Water at the Heart of the Rio Conventions: From Commitments to Action (HLPF 2026 Side Event)

Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to the session on Water at the Heart of the Rio Conventions: From Commitment to Actions. I guess if you're in this room, you either work for multilateral organization or your team has been kicked out of the World Cup by now. I speak for myself coming from the Netherlands. But we will be joined by at least one of the two parties playing right now if there's no extension of the match. But for the rest, we have all our speakers here. Let me say a few opening remarks and then I also ask Ms. Susanna Halling Duffy, the Director of the World Water Week and Global Engagement at the Stockholm International Water Institute, to do the same. Water is at the heart of all Rio Conventions. Water is crucial for climate adaptation and climate mitigation. The Rio Convention on Desertification is nothing more than the Rio Convention for a lack of water. And of course, water is central for biodiversity. Often in those meetings, we lobby, we complain that we don't have enough water in those conventions, but that's up to us. And I actually think we've made quite a lot of progress of making water central through those Rio conventions. For instance, at the climate COPs, up to a few years ago, we did not have water in the negotiated text. I think the first time was in Glasgow. I think in Sharm el-Sheikh, we were still counting 17 times water, and now we don't count the number of times the word appears anymore, but we actually look at the substance. We will be having a UN Water Conference in December in Abu Dhabi, co-hosted by the UAE and Senegal, the second UN Water Conference after 3 years after we had the first one after 47 years hosted by the Netherlands. And Tajikistan. And that's one part of the agenda, but I'm convinced that if water is central in multilateralism at the UN, at these conventions, at the MDBs, we cannot only do that by talking to each other. We need to reach out, and I think water at the heart of Rio conventions is where we do our real work, where we make sure that not only the people in the water bubble, the people around the table here, but the people outside of the water sector actually make water a central part of the discussions we have on the multilateral stage. So very happy to be here to hear from countries about how they integrate water in different sectors at home, but also to hear from people how we extend that integrated approach that we have in many of our governments to the global level.

Thank you so much. Can everyone hear me? Good. So I've— Your Excellency, Ms. Retra Marzouki, Minister James Brown, Excellency Ambassador Iyad Bou Saba, Abad Mustafa, who's watching the football right now, distinguished panelists and participants, ladies and gentlemen, friends. On behalf of the Stockholm International Water Institute, it's my pleasure to welcome you to this High-Level Political Forum side event co-hosted with the Government of the Netherlands. We've convened today's discussions because there's a growing recognition that water underpins climate resilience, biodiversity, sustainable land management, and human well-being. While these interlinkages are increasingly reflected in global commitments, implementation remains fragmented. Too often these issues are still governed by separate entities and institutions, policy processes, and financing mechanisms missing. So it's an honor for CIWI especially to be here today since we focus on the linkages and including science, policy, and practice. As we build momentum towards the UN Water Conference, we hope that this discussion will provide an opportunity to share best practices and also potential to create new partnerships to find solutions. And I think I will hand over to today's moderator, Maike van Geetgen. Maike.

Thank you. And thanks, Susanne. Very nice to do this together with the Stockholm International Water Institute, long-term partner of the Government of the Netherlands. I look to the lady at my other hand, which is Madam Retno Marsudi, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Water, a great water champion, and looking forward to some remarks to kick off our discussion.

Well, thank you very much, Meike. Thank you, Suzan, colleagues. Thank you very much for inviting me, and my apology that I won't be able to stay for the whole session because I have have to jump to another meeting. And for me, the discussion, our discussion today is very— not only very important, but also very timely for two reasons. Reason number one, two link between water and the Three Rio Convention. We know that water is indeed a cross-cutting issue among the three agendas and water plays a role as potential solution to the three planetary challenges. And the second reason is that this year especially we have political momentum. We have the HLPF, we have the 2026 UN Water Conference, and at the same time we have the three COP convention meeting. So the political momentum is there and we must use it. I would like to make 3 points to— and I hope that it can inspire our discussion today. First, we must see water as investment to action in climate, biodiversity, and land management with an investment mindset We no longer see water as an additional burden, so we must advocate for such shift of mindset. My second point: we must continue to bring water discussion about climate, biodiversity, land management, and vice versa. And I believe today's dialogue serves a a good starting point for us to carry forward discussion about the three agendas to the 2026 UN Water Conference. And my last and third point is that we must continue to advocate for political commitment at the highest level, because political commitment should also help breaking the institutional silos that we know that's among the challenges that we have to face, and the political commitment will also be able to translate commitment into action. So that is my 3 points. Maike, back to you, and thank you very much, Khaled.

Thank you very much, Retno, and I think very wise words. And I liked especially your idea that water is an action. That's connected through each of those conventions, no? Biodiversity is not an action, right? Biodiversity is a phenomenon, is a target. But water is action. Water is restoring a wetland. Water is giving drinking water to people. Water is making sure that everybody has access to water. Water is flood prevention. So I think this idea of water being the action of getting to the targets of the Rio Convention is something that while you have to leave for another session, we'll take forward and we'll make sure that we solve everything. Good. We have a number of speakers in our panel today and each of them brings a different regional perspective. Well, they also share roles in global governance on water and in the Rio Conventions. And I think each of those panelists will touch upon what are synergies, opportunities, and hurdles in enforcing the three Rio Conventions with focus on water, offering action, offering recommendations, and thinking how we can bring this together and really work in an integrated manner and make sure that we use water action as a way of implementing the global agreements we have at the local scale, the community scale, at the city scale, at the farm scale, at the basin scale, at the national scale, and at the international scale. Because action very often in water is at all of those levels. Water doesn't know boundaries, but water is also very local issue. So I will start off the panelists with a question, and I'll start with you, Minister James Brown, from the Ministry of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage in Ireland, which also includes the portfolio of water. Congratulations to the minister. He is— his country is president of the European Union for 7 days now. Going very well. And I think we talked a little bit before this session, and you explained to me how the relationship between housing and water and even democracy is so important in your country. So I hope that you can share some messages from Ireland on national, regional, and global coordination for water in the light of the Rio Convention— But also, how do we optimize the power of government, the resources of government, so that we really translate commitments into skilled action?

Thank you very much, and thank you very much for the invitation to be here today. Look, Ireland very much recognizes that water is at the heart of the Rio Conventions. These three conventions together set out to address the interconnected challenges of climate change, desertification, and biodiversity loss. And these commitments, I think has been alluded to, are very much to date often being addressed in a fragmented manner. So Ireland very much wants to emphasize that the link to improve the linkages between these three Rio conventions are very important. Ireland itself has developed the Water Sectoral Adaptation Plan, which outlines the adaptive measures available to build resilience in responding to climate change and weather-related events, but also importantly other socio-economic impacts as well. An example of these measures pertaining to water include the River Basin Management Plan for Ireland 2018-2021, and the Irish Water's National Water Resource Plan is a as well. And these adaptation plans, uh, are the beginning of an iterative process, and adaptation planning will need to be an ongoing process. In Ireland, we've also engaged on a multi-stakeholder, multi-level forms of governance integrating technical and policy-based expertise to advance our water policy. And this includes aligning everything we're doing with EU Water Resilience Strategy as well. This strategy aims to address structural vulnerabilities in water supply including the risks from drought and indeed pollution. Ireland is also applying very much in nature-based solutions such as the Integrated Catchment Management Plan and natural water retention measures for their co-benefits in enhancing water quality, biodiversity, and of course flood resilience as well. The ocean-climate nexus sits squarely at the intersection of all three Rio Conventions. The ocean is of course a major sink carbon sink, and climate regulator, home to diverse ecosystems under threat from warming and acidification, and increasingly linked to land degradation through coastal erosion, sea level rise, and sediment dynamics. Coordinating marine governance, both at a regional level but also globally, is the only way to ensure that our collective actions under these three conventions are aligned and support responses to climate change, for example flooding, drought, sea level rise, and increasing degradation of biodiversity and ecosystem health. In Ireland's context, this has already taken shape through an all-of-government approach to the delivery of Ireland's national plans and strategies for climate adaptation, biodiversity, and marine restoration as well. Our Marine Protected Area program being developed to meet both the CBD's 30 by 30 target and the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive's good environmental status objectives is one example of a single designation process that simultaneously serves the biodiversity and climate and water quality commitments rather than three parallel ones. Broadening, broadening this, Ireland works through the OSPAR Convention with other countries across the Northeast Atlantic to ensure that we have a regionally coherent network of MPAs.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, and thank you for linking the global with the Irish reality and also for reminding us when we talk about water. We often talk about fresh water, but fresh water can't be seen separately from the water in oceans and the interaction between those. Let me go to Brazil. We have Miss Ana Paula Firenze here, the Superintendent of Hydrological and Socioeconomic Studies of of Brazilian National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency, but going by the name of ANA, no? You're both your name and your agency, even easier. ANA is a role model, an example for many countries of how to do integrated water resources management. And you have a lot of experience and of course you also hosted COP30 in Brazil last year. Could you share with us some of the key challenges and how these were overcome in terms of Brazil in the synergies between the three conventions we're talking about, but also advancing integrated water, climate, and nature solutions? Over to you, Ana.

Thank you so much. Thank you, and thank you for having us and giving the opportunity for Brazil to share its experience and its major challenges as a big country with different realities and a complex governance system. So after almost 35 years of the Rio+20, one session lesson we have learned is that climate Biodiversity and desertification are negotiated in different rooms, but they all meet in water. Water also connects virtually every sector in human activity as well as cultural interests and people around the world and in the country itself. We have, since 1997, implemented our National Water Resources policy attempting to reflect this understanding. Our legislation has established decentralized, very participatory, and river basin-based water governance that enables shared governance model involving the federal government, the states, the river basin committees, the water users, the scientific community, and the civil society. Building this alignment and develop the share agendas is challenged. And this is why we have recently developed the National Pact for Water Management, signed by all the 27 governors and the National Water Agency. And it comes together with a performance-based program that rewards progress in water government— governance and water management. Also, it requires high-level coordination, and this is the main challenge to break the silos. And unfortunately, lately we have experienced a slight change in this because of emergencies and because of disasters, so we can no longer give the luxury of not breaking the silos and acting together. Also, we have tried to reflect this in the National Adaptation Plan. The water resources chapter is based in the understanding that if carbon is the currency of mitigation, water is the language of adaptation. And this is why we have put water at the center of adaptation measures and are using this, we are using this to break the silos and integrate all the different policies. And this is also aligned with implementing the Three Rio Conventions. Also, we very strongly understand in the NAP that when we manage water and when we adapt for water, we are adapting for all the other sectors. Also, we have the understanding that effective governance and resilience depend on strong information, so we have consistently invested in producing data studies and information that are always public, free, and in an open format. We also cooperate with neighboring countries. In this sense, we share capacity building and we share information always for free and always in an open basis. Also, we— I would like to highlight some recent studies regarding especially SDG 6, and because we have started looking beyond the national average. They always hide profound inequities. And when we analyze at finer scales, we identify vulnerabilities by municipality, by river basin, by informal settlements, poor people, poor communities, vulnerable communities, race, gender, indigenous territories. Kilombola communities and the municipalities that are facing the highest levels of social vulnerability. So this has allowed us to direct policies and investments to where they are most needed so no one is left behind. Our main challenges now are to reach the Amazon basin with the management tools. This is a river basin that has not yet been integrated in our management system as the others. Also, we— our water stress is very low in an average, but we have regions that reach 60% in water stress. We also have identified territorial and racial lines of inequalities. Northeast and North region have larger sanitation and hygiene gaps for non-white and indigenous populations. And in several states, fewer than half of indigenous people have a private bathroom. So this is— these are the greatest challenges we face right now. So we do hope to come out of the UN Water Conference with some perspectives on where are we going after the SDG 6, after 2030, because we can no longer put advances in terms of we have fully reached or we have not reached the goals. Many advances were made, and we have to keep momentum and action in that direction.

