims to:
- Present the key findings and policy implications of the UNU-INWEH report Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era
- Discuss potential strategies for elevating water as a global priority and a catalyst for cooperation
- Facilitate an exchange of views on emerging opportunities in the water policy space and pathways to accelerate SDG 6 implementation within evolving policy and governance frameworks – as we approach the conclusion of the Water Action Decade in 2028
- This event will be livestreamed and the link will be made available here closer to the event.
Media Contacts:
Shooka Bidarian, Media and Journalism Fellow, Sustainability and Climate, shooka.bidarian@unu.edu
Location
Conference Room 8, UN HQ New York
