From Scarcity to Security: Sustainable Water Management for Small Island States (HLPF 2026 Side Event)

Good afternoon, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, colleagues. My name is Tishka Francis, and I am the head of the SIDS Small Island Developing States team at the Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States, UNOHRLLS. This office supports the 92 most vulnerable countries. And I would like to thank all of those present for joining us at the tail end of these frenetic 2 weeks of HLPF events. And the aim of this event is SDG 6, is to ensure that the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Though SDG 6 is a goal on its own, water is inextricably connected to progress on all of the SDGs. For SIDS and Small Island States, this interlinkage is amplified, yet SIDS and Small Island States face unique challenges related to the availability and management of water. Last week at the HLPF's opening segment, the President of ECOSOC stated that we already know the challenges we face. In the final stretch to 2030, what we need more of are stronger partnerships, more effective international cooperation, faster implementation, and above all, delivery and impact on the ground. This is a call echoed throughout the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS, or the ABAS, the need to translate priorities and targets into projects, investments, and practical partnerships. The ABAS highlights the need for integrated water resources management through stronger policies and legislative frameworks, enhanced human and institutional capacities, and greater investment in sustainable water infrastructure, including expanded wastewater treatment— sorry, recycling and reuse. It also emphasizes the importance of building resilience to climate-related water hazards while ensuring that water services are inclusive and accessible to people of any gender or social group. OHRLLS is committed to supporting the implementation of the ABAS and helping to translate its priorities into tangible action. In this regard, our office has supported the operationalization of the SIDS Centre of Excellence since its inauguration. As a key outcome of the ABAS, the Centre is hosted by Antigua and Barbuda and guided by the vision and leadership of Ambassador Webster, who we will hear from shortly. As a part of this effort, our office is supporting the establishment of the Island Investment Forum under the Centre of Excellence. The Forum is intended to help bridge the gap between priorities and implementation by connecting SIDS with investments, partnerships, and expertise needed to advance sustainable development in SIDS. The Island Investment Forum will be officially launched during the SIDS Global Business Network Forum, which OHRLLS is organizing in the Maldives from 23 to 25 August. This Forum will provide an important platform to strengthen private sector engagement in the implementation of ABAS, foster new partnerships, and facilitate investment in sustainable solutions that can help address the unique challenges facing SIDS, which are critical to advancing sustainable water resource management. OHRLLS will continue to work with Member States and partners to mobilize the resources, financing, and partnerships needed to accelerate ABAS implementation. Most recently, at the 4th High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action, Water for Sustainable Development in Dushanbe this May, our Under-Secretary-General emphasized that investments in water must be planned as part of a broader economic transformation supported by concessional and blended finance guarantees and strong partnerships. OHRLLS will continue to champion this partnership-oriented approach in support of ABAS implementation, and we hope the discussion over the next hour serves as one of the many opportunities for SIDS and Small Island States to spend some time acknowledging our shared challenges, but more importantly, sharing national experiences on best practices and lessons learned, which we hope will spark new ideas, solutions, and partnerships. With this, I would like to begin our first panel, which is to set the scene and discuss the challenges and structural barriers faced by SIDS and small island states in sustainable water management. Our first speaker is Ambassador Walton Alphonso Webson, or Aubrey Webson as we know him, Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda. Ambassador Webson, the floor is yours.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, honorable ministers, Excellencies, colleagues, distinguished guests, friends. Antigua and Barbuda is honored to co-host this event alongside our partners Malta, Fiji, and UNRWA. We welcome this timely discussion as water security has become one of the defining sustainable development challenges for small island developing states. For us, Antigua and Barbuda, water security is not solely a consequence of limited rainfall. It is a structural vulnerability shaped by our geography, economies, and the, the Sorry. And the quickly accelerating impact of climate change. Antigua and Barbuda has no freshwater resources, colleagues, no permanent rivers or lakes, and depend heavily on localized rainwater collection, man-made dams, and desalination infrastructure. Structural barriers further compound these challenges on our islands. Our small population, although fast-growing, and aging pipe systems make water infrastructure significantly more more expensive to maintain and to install. We also face competing demands for scarce freshwater resources. Our tourism— I made reference to the economy— agriculture, and of course householders are all competing on the same— for the same limited supplies of water. Managing these competing needs requires planning across ministries and across all sectors, supported by strong institutional and sustained investment in monitoring and water management. Excellencies, for Antigua and Barbuda, these— for Antigua and Barbuda, these relies heavily on reinforced systems, building resilience through diversification of water sources, including Desalination, rainwater harvesting, water conservation, and of course measures of, of this, of managing distribution in our systems. However, colleagues, infrastructure alone is not enough. Sustainable water management also depends on public awareness and policies that promote efficient and effective water use across all sectors. The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS, ABAS, recognizes integrated water resources management for, for as a priority for building resilience.

Diverse—

diversifying on that and developing new strategies, these require our commitment. These will require strong partnerships, technology transformation, capacity building, and of course financing that is accessible and responsive to the special circumstances of Small Island Developing States. We also recognize strong strategic partnerships, and therefore we are particularly pleased to join our partner with Malta on this important issue through our Memorandum of Understanding between our 2 island nations for— on this, for sustainable water management. This partnership with Malta reflects the shared understanding of 2 island states that water security is fundamental to sustainable development. climate resilience, and human well-being. We, we commend Malta's longstanding leadership in this area and their expertise in sustainable water management, particularly in areas such as desalination, water efficiency, and integrated planning. Colleagues, Antigua and Barbuda welcome this as a practical demonstration of the ABAS, underscoring the importance of partnership among SIDS and with international partners to accelerate progress towards the SDG 6 and build more resilient water systems for present and future generations. For us in Antigua and Barbuda, achieving SDG 6 is about more than what— more than just water. It is about public health, food security, economic resilience, and safeguarding the sustainable future of our communities. I wish this event a success, and I know that the discussions will be significant in advancing ABAS and advancing SDG 6 among Small Island Developing States. I thank you.

Thank you very much, Ambassador Webson, for your intervention and the insights you've provided on the challenges and opportunities around sustainable water management and water security, as well as partnerships for IBAS and SDG 6 implementation. We note that you will have to leave shortly, so we thank you very much for joining us here today. Our next speaker is Ms. Elizabeth Maruma. Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. UNEP is also the custodian of SDG 6.51 on degree of integrated water resources management implementation. ASG, the floor is yours.

Thank you, thank you very much. I really feel privileged to be invited to join you in this important meeting, and I would like to recognize our Environment Assembly President with us, Minister for Environment of Jamaica. Thank you very much, and all Excellencies present in this room and delegates. Let me begin with a saying where we say small island developing states are the canary in the coal mine of the climate crisis. The cities are often the first to face the impacts which will eventually be felt globally, and that is especially true with regards to water. Cities have a unique combination of structural barriers, and that's why we are discussing challenges in water management. Freshwater resources are naturally limited, often relying on small aquifer and rainfall, making them exceptionally vulnerable to climate vulnerability. More frequent droughts are recorded. Sea level rise, saltwater intrusion, all are reducing both the quantity and quality of fresh water, while at the same time demand continues to grow from expanding population, agriculture, and tourism. In many Caribbean islands, even a long— even a single prolonged dry season can significantly reduce water availability, disrupt food production, and place communities under severe stress. Drought is now joining, unfortunately, hurricanes and flooding as one of the defining water-related risks that the Small Island Developing States must manage simultaneously. But the challenge is not only physical, as we see it. It is also institutional. Through our UN Environment program of work, as you have mentioned, Madam Chair, as custodian of SDG Indicator 6.5.1 on integrated water resource management, we see that many cities already know what needs to be done. The real barrier is often having the governance, coordination, technical capacity, and financing needed to turn those plans into action. Countries consistently identify same priorities. We need stronger institutions. We need better water monitoring. We need improved drought preparedness. We need clearer responsibilities across the government. And we need investments in early warning systems and integrated water management. We should also remember that healthy forests, wetlands, and watersheds are the natural water infrastructure. They regulate the water flow, they improve water quality, and strengthen resilience to climate shocks. Water security in small developing island states requires a holistic approach, an integrated governance, a healthy ecosystem, and sustained investments. If small developing states are the world's early warning system, then responding to their water challenges will be will have significant impacts, not just for seeds, but on the global scale. Yes, we are talking of water management challenges, but the response will need that integrated approach, and not just water, because it is climate, it is the forest which gives the rain, it is the governance, it is the institutions. Issues need to be dealt with in an integrated synergistic fashion as we discuss stresses on water management. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, ASG, for your intervention and for highlighting a really clear way forward for the SIDS in implementing SDG Indicator 6.5.1 in particular. Thank you. Now, I would like to invite our final speaker for this session, and from Malta. And thank you, Malta, for your leadership on this issue and for, of course, leading the organization of this event here today. Mr. Karl Cilia, Chief Executive Officer of the Water Services Corporation of Malta, will now give us a presentation. And sir, the floor is yours. Am I— oh, that way.

Okay. Excellencies, friends, first of all, thank you for having us and thank you for participating. Let me begin with a simple truth about my own country. Malta has no rivers, we have no mountains, it barely rains, and we have very limited natural resources. When it comes to water, our national aquifer, it can only cater for one-third of the national demand of the island. So Malta has and always had to think ahead. when it comes to production of water. Challenges and structural barriers. 4 come to mind, 4 main challenges that we deem that are very important and challenges that Malta always worked on and try to always be one step ahead with technology and innovative advancement in the sector. Number one, climate change. As my colleague mentioned earlier, we in Malta, we're seeing this as a daily challenge.

Why?

2 things. First of all, we're seeing prolonged heats and droughts, whereas before we used to have 2, 3 months of national peak during the summer. We're seeing that this peak is being extended all over the year. So this results in more stress on our network and more leaks and more interventions required by our technical people. Secondly, sea level rise. We're seeing this particularly being an issue Because of 2 things. Number one, we're seeing more sea intrusion into our wastewater network. With that, then we have to increase the need of energy to treat our wastewater in our plants. Secondly, we're seeing sea level rise and intrusion into our aquifer. So we're seeing this national resource becoming more and more salty, basically. So Malta had to look ahead and was one of the first countries in the world to go for industrial RO desalination plants. Nowadays in Malta, 70% of our water comes from desalination. This brings about the second main challenge: energy and price. As you all know, desalination is a very energy-intensive process. So we require a lot of financing and our cost, 30% plus of our national cost, are related to energy for our desalination plants. It took Malta 25 years to reduce drastically the energy required for us to produce water. Just to put it into perspective, nowadays Malta uses around 2.8 kilowatt-hours to produce a single cubic meter of water.

Wow.

Which is a breakthrough in our industry. And in our sister island of Gozo, we have the number one most efficient plant in the world when it comes to desalination. So as I mentioned before, Malta also, we always had to look ahead, invest, train our people to try and first of all meet the national demand and secondly do so in the most efficient way possible. Thirdly, time and knowledge. As I mentioned before, it took Malta 25 years plus for us to get where we are today. Obviously, we required knowledge, training, delving into new technologies back in the '80s. Our first desalination plant was commissioned in 1982 on the southern part of the island. Nowadays, Malta have 4 desalination plants and we started looking at building the 5th reverse osmosis plant on the island. Having said that, back in the '90s in Malta, it was not just a matter of producing more water. Malta changed its strategy, which brings me to the 4th challenge: leakage management. As I mentioned before, climate change with the heat on the ground. Our infrastructure is buried underground. So with the heat, we're seeing more— we saw more and more failures, network failures, and degrading piping network. So Malta, back in the '90s, started looking into not producing more, taking care of what we have. So we had to make sure that each and every cubic meter of water that we produce is arriving at the end customers, residents, and commercial entities. 20 years ago, Malta had an ILI, an Infrastructure Leakage Index, of 20. Nowadays, we boast about an ILI of just 1.6. This in a 20-year period. So Malta, with this change in strategy, we were able to defer the investment, and the way we see it is we produce more with less. So back then, Malta was able to not introducing and commissioning new plants. Back then, we were able to decommission and put our plants back then offline. So Malta started producing more water, but at the end of the day, we were making sure that each and every cubic meter is arriving at the end customer. Again, knowledge sharing. It took us 20 years plus to arrive where we are today, and Malta We always try to change waste into resource. What we've done during the past 5 years in Malta, we started treating and polishing wastewater. So for our agriculture industry nowadays, Malta is polishing, is producing Class A new water for the agriculture industry. With that, we are telling our farming industry, listen, you guys, abstract less from groundwater. Let us do the work for you.

Okay.

we are providing this Class A water from a waste. So we're trying to change a waste to a natural resource, which is becoming more and more important when it comes to food security on the island. So yes, we are here today. This is continuous lessons learned. So none of this was a single project. It was decades of persistence, financing, and learning. No small island should have to spend 25 years of rediscovering what another island has already discovered. So the knowledge do exist, the technologies do exist. What we must build together is the bridge that carries them and finance that makes them reach. Malta has traveled the road from scarcity to security. We know it can be done. We stand here ready to help and make sure that the knowledge that we have acquired over the past years, as my colleague from Antigua and Barbuda said earlier, We are here to help other countries, other member states, to obviously make sure that national water is always available for our communities around the world. So thank you for everyone.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Cilia, and indeed to the rest of our scene-setting speakers for laying the groundwork for our discussions, including by highlighting pressure on the availability of water resources, including Groundwater salinization, limited supplies, distribution challenges, droughts, extreme weather events, and sea level rise. With that, I would like now to move on to our next panel to discuss strategies and solutions for some of these challenges that we've outlined. This panel will aim to reflect on how have small islands addressed these challenges and what are some technical, financial, regulatory and social considerations of their national water management strategies. And I would, of course, like to acknowledge the presence of our Minister, Matthew Samuda, Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change of Jamaica and President of the United Nations Environment Assembly. Thank you for being with us today. Minister, you have the floor for your intervention.

Thank you.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, colleagues, friends, I wish to start by thanking the Permanent Missions of Malta and indeed Antigua and Barbuda, and of course the Office of the UNOHRLSS. I pause also to acknowledge Elizabeth M. Remer and the UNEP team that has joined us here. SDG 6 could almost be SDG 1. It is a critical pillar in achieving virtually every SDG, and for Small Island Developing States, it represents one of the critical challenges we face towards our local development agendas and, of course, towards our international Issues. We discuss it in the context of climate change and the incredible economic pressures that exist for many of us in managing this critical resource. Jamaica isn't a water-scarce nation, and for that reason, I believe we have not always managed the resource as well as we should. as it broke many, many records. But you have those rain events that trigger flooding, that cause their own issues, that affect many of your watersheds and the communities that live close by. And in the same 5-year period, we would have recorded 3 of the 4 worst droughts in Jamaica's history. In 2022, we experienced our worst drought where in the driest month of the year, usually we received 8%— 8 of the 30-year average rainfall. So you're seeing weather variability that is making it very difficult to plan for this critical resource. So that's an issue that we all face. Many of us are already seeing saltwater intrusion in our wells, which is also triggering deteriorating soil quality and all that comes with that, including including reducing pollination rates. But on the water side, our water resources are indeed under threat of climate change. If we're all to be collectively honest, they're also under significant threat from our own actions as they trigger particular pollution. Certainly our management of wastewater and indeed our management of our industrial ambitions put our water sources at significant risk. In the Jamaican context, and not the case for everyone around the table, but certainly for many of us around the table, our economic misadventures of the past make the problem that much worse. Because with all the water resources in the world, if you're unable to harness, process, store, and distribute that resource efficiently, your people will suffer. Now, Jamaica is making significant strides. We follow the principles outlined in the ABAS, in the UNEP agreements and resolutions. We have an Integrated Water Research— Integrated Water Resource Management Council, and that council is made up of the regulators, the utilities, and all of the players in that sector. And we believe we're making the investments that will transform our water sector. The question for us around this table is what are the hurdles that we can remove out of the way in improving our water resource management and improving simultaneously our infrastructure that allow our people to achieve their water ambitions, meaning the appropriate distribution levels, the appropriate pressure? access for industrial uses, and of course our irrigation needs. We joined earlier this year the World Bank's Water Compact, and we believe in our statement and commitment in that space. It outlines what we intend to achieve. Well, A, we're dealing with our legal and regulatory issues that handle the issue of social water. B, we've implemented new standards that deal with how we manage wastewater, so the pollution of our water table is indeed reduced. We have gone ahead of where the INC is likely to end up on plastics, and we've already started banning some plastics that we believe can be removed from our waste stream, and we've moved our collection and recycling rate from 6% to 41% over the last 5 years. We're also investing significantly in our infrastructure, certainly on the irrigation side. We're actively in a $200 million US project to build the largest canal system in the southwest of the island, which we believe will significantly improve our food security. On the portable water side, I can tell you we have one of the worst, what they call NRW rates in the world. At somewhere approximately 70%. So we have been wasting a lot of our critical resource, and that has over decades allowed for over-extraction. We have completed a procurement process that will see a 10-year program of bringing that NRW from 70% to 20%. We believe that this will reduce extraction, reduce overuse, will see us monitor our resources better. all while investing in better wastewater management processes that will reduce pollution along with the steps we're taking with solid waste. But ladies and gentlemen, one thing that I believe we all need to focus on, it is the digitization and digitalization of our monitoring mechanisms so that we're very clear on what we have and what we don't, where we're using it, where we're wasting it, so that we can take the steps that we absolutely need to to preserve this resource and to have SDG 6 achieved and have it function as an economic enabler for our peoples. Certainly, water will form a focus of— or a critical focus of my time at UNEA. As we move through to the UN Water Conference, I welcome this dialogue. I think it is incredibly important to help us focus our thoughts, the help of the UN Water Conference, and we invite all of you to Jamaica for the 2nd Island Water Congress in January of next year. I thank you.

Thank you very much, Minister Samuda, for your invitation and of course for underscoring the transformative power of water resource management, also for sharing some of the actions and investments that Jamaica has made in this regard. Thank you very much for that. Our next speaker is Mr. Oren Manners, Director of the Public Sector Investment Planning Division, I believe, of the Ministry of Sustainable Development of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Mr.

Manners, the floor is yours.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure to participate in this important discussion on advancing water security in SIDS. Water is central to our people, our economies, and our sustainable development ambitions. It supports public health, agriculture, tourism, food security, and resilience in the face of climate change. For St. Kitts and Nevis, which unlike Jamaica is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, securing reliable and sustainable water supplies has become one of our highest national priorities. Like many island nations, we are experiencing increasing rainfall variability, prolonged drought conditions, declining groundwater recharge, and growing pressure on traditional water sources. In terms of technical considerations, our experience demonstrates that water security requires solutions tailored to the specific circumstances of each island. St. Kitts and Nevis has historically depended heavily on groundwater and surface water sources. Climate change has increased the vulnerability of these sources. reinforcing the need for greater diversification and resilience. Over the past several years, we have made significant investments to strengthen national water supply. In 2026, we commissioned the Bastia Desalination Plant, a 2 million gallon per day desalination facility valued at EC$50 million. This project has transformed water security for Bastia, and surrounding communities by providing a reliable, continuous source of water. Additional investments have included the integration of the Cayonne Well into the national system, the commissioning of the Canada Estate Desalination Plant, and continued groundwater exploration. These investments have increased national production capacity to 8 million gallons per day, exceeding current demand. Although we acknowledge that 24-hour water access is not uniform across all communities, so that's still a work in progress. Our supply profile has also become more balanced. Approximately 52% of national supply comes from groundwater, 22% from surface water, and and 26% from desalination. This diversification strengthens our ability to manage drought conditions and climate-related disruptions. The next phase of our transformation focuses on improving efficiency and strengthening the systems that deliver water to our communities through the TransWater project, which we expect to be approved by the Green Climate Fund in 2027. We are advancing investments in water resource monitoring, storage capacity, and like the minister from Jamaica said, heavily towards digitalization in terms of smart metering, SCADA systems, utility management, and non-water— non-revenue water reduction. We also have an incredibly high NRW rate of about 50%.

non-revenue water.

Reducing water losses is a critical priority. Improved leakage detection, pressure management metering, digital monitoring will allow our utilities to conserve existing resources, reduce operating costs, and improve service reliability. We also recognize the continued value of traditional practices including rainwater harvesting watershed protection, and community conservation approaches. In terms of financial considerations, water security requires sustained investment. SIDS face unique challenges including high infrastructure costs, limited economies of scale, and significant maintenance requirements. We have demonstrated strong— or the government has demonstrated strong national commitment As I mentioned, the TransWater project represents a significant opportunity with potential access to approximately US$50 million from the Green Climate Fund. An important component of sustainable water financing is tariff reform. As water systems become more resilient and investments increase, pricing structures must evolve support long-term operation and maintenance while ensuring affordability for vulnerable households. Willing— willingness to pay surveys that we have conducted provide value— valuable evidence to guide this process. The findings show that willingness to pay is closely connected to affordability, perceptions of fairness, trust, and and visible improvements in service delivery. While approximately 95% of households report having piped water to their homes, only about 24% indicate some willingness to pay for reliable improvements, and this support was dependent on confidence that these improvements would be delivered. In Nevis, willingness to pay was approximate approximately 6%, reflecting perception that existing water costs are already high. So we have a big discrepancy in the cost of water across both islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, with Nevis paying much higher rates for water. Tariff reform must therefore be approached as part of a broader social partnership. Consumers must understand how revenue supports Reliable services, conservation, infrastructure maintenance, and climate resilience. In terms of regulatory and institutional considerations, effective water management requires coordination across government sectors. Water security is connected to land use planning, agriculture, tourism, environmental protection, disaster management, and climate adaptation. A coordinated approach allows government to manage water resources effectively and align development decisions with long-term sustainability. We have introduced a national water policy to strengthen this approach. The policy establishes a framework for improved coordination, regulatory oversight, and integrated water resource management. Finally, in terms of social considerations, Water security is ultimately about people. Infrastructure and technology must be supported by public understanding, community participation, and trust. The TransWater project, which we hope to be approved, places strong emphasis on water literacy, behavior change, tariff awareness, and community partnerships. The willingness to pay surveys The findings reinforce the importance of sustained communication. Households must understand the relationship between investment, improved reliability, conservation, and the responsible use of water resources. Engagement must reflect the different realities of St. Kitts versus Nevis, including differences among communities and household groups. Special attention must also be given to vulnerable groups. Women and girls often play significant roles in household water management. Older persons, persons with disabilities, and vulnerable households may face additional challenges during periods of water stress. Inclusive planning and accessible support mechanisms are therefore essential components of a resilient water sector. In conclusion, the experience of St. Kitts and Nevis demonstrates that meaningful progress in water security is achievable through vision, partnership, and sustained commitment. We are building a water sector supported by diversified sources, stronger infrastructure, improved governance, modern technology, sustainable financing, and improve communities. For SIDS, water security is fundamental to sustainable development. Through collaboration, innovation, responsible financing, and access to climate finance, we can build systems that protect our communities and create a more resilient future for generations to come. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Mr. Manners, particularly for highlighting some of the realities that St. Kitts and Nevis faces, especially as a twin island nation, as well as some of the efforts toward diversification and building resilience toward water security. So thank you again. And our next speaker is Ing. David Sacco, Chief Officer for Production and Treatment of the Water Services Corporation of Malta. Mr. Sacco, the floor is yours.

Good afternoon, Excellencies, distinguished guests. Through this presentation, I would like to share with you the challenges we faced and how we managed to turn around a water crisis, building a resilient, self-sustainable water utility. Although this presentation is based 1990 as a baseline, I would like to give an account of our water history before this period. As our CEO said earlier, and as a small island, the only natural resource that we have is the water table. We don't have any rivers or mountains, so all the water demands was through this natural water table. The uncontrolled, the uncontrolled abstraction caused seawater intrusion in the water table, rendering water non-potable, especially through high chlorides and high nitrates. So the water services decided to embark on desalination. Desalination was on the agenda for a number of decades. In fact, the first desalination plant was a distillation plant in Hondur, in Gozo, because this was the only technology available at the time. However, in the late '70s, the membrane technology emerged The government was going to build a new distillation plant at Lapsi, the southern part of the island, but seeing this technology, this promising technology, decided to take the risk. It was a risk because it was new technology to go for membranes. The first plant was a success story. In fact, the American company producing these membranes DuPont used Malta as a test base to improve membranes. It was a success story and more plants were built in an attempt to solve the water crisis. 5 more plants were built, but the problem was that because we had an issue with the water network, The more water we pumped, the more losses we were experiencing. Okay, so still the problem was not solved. Okay, this has created another problem. Okay, a financial problem, because with the plants in operation, they consume quite a lot of energy and the maintenance cost is high. Revenue was not being collected because of the leakages. In fact, up to 75% of the water produced was unaccounted for, so only 25% at the time could be built. Of course, this has created a financial problem, okay, which crippled the capacity to reinvest in water production and operation. So the strategy devised was based on 4 pillars. Okay, um, the first pillar was focused on the network. As I said, the heavy leaking network, um, was a problem. In fact, we didn't even have a proper mapping of the whole network. The second pillar focused on revenue, okay, to generate more finances. The third pillar focused on the resources, how we could increase the production of water. And the fourth pillar was based on how we could promote conservation to reduce the stress on the production sources. Now we'll see how we tackled each pillar.

Okay?

So the first pillar was the network. How we solved the issue of the network. We didn't have a good visibility of the network. In fact, what we did was we sent dozens of employees with pipe locators, locating the network, because obviously if you don't know what you're managing, you cannot manage