UN News
UN News is a international organization that is part of the pulse of the water sector. Here we bring together everything it publishes on Smart Water Magazine: its news, its blogs and the events it takes part in.
Unprecedented drought emergency demands urgent action
The Global Drought Snapshot report, released by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on Friday, coinciding with COP 28, paint a grim picture of the scale of lives and livelihoods lost to droughts. Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary, emphasized the urgency of the situation. “Unlike other disasters that attract media attention, droughts happen silently, often […]
New UN guidance affirms children’s right to a clean, healthy environment
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued new guidance on Monday that calls for governments to take action to protect boys and girls in the face of the deepening climate crisis. The so-called General Comment No. 26 marks the first time the Committee has affirmed children’s right to live in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. […]
UNEP oceans advocate Lewis Pugh on epic Hudson swim to highlight importance of clean rivers
The UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Patron of the Oceans, Lewis Pugh, is on a quest to swim the length of the iconic Hudson River in New York state to draw attention to the critical importance of healthy river ecosystems to oceans and the overall environment. The 315-mile swim, roughly 507 kilometres, will take him from […]
Major boost needed to reach 2030 water, sanitation and hygiene goals
Water pollution poses a significant challenge to human health and the environment in many countries. With around 2.2 billion people lacking “safely managed drinking water”, 3.5 billion without safe sanitation access, and two billion devoid of basic hygiene services in 2022, the world is moving too slowly to reach the SDG 6 ensuring that basic […]
UN’s nuclear agency and food and agriculture wing announce key commitments to tackle global water
On the penultimate day of the United Nations Water Conference, two UN agencies announced several potentially game-changing commitments that could enable countries to quickly gather data on the state of their water resources, and boost efficiency of water use for more sustainable agriculture practices. A worldwide network of water analysis laboratories and a tool to […]
UN report extolls win-win water partnerships to avert global crisis
Water starts wars, puts out fires, and is key to human survival, but ensuring access for all hinges largely on improving cooperation, according to a new flagship UN report published on Tuesday.
UN calls for game-changing action to stem global water crisis
Innovative solutions, accelerated actions and robust investments top agenda for water-secure world.
WHO: Nearly 130,000 facing starvation in Horn of Africa
Life-threatening hunger caused by climate shocks, violent insecurity and disease in the Horn of Africa, have left nearly 130,000 people “looking death in the eyes” and nearly 50 million facing crisis levels of food insecurity, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. In an appeal for $178 million to support humanitarian assistance across the seven […]
Historic agreement to protect the oceans
Secretary-General António Guterres has congratulated UN member countries for finalizing a text to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, calling it a “breakthrough” after nearly two decades of talks.