Thank you very much, and your planning processes and your national adaptation plans are very impressive in Brazil, no? I mean, it's a complex country, large country, federal country, but you really use water to break the silos. I liked what you were saying, and thanks also for highlighting the importance of Good data for planning, because I think there's an important role for United Nations also here, no, in standardizing definitions and methodologies of how we measure things so that we all have the same indicators and we have science that is comparable in access to data for poor countries, rich countries, everybody, different stakeholder groups. And in order to maintain and strengthen the role of science, which is sometimes questions in different parts. So thanks for your intervention. We move from Brazil to Japan, and we have Kenzo Hiroki here, Professor Emeritus at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Japan, but also has played many other roles in the water sector over the past decades. Could you share any key messages, Kenzo, from Japan's perspective in terms of addressing water amid growing climate risks and the role of science policy to realize efficiencies in coherent national planning.

Thank you, Chair. I'm glad to join here as one of the kicked-out countries out of the World Cup. But I had a very good game with Brazil.

I was just thinking, am I creating any rivalries here?

Yes, you did. So it's obvious that the free convention has to be conducted through water, but the first thing is challenge is the political leadership. The leaders, president, prime ministers are not aware. That even the three conventions are from the same origin, let alone they are deeply connected by water. So how to do that? My idea is to have the, you know, the actors of the three conventions on water to be in the same meeting at the summit level. There's one example, that is water and disaster risk reduction. 20 years back, they were totally separated. And then we organized the UN Special Summit on Water and Disasters biennially. And now water is part of the DRR, DRR is part of water. So why not having the same thing for the three conventions and water? However, political recognition alone will not produce change on the ground. The— while leadership is a prerequisite, it is not a sufficient condition. We must first overcome fragmentation in the water sector itself. Although water now has its own SDG, water issues continue to be addressed separately, operated separately. Yet climate change affects every aspect of water cycle, including increases and decreasing water availability, extreme hydrological events and the resulting impacts on water quality. So climate change covers all aspects of water. Biodiversity is the same. It is equally influenced by excessive water, insufficient water, and the quantity and quality of everyday water. Desertification also cannot be addressed without managing the spatial distribution of too much, too little, and everyday water across landscapes. Nevertheless, we often remain trapped in the sectoral thinking. As long as the water sector continues to operate within these traditional silos, it will not be able to serve as a nexus connecting the three conventions. As co-chair of the Interactive Dialogue C, Japan advocates on an overarching concept that too much water, too little water, and every water should all be understood and managed within the framework of the water cycle. This provides a common platform for addressing the three conventions as a single interconnected challenge. The question is how to move beyond business as usual and translate this concept into practice. Several member states and organizations are currently discussing a new International Water Framework Japan hopes that this framework will become more than a collection of existing policies and instead establish water as an integrating principle linking the Rio agendas under its holistic circle. As the three conventions are going, we have to at least have a framework and process for water to discuss shoulder to shoulder with the three conventions. Let me— let us now take a look at the national levels. Even with international agreements as water framework, implementation ultimately depends on national policies supported by political leadership. This requires a stronger interface between science and policy. In water resources management, efforts are underway to establish facilitators who support decision makers by ensuring that policies and emergency responses are grounded in scientific evidence. Similar mechanisms are needed across the entire water sectors. Such facilitators could play an essential role in supporting integrated water management and advancing policy transformation at the national level. Policy should trickle down to actions. Even with stronger political commitment and better policies, action will not occur automatically. Practical implementation requires concrete tools and successful examples that can be replicated and scaled up. For the outcomes of 2023, World Accounts will help. More than 800 Action Agenda commitments are presented in 2023. And recently UN Secretariat did a review on their action agenda. Revisiting these commitments may reveal valuable examples that already connect climate change, biodiversity, and disasters through water. It is time to revisit them. In 2026, these ideas should be reflected on flagship initiatives. The hosts of the 2026 conference, UAE and Senegal, have invited the co-chairs of the Interactive Dialogues to develop flagship initiatives. Interactive Dialogue 3, co-chaired by Japan and Egypt, titled Water for the Planet, includes 7 themes, among them climate change, biodiversity, and desertification. Japan believes that flagship initiatives should be endorsed when they demonstrate collaboration across these themes and with other interactive dialogues while delivering meaningful global impact. Several organizations have already proposed initiatives related to individual Rio themes. We hope these can be brought together into an integrated Rio flagship initiative that reflects the shared objectives of the three conventions. With only 6 months remaining before the 26th Conference, this work is becoming increasingly urgent. Japan plans to consult with relevant stakeholders, including those proposers, during next week's High-Level Political Forum to help advance this process. Everybody is welcome. In conclusion, strengthening cooperation among the three Rio Conventions requires transformation at every level: political leadership, international and national water frameworks, science-based policymaking, and the creation and scaling up of practical solutions. Progress in each of these in these areas does not happen without cooperation among governments and all stakeholders. Japan hopes that this discussion will serve as a starting point for deeper collaboration and generate the momentum needed to translate our shared vision into concrete action. Thank you.

Thank you, Kenzo-san, and you know the the international multilateral ecosystem very well and I think the example you give about how water is integrated into the disaster risk reduction is an inspiring example because with everything going on we cannot multiply mandates, we're looking for consolidation. Let's continue to Miss Sonja Koppel, Secretary of the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Water for courses in international lakes, the Water Convention for France, which is not a real process but a very important process for all of us. I guess you're the referee in football matches in this capacity. And you also work on the Baku Dialogue on Water for Climate Action, which is actually a process we agreed only a few years ago to really make sure we integrate water into the the Climate COPs. So I hope you can share the latest progress on the Baku Dialogue on Water for Climate Action and what key messages the dialogue offers for strengthening country implementation and coordinated policy actions. Over to you, Sonja. Thank you very much.

And I also join the row of those having left the World Cup because my country Germany was thrown out even earlier than some of you. Coming back to the topic here, as we all know how water and climate are related, and also that, as Michael, you've said, climate change impacts and water often cross boundaries. And that's why actually cooperation at basin level really helps to make adaptation more effective. And the Water Convention exactly helps countries in this regard to adapt jointly to to climate change. So the Water Convention has integrated climate change since more than 20 years, actually under the leadership of the Netherlands and currently Ghana, which are co-chairing the task force on water and climate under the Water Convention. With regards to the Rio Conventions, I would say, indeed, having attended myself COPs since I think the first time was in 2009 in Copenhagen, there has been progress. We have now a water pavilion, Since COP26, the COP in Egypt has included water in the COVID decision and has also launched the Aware Initiative. Then in COP28 in Dubai, water became the first target of the Global Goal on Adaptation. And at the last COP in Brazil, water was also closely included in the action agenda. And indeed, at COP29 in Azerbaijan, The presidency launched the Baku Dialogue on Water for Climate Action as a COP-to-COP cooperation platform aiming to help countries in integrating water into climate actions, which the Baku Declaration has been endorsed by more than 70 countries and even more stakeholders, and its support unit is hosted by UNEP in cooperation with WMO and UNICEF. So with regards to latest progress, we had indeed meetings in Baku, in Belém, and latest just a few weeks ago in Bonn, where the three presidencies spoke. But we also heard from a number of countries on how they are mainstreaming water into climate action, such as from Uganda, Kazakhstan, Vanuatu. We heard about linkages to the UN Water Conference. And we heard also the progress by the three agencies. For example, UNEP preparing a report on drought resilience indicators to be launched at the UNCCD COP just next month in Ulaanbaatar, or the activities by WMO on the World Data Initiative, or UNICEF are working on a knowledge product on good practices for climate adaptation in shared basins. In addition, the draft governance structure of the Baku Dialogue was presented and will be officially sent out to all endorsing entities for hopefully having in place this governance structure by the COP 31 in November this year. So the next steps on the Baku Dialogue are to have the next meeting at— actually at Baku Climate Week in September, and then hopefully at the COP in November in Antalya. Because indeed, I think, as you have said, Michael, the important is to reach out and to actually go and talk to the people from the other, from the climate, from the biodiversity, from desertification, etc. And I would also like to thank those who are actually making possible the Baku Dialogue, such as the European Union and others who are supporting it. From the UN side, we are also becoming organized on this because, as you may know, the mainstreaming water into Rio Convention is one of the main topics of the UN system-wide strategy on water and sanitation. There is a particular so-called priority collaborative action on this topic co-led by UNESCO, WMO, and UNICEF. Under the framework of the expert group on water and climate of UN-Water. And what are some of the key messages out of this work and out of also the Baku Dialogue? Firstly, mainstreaming water into climate really brings opportunities, and water is not only a victim of climate change, but also an enabler for building resilience. And we can actually bring also the good practices from the water sector to the to the climate people. Secondly, we also need to consider the importance of water for mitigation because many mitigation measures are only— also require huge amounts of water to be successful. And the policy brief on water for mitigation goes more into detail. And actually, today afternoon, we will present at the SDG 7 session on energy session, an analytical brief on water and energy, so showing how those topics are interlinked. Finally, there are also different practices according to countries on how to integrate and mainstream water, such as some countries are including, are developing specific national adaptation plans for water, such as in Uganda. And finally, I believe one of the The main reasons why maybe we as water sector are not yet sufficiently tapping into the climate funds is that we probably don't cost enough the measures and don't put forward enough the economic aspects and benefits of adaptation to climate change in the water sector. Finally, is all this enough or not? I would say indeed we have come a long way, but Still, I would say, if I compare ourselves to other sectors, we have not— we are not yet sufficient. If I look at the, for example, ocean sector, they have actually now a regular official dialogue on oceans at the Climate Cops and at the intercessional meeting. The health sector are asking now for the same. The agriculture sector has its dedicated work program on agriculture, the Corona work program under the climate change discussions. And mountains has now become organized and it has been asking for having an agenda item on mountains and therefore having official sessions now, including just in Bonn, 2, 3 weeks ago was a full official day dedicated to mountains and climate change. And we as water, we don't have— the Baku Dialogue is good, but it's not part of the official UNFCCC program. So we believe that we would need to make still a step forward as water sector in this regard, and by asking for a more official consideration of water in the climate change discussions. And the upcoming UN Water Conference in December this year, in particular interactive dialogue C&E, probably provide opportunities for this regard. So we have been actually working on a draft roadmap on how this could happen, with a goal of having a more official consideration of water at the Rio Conventions, and particularly now first focus at UNFCCC in the coming months and years ahead. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, and I think what you're describing is a struggle of meeting from a— of moving from a lobby for water to actually getting to work. And yes, we want official recognition, but we also need to get out of our talking to each other. And thank you for reminding us that we've made progress on the COPs, that we're much further than when you first went to your first COP in Copenhagen.

Copenhagen.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. The football is still ongoing. I won't say anything more. You all have your mobile devices. We'll see whether Egypt still comes. But we will— we do have a number of people who've asked for the floor. In the audience, and I'm very happy to give them the floor, and hopefully we'll also have some time to hear from others. And I would like to ask everybody to be brief so that we can really have a dialogue and have as many people who want to speak speak here. And let me start by His Excellency the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the United Nations, Minister Tesfaye Ilma Sabo. The floor is yours.

Moderator, it's just— thank you for the way you are moderating this meeting today. Ethiopia is party to the Three Sisters The Rio Conventions, we've ratified them all and underscore the importance of creating synergy between them. Increasing impact, efficiency, and access to resources for land and national implementation can be achieved by developing cohesive strategies across these three conventions. Due to their disproportionate resource limitations and environmental vulnerabilities, African nations, in addition to synergies across the Rio Conventions, are especially in need of robust partnership. In these conventions, water constitutes a critical cross-cutting element within each convention. Ultimately, water is not simply another environmental sector.. It's an integrating element across climate, biodiversity, and the land agenda. The concept note distributed for this meeting explains about this, and it says, I quote, "Water is not a separate sectoral issue. It's a connective system through which climate resilience, ecosystem integrity, and sustainable land management are delivered." Healthy freshwater ecosystems support adaptation, biodiversity conservation, drought resilience and food security, while climate change intensifies water-related risks including floods, droughts, glacial melt and sea level rise. While the fact is— what I mentioned earlier— We are observing a recent attempt in the United Nations and beyond to single out the water issue and create mechanisms beyond Water Action Decade 2018-2028. Proposals to establish new universal mechanisms beyond existing frameworks should be approached with caution so as not to undermine the progress already achieved. —including through the Rio Conventions—by the international community. Within the United Nations, our focus should remain on areas that unite us, such as areas including socio-economic development, supporting and promoting scientific cooperation, and facilitating the sharing— and sharing information and data through joint institutional frameworks. Through practical collaboration in these fields, water-related challenges can be addressed more effectively. I thank you.

Thank you very much for your intervention, Mr. Ambassador. The next speaker is Li Fengli, the Director of Water and Land at FAO and somebody who's intimately familiar of how to integrate different sectors because you try to convince the whole of FAO that water and soil are important for food production and agriculture everywhere.

Thank you, thank you, Madam Chair, and do I need to have to say something about the World Cup? As Chinese, we don't need to worry about it. Thank you, and back to the subject of water and Rio Convention. Thank you, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and also to put together this very important session. It's more than— like the sports, it really connects people. I think we all rely on water to connect with all of us. I think I want to make probably like a 4-point. The first one, if you look at the Rio Convention, and indeed water is the key component of the Rio Convention. Conventions, whether it's about climate impact through the water lens—too much, too less, the wrong time, wrong timing—or it's about the drought management. Drought is one of the key pillars of the UNCCD Convention. Or it's about the freshwater ecosystem or freshwater biodiversity decline, which has to address through the CBD process. I think my first point is really, when it comes to the implementation at the national level, how we can really to achieve the synergies and the policy consistency at the national level. Certainly, there are many countries that are doing much, much better, but I think our observation is we are not there yet. We see that many often the national strategies, the policies on climate change, on biodiversity, on water, on the land, they're not really talking with each other. I think that's one of the major challenges. I think as a UN organization, we supported countries to work on all those national strategies on biodiversity, on climate adaptation, especially on agriculture, forestry and fishery, on national water roadmaps, and we really want to try to encourage the countries to speak to other sectors and make sure at the national level your policy formulations really be really open to others, and so as to achieve really the policy alignment and consistency. And even from the food perspective, you know, and back to the UN Food Systems Summit in 2021, 114 countries developed their national water— national food security pathways. And from a water perspective, two-thirds of them, they are water-blind. Yeah, so that we have so much lessons we should learn. I think we really want to facilitate and encourage and the support of the countries to ensure the consistency. The second part is really make sure that food system solutions, agri-food system solutions, it's also the solutions to the Three Rio Conventions. We heard over and over that agriculture is the largest water user, and if we cannot manage agricultural water, how can we really achieve both food security and water security? Similarly, agriculture sector is also one of the CO2 emissions. So we have to look at how we make the agri-food system solutions really become the solutions to the three Rio Conventions. And certainly, if you look at a land perspective, you know, over 60% of human-induced land degradation is happening on the cropland, on the pastureland. So we have to really strengthen those these synergies. The third point is really about make sure that drought management really become a central pillar of the implementation of the Rio Conventions. I think UCCD Convention is champion on that, and the drought is one of the pillar of the CCD, but also in collaboration with the UCCD, FAO has been supporting over 35 countries to develop their national drought management plans. As well as to form the WASAG, the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture, to address the water scarcity challenges. I think we have to look at that, how to place the management of the drought, of the water scarcity, in the rural convention perspective. The last message is really about the data and the information. Without the data and information, we cannot really ensure the national planning is robust. We cannot really ensure that the The solutions that we propose are really the sustainable solutions. I think those are the 4 messages. I think the call is very clear to us. Let's put the water at the centre of the implementation of all these Rio Conventions and make sure that agri-food solutions are the solutions to the Rio Conventions.

Thank you. Thank you, Li Feng. My role is also timekeeping, which is important in football, and I'm not sure I followed your core keeping, but I think you made 4 points, and especially this talking to each other. We speak different languages and this idea that we don't burden countries with too many different planning exercises that really, in a way, become obstacles to integration. We go to WMO, Mrs. Roselyne de Villiers, maybe from a country that's still in the World Cup originally. There we are.

Is still going strong, so I wouldn't say the strongest because you're welcome to our club. Thank you. Thank you for having me and for having WMO here today. Nearly every, every climate hazard has a water dimension. More frequent floods and drought, glacier retreat, and changing Changing precipitation patterns are already affecting food security, ecosystem, livelihood, and human well-being. These challenges call for integrated approaches that bridge sectors, institutions, and financing. For WMO and how members, the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, science-based water and climate services are fundamental enablers of climate action. Through the Early Warning for All initiative, we are working with partners to ensure that everyone is protected by life-saving multi-hazard early warning systems. WMO is also advancing the Water at the Heart of Climate Action project in the Nile Basin, demonstrating how climate information, hydrological data, and transboundary and national cooperation can strengthen water resilience while delivering tangible benefits for life and livelihood. Similar efforts with our members are helping to improve water management and support evidence-based decision-making around the world. I would like to echo what Ana said next to us. We really believe that water is a powerful entry point for achieving multiple global goals simultaneously. WMO stands ready to work with all of you and to ensure that science, early warning, and water services accelerate progress across the Rio Convention and the Sustainable Development Goals. Thank you. Thank you very much, and go France!

Thank you. You're looking for a flagship, Kenzo Hiroki. Early Warning for All is looking for an extension, so maybe you can have that as a flagship of your interactive dialogue. Just making a few connections here. Let's continue to Mrs. Anukka Lipponen, the Chief Specialist on Water Resource Management at the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and and forestry. And again, we try to get as many people speaking as possible, so good if you can be short. Madam Chair— oh, there you are. Yeah, hi.

Thanks, thanks for the opportunity just to share a few, a few thoughts. Finland supports strengthening the global UN Water governance architecture, mainstreaming water into climate negotiations in the framework of the UN and other central international processes. And so integrating water to the work under the UNFCC is, is key. And we adhered to the Baku Declaration. It's good to, good to see that, that work evolving and taking shape. There are indeed benefits, and I I found Sonia's intervention very, very enlightening. One example is that, for example, cooperative regional projects, like transboundary projects, could really add to the effectiveness of climate action, like better adaptation, better placement of structures, and better use of climate financing. And Jeff International Waters projects, for example, could help to leverage financing for adaptation at scale. I do see the 1992 Water Convention having value as a platform. There's a global network of basins which has been operational for a long time already. Then regarding scientific cooperation, Finland is leading together with Zambia, co-chairing this Interactive Dialogue Water for Cooperation, and a part of that is scientific cooperation. And we're advocating jointly for better use of and integrating water into existing science policy platforms, including IPCC and IPBES. And these scientific bodies seem like one key way to identify fruitful opportunities. And a couple of examples that this thematic assessment report on the interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food, and health, or nexus assessment, for the— for this Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. That report identified common issues, but also pointed to a wide range of potential response options available, and transboundary water cooperation is Actually was one of them. And then more integrated, consistent, comparable data informing different international efforts would be really crucial. And for example, when we've been reporting on the UNCCD, this drought data which makes use of remote sense— remotely sensed data, for example, it's there are sometimes challenges of its representativeness and accuracy and so on. And so water expertise and cooperation to improve water data would be beneficial. So these science-pointing opportunities and water cooperation with potential to reconcile and scale up, I see these as opportunities. And in countries, these Rio Conventions need to come together get anyway. And in specific sectors, like be it agriculture, be it forestry, we need to mainstream. Thank you very much.

And thanks for reminding us that at the country and the local level, these things very often come together, that we build those silos globally. I still have 3 speakers and we need to wrap up, and we have 16 minutes to go. And I I don't have an opportunity for extra time, let alone penalties in this role. So let's stick to time. I have an EU representative and I don't have a name, sorry. Please go ahead.

Thank you indeed. My name is Roderick Hart from the EU delegation and I won't mention how many EU member states are still in the World Cup. My own isn't, unfortunately. Thank you for organizing this very interesting side event. It sounds like a lot of progress can still be made on mainstreaming water in the Rio Conventions. When looking at it from the perspective of a delegate at the UN HQ, I think the challenge in discussing this here is that the decisions are taken in other conventions, and I think the negotiators at the COPs are super preoccupied with taking action on climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation, that maybe at a very late hour they just don't have water on top of their mind. So as a delegate here, I would like to ask the panel, what do you think— what more can we do at UN HQ, for example, in New York, but also in Geneva or elsewhere on this mainstreaming? And I recognize we're doing a lot. We're organizing water conventions— sorry, water conferences, deciding their themes. We have a wonderful side event today to discuss it. As EU member states, we always try to mainstream it in the resolutions and the declarations, but do you see other opportunities for us to make progress on this here at UN HQ when the challenge is that the decisions are taken elsewhere ultimately? Thank you.

Thank you. That's a big question. As a minimum, talk to other people within your same government who are doing these other places, and that is difficult because governments are complex. Let's move to representatives of civil society. We have somebody from the Organization for Innovation and Sustainable Development in Africa here.

Nope.

Okay. Then I have Ingrid Timbu from ACWA, also civil society. Ingrid, over to you.

Can you hear me okay?

Yeah, okay.

Yeah, so just to build on and also what Sonia was saying and kind of laying out, there's all these Presidency initiatives that we've gotten from the Baku Water Dialogue, and now the COP31 presidency is starting the Turquoise Nexus Initiative, which is co-organized with FAO on water and land integration. But what we really need is the member states and the parties to talk to their delegations. You're absolutely correct that those are different, different representatives who are attending these other COPs, but we need member states to be working intersectorally themselves to really kind of push for these things so that they can get on the agenda in the climate space, in desertification, in CBD. And we're happy to work with any of you to brief you on how to do this. We work with Brazil, we work with Egypt and others. So, yeah, thank you.

Thank you very much. And the climate delegation is in my team, so it makes it easier. And I— but it is complex.— and I think the offer of ACWA to help and to— maybe you should do a COP— RioCOPs 101 for diplomats being based in New York. Can you offer that?

Yes, we've done that before and happy to do it.

Good.

There you go. I see a few clients around the room. Hussein Rashdi. Thank you for joining us and we're sorry. I've been making jokes all session that we're a club of countries which are left behind, except for France there, sorry, and the EU who claims a few countries that are still in. But thanks very much for coming to us and sorry that—

No, thank you. It looked very nice in the beginning, but I think we all looked at our devices.

Well, it's always about the end, not the beginning. So, but thank you so much and thank you for— I'm sorry for being late for reasons obvious, of course, and it's a pleasure to go out at the same stage that the Netherlands went out. So, no, thank you so much. And I think we think that this event today is really important. It comes at a pertinent time and the connection between Water as the connective tissue of our planet and how it features across the three Rio Conventions, I think, is an extremely important issue which we intend as co-chairs of Interactive Dialogue Sea to be giving much time in December. We look at water as an enabler and a connector among all these environmental challenges as it links climate change adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity loss and conservation, as well as land restoration, food security, and sustainable development altogether. We've always had this understanding in Egypt, and that's why when we hosted the Climate COP a few years ago, we were very keen on making sure that water features in the outcome document. And ever since then, if I'm not mistaken, it has been a constant player in the COP outcome documents. At the national level, we have been also very cognizant of this connection, and we've put in place a number of measures to ensure that water is fully integrated into climate and environmental governance. So just to give you a quick glimpse, so we have a Supreme Council for Climate Change that is headed by the Prime Minister. It is the highest coordination platform for climate policy, and it brings together relevant ministries, of course, including the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, because we believe that water should be at the heart of our climate action. We've updated our NDCs in accordance with the Paris Agreement. We included a dedicated chapter on water because this is one also, again, one of our highest climate priorities, and it's one of the areas where we design our climate action in our NDCs around. In addition to that, our National Adaptation Plan also prioritizes water resilience. Our National Climate Change Strategy 2050 identifies water resources among the country's strategic priorities and promotes integrated climate-resilient water management. And similarly, also the updated National Water Resource Strategy 2050 that was recently endorsed by the National Water Council, which is chaired by the Prime Minister again, fully incorporates climate change and desertification considerations supported by climate indicators and risk-informed planning. So this is just to give you a glimpse of the architecture, the national architecture that we have put in place in Egypt to make sure that water is featured at all policy level and that it is integrated in all policy levels when it comes to addressing these three main environmental challenges. Beyond these institutional framework, we have close coordination at the ministerial level, of course, between the ministries responsible for water, environment, agriculture, planning, and other relevant sectors. This coordination has enabled a more coherent policy development. We have consistently advocated on the global level, then on the international level, we have consistently advocated for elevating water, as I just mentioned, starting in COP23, at the 2023 UN Water Conference here in New York, under the leadership of Netherlands and Tajikistan, and moving forward into the incoming conference in the UAE along with Japan in our interactive dialogue. We are working now with Japan and other international partners to develop a roadmap that further embeds water across implementation of the three Rio Conventions. This is one of the areas that we are specifically focusing on and looking at in our IDC consideration. We are also launching a series of water dialogues here in New York that will be hosted at the Egyptian Mission starting next week at the HLPF. I'm pretty sure that invitation has been furnished. And the idea behind these is to try and create a water platform here in New York to bring together all delegations, all countries, and to have dedicated water discussion that feeds into interactive dialogue. So with that, I will stop here. Thank you very much, and again, really apologies for keeping you waiting, and thank you very much for convening this meeting today. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And thanks for your thoughts. We're going to wrap up and I'll do that with the two ladies on my side. Let me start by giving a few thoughts myself of what I heard today and thanks very much to everybody who intervened for smart ideas, practical ideas for building on each other so we really had a very useful session. My first thought was integration is easier at the local level than at the national level than at the global level. A mayor doesn't think this is the biodiversity convention and this is DRR and this is water. No, they get to action. That's more difficult if you're a minister and it's more difficult when you sit there. But these silos we've built are— we've built them ourselves and they're there for us to resolve. The second thing I heard is that we are really talking about water and soil together and not only about water. The Global Commission talked about green water and blue water, and if we at least think about how do we bring water and soil considerations into these conventions, I think that's a better approach. The third thing I heard was that we need to celebrate progress. I heard many examples where we made progress in the past decade in getting water more central in the three Rio Conventions. And I heard that member states, and I agree with that, have prime responsibilities for that. What happens in New York or in these conventions is not a bunch of bureaucrats in New York or secretaries of these conventions. Member states have a say and need to use that. Get to know your colleagues who work on these conventions so you can work together. The last thing I heard was that we have not yet maximized these conventions to get to better water management, because that's what we're talking about here. There's lots of hooks in the international agreements that we've made that help us to make our management of water resources better. So it's not only lobbying for these agreements, it's also then knowing what's in these agreements and actually using that in the work we do at the global, basin, national, and local stage. So I think we have work to do. I see a lot of commitment to work both within our own water bubble in the UN Water Conference, et cetera, but also a lot of commitment to work across boundaries across silos. And I think this session confirmed the usefulness of the Rio Convention in keeping water on the global political agenda. With that, let me first go to my— to you and then to the youth representative.

Thank you, Maike, and thanks everyone for today's discussion. Very interesting. Reinforced the message we have had, I think, when we came in here, that it's not only— water is not only central to SDG 6, but to all the SDGs, but also on— and, and the Rio Convention. So as we look ahead to United Nations Water Conference 2026, we have an important opportunity to build on these discussions, of course, and strengthen partnerships needed to share our ambitions into coordinated implementation. World Water Week is held in Stockholm in August, and that will be an important platform to continue this journey. We're looking forward to, to doing that and to strengthen these partnerships. And we will bring together communities to continue this dialogue, deepen and create new partnerships, and also help translate some of these discussions into practical action on the road to the UN Water Conference and also future COP processes. Before we close, Maike, I understand today is also your birthday.

Yes.

So on behalf of everyone here, I'd like to thank you for spending part of this day with us.

We really appreciate it. Happy birthday.

Thank you, and I won't disclose my age. I don't qualify for World Cups anymore.

I just have one more point.

One more point? Please go ahead.

So on behalf of CIWI, I'd like to thank the government of the Netherlands, of course, even though you beat my country Sweden pretty badly in the World Cup, and all the speakers also, and we're looking forward to continuing the these conversations. Thank you.

Thank you.

And we have Ms. Ishata Shanin Rostamkan here, the youth representative for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and we lost together. We had— the Kingdom of the Netherlands had two teams. We had Curaçao and the Netherlands, and both lost. So the last word is for you. What do you get out of this discussion, and how is youth engaged in these conventions and the future, the water future of the world.

Okay, thank you so much, Maike.

Good afternoon, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great honor to deliver today's closing remarks. First of all, I would like to thank the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Stockholm International Water Institute for organizing this important side event, because if there is any miracle on this planet, then it is water. And I remember when I was a child, I used to visit my grandfather's farm in Suriname, in the heart of nature, and there I saw with my own eyes how water nourished the soil, how rivers sustained communities, and how life flourished because of water itself. And at that moment, I began to understand that when we sustain water, we are protecting the very foundation of life itself. And throughout ancient civilizations, water played a central role in human existence. Great civilizations emerged along rivers such as the Nile and the Indus. And because where water flows, life flourishes. Yet amidst the rapid development of today's society, we seem to have forgotten the importance of water and its true essence, especially in today's world with global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss and drought. However, these are not just environmental challenges or crises, but rather also a deeper reflection of a deeper inner crisis of how humanity has disconnected itself from from nature. Youth today is well aware of water and that it is not merely a resource to be exploited, but a source of life that sustains ecosystems and future generations to come. This is why young people are advocating for nature-based solutions, long-term thinking, and working in harmony with the natural world rather than against it. And the Netherlands is a great example of how working in harmony with water has provided one of the most resilient solutions. Initiatives such as Room for the River and the Dutch Delta Programme really show that nature-based approaches can strengthen long-term resilience. Finally, as we reflected today on implementing water across the three Rio Conventions, and especially in the light of this year's Triple COP, we should also remind ourselves of the true nature of water. Water is fluid. It adapts and connects and sustains life. However, when handled with ignorance, it can destroy. But when approached with wisdom and awareness, it can protect and nourish entire ecosystems and generations to come. It has sustained civilizations before us and will sustain generations after us. That is why safeguarding is an intergenerational responsibility that transcends time itself. Therefore, implementing water across the three Rio Conventions not only requires new policies or new means of implementation, But above all, it also requires us to transform the way we relate to water itself, not as a resource to be exploited, but as a living system that connects all life on this planet. Thank you.

Thank you very much for wise words. And there's one difference between water management and the World Cup. If we get it right, we all win. Thank you.