The global water crisis is worsening under the impact of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. This situation is worsened by the absence of appropriate water governance at all levels. So, as announced by Emmanuel Macron and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the start of COP28, an unprecedented diplomatic summit, the One Water Summit, will be held in September 2024, in New York. France has also joined the Freshwater coalition, launched in March 2023 at the United Nations Water Conference.
In the face of this crisis, the UN Water Conference in March 2023 recognized the global water crisis, and a new global water agenda was launched, with a next UN Water Conference in 2026 and the preparation of a UN system-wide strategy on water and sanitation. Its international steering committee was launched on December 10 at COP28, marking an important first step towards integrating water into climate-related discussions, actions and finance.
In this context, on December 1, French President E. Macron and the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan announced the holding of a meeting between the two countries. One Water Summit in September 2024, in New York, on the sidelines of the high-level session of the United Nations General Assembly. The aim of this summit is to improve international cooperation in the preservation of water resources, and to find solutions to guarantee access to water. " Water is a global public good and will play a key role in the explosion of conflicts, migrations, major impacts on food systems and massive degradation of natural ecosystems between now and 2050. ", stresses the Ministry of Ecological Transition in a press release.
Kazakhstan faces complex water challenges, such as saving the Aral Sea. France, meanwhile, is increasingly threatened by drought. This summit is therefore an opportunity to encourage concrete action. This One Planet format, co-chaired by France and Kazakhstan on water issues, is essential for several reasons. International cooperation in the water sector needs to be reviewed. Finally, solutions to guarantee access to water need to be completely reinvented around a multi-actor logic.
Chaired by Barbara Pompili and Z. Suleimenova, this international steering committee will bring together ministers representing all the world's regions, representatives of the United Nations and international organizations, local authorities, funding bodies and players involved in water issues (NGOs, private operators, etc.).
Teams from the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, under the authority of Minister C. Colonna, and teams from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, under the authority of Minister C. Béchu, are mobilized to prepare this summit with Kazakhstan. Béchu, are mobilized to prepare this summit with Kazakhstan. Christophe Béchu, who emphasized the importance of this new meeting in the fight against climate change: "Che water problem is everywhere. It is present in the melting of glaciers, which reduces the amount of water available for human use. [...] It's present in the fact that global warming is increasing the proportion of water absorbed by vegetation, reducing nature's ability to help us combat climate change. And it threatens peace on our planet."
Finally, France has joined the Freshwater coalition, supported by the governments of Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Gabon, Mexico and Zambia. Launched at the United Nations Water Conference in March 2023, this is the largest-ever initiative to restore degraded rivers, lakes and wetlands. As part of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, the project calls on all governments to commit to clear targets for restoring healthy freshwater ecosystems, with a view to restoring 300,000 kilometers of rivers and 350 million hectares of wetlands by 2030.
Source : Joint press release Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion
