"WATER MANAGEMENT"

The General Assembly holds a high-level dialogue to assess the progress made in the fight against desertification, land degradation and drought, and map the way forward in view of the end of the UN Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification.

The triple threat of climate change, loss of nature and pollution requires the world to deliver on its commitment to restore at least one billion degraded hectares of land in the next decade - an area about the size of China states in a new report launched today by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). UNTV CH

Water is an “essential element of every aspect of development”, Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said during a large virtual celebration to mark World Water Day 2021. He called on all stakeholders to work together to safeguard water and widen access to this precious resource. FAO

General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir said billions of people are facing the COVID-19 pandemic without basic handwashing facilities, a “stark example of global inequality can and must spur us to action.” UNIFEED

Improved water management, supported by effective governance and strong institutions - including secure water tenure and rights, underpinned by sound water accounting and auditing - will be essential to ensure global food security and nutrition, and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2020. FAO

A Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and European Union project tackles water scarcity and rising fuel costs with new irrigation methods in Ibb Governorate, Yemen. FAO

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Agreement within reach, Under-Secretary-General tells Security Council, as trilateral talks proceed to settle remaining differences.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), along with the government of Norway, financed a water pumping station in arid Waragou, Niger, thus providing a water source for both local herders and the growing population displaced by fighting. IFAD

Briefing by Monica Grayley, Spokesperson for the President of the 73rd Session of the General Assembly.

Briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.