ArchiveS ArchiveS

INTERVENTION NOTES

 

Positioning Water as Central Focus of Multilateral Actions

 

Turning the Tide on water in the UN;

Working together for Water - the source of life

 

Wednesday, 22 March 2023

18:30pm to 19:45

 

Venue: UNHQ, CR4

 

 

1.     Mr Chair, on behalf of Malaysia, I would like to express my appreciation for the opportunity to address this forum. Malaysia appreciates the continuing effort that the Cross Regional Group (CRG) on Water has shown since its establishment for the global water agenda.

 

Excellencies,

 

From Discussion to Action

 

2.     The World Economic Forum defines the water crisis as “a significant decline in the available quality and quantity of fresh water resulting in harmful effects on human health and/or economic activity”.  The various reports by the World Meteorological Organisation, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and others have highlighted the impending impacts of climate change and that our future is filled with managing extremes and uncertainties. We have to act and aim for resilience, apart from sustainability.

 

3.     With this, the CRG has to discuss the points raised by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water that calls for managing water as the global common good, the adoption of outcomes-focused and mission-approach to water, valuing water so that it can be priced fairly, enabling investments, grasping opportunities and reshape the multilateral governance of water. Malaysia is calling for a resilience framework that starts with water to leapfrog the decades of inaction into gear.

 

Integrating Water in Future UN Conferences

 

4.     We need to assert water’s role as the pillar that connects social, environmental, economic and cultural outcomes and be made a permanent agenda in the UN frameworks. Water is already embedded in these frameworks and working to highlight the nexus of water with each one will solidify further integration. For instance, the climate change adaptation could be strengthened with the water agenda and mobilise existing finance mechanism to kickstart actions. Environmental frameworks especially on transboundry pollution has to seriously consider a river basin development discussion to manage the threat of pollution and untreated waste and wastewater in its agenda. A similar approach on conservation of biodiversity and forestry has got to have a discussion of the conservation of water catchment.

 

5.     Conversation on Water has gone beyond the discourse of SDG. Highlights during COPs for the frameworks that discuss the interconnection of water on climate change, the environment, food security, public health, biodiversity and disaster risk reduction along with other social-economic related platforms need to start acknowledging Water’s role.

 

Conclusion

 

6.     The CRG could be the start for like-minded group of countries that truly champions the common good for water. The CRG should consider extending collective statements to the UN COP and highlight this. I hope that the next UN Water Conference could expand the dialogues’ themes to include CRG’s position.

 

I thank you.