UNECE
UNECE 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.
UNECE report highlights key actions to tackle workforce gaps in water sector
Managing climate change impacts on water resources including floods and droughts, as well as competing demands from different sectors on dwindling resources and pollution, requires adequate human resources in the water sector. Yet, a lack of trained professionals in not only water but sanitation and hygiene (WASH), is a global challenge. The workforce is ageing, […]
Zambia joins UN Water Convention to boost cooperation to address drought and water challenges
In response to severe drought and ongoing water scarcity, Zambia has joined the UN Water Convention to improve water management both within and across its borders. The country, which declared a National Crisis and Emergency in February 2024 due to a drought that has severely impacted food and energy production for its population of over […]
Zimbabwe joins United Nations (UN) Water Convention
Zimbabwe’s accession further reinforces the strong momentum for water cooperation in Africa, where over 90% of water resources are in 63 basins shared by two or more countries.
Cote d’Ivoire is 10th African nation to join UN Water Convention
Faced with increasing water stress and climate change impacts on the water resources it shares with its neighbours, Cote d’Ivoire has joined the United Nations Water Convention – a UN treaty to improve joint water management across borders. It is the 53rd Party to the Convention and 10th African country to join the 1992 Convention […]
Burkina Faso confirms interest in joining the Water Convention
The rapid increase in demand for water and current security threats in the Sahel are posing ever-greater challenges to the sustainable management of the country's shared water resources Burkina's forthcoming accession to the Water Convention will help to give political priority to the issue of water resource management in the region. The Water Convention also provides a solid basis to help mobilize financing and reduce investment risks in water infrastructure.
Uzbekistan joins the Protocol on Water and Health
Uzbekistan has joined to the UNECE-WHO/Europe Protocol on Water and Health, thereby becoming its 29th Party and the first country in Central Asia to join this treaty. Accession to the Protocol is expected to serve as a catalyst to further drive and streamline national action on water, sanitation, hygiene and health with the aim of […]
Water cooperation must remain at core of climate action to address security and health risks
Climate change is a major stress factor for the world’s water resources, heightening risks of conflict in shared basins, threatening health and undermining sustainable development. During high-level discussions held at COP28 on the thematic days on Peace, Security, and Health and on Agriculture, Food and Water, UNECE and its partners stressed the critical need for […]
Panama is the first Latin American country to join UN Water Convention
By becoming the first country from Latin America to accede to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), Panama made a decisive step to support the sustainable use of transboundary water resources through cooperation across borders. With slightly over 4 million inhabitants, Panama is at the intersection between […]
In times of water stress, countries highlight importance of transboundary cooperation
The meeting welcomed the four new Parties to the Water Convention, and numerous countries also reported on progress in their process of accession to join the Convention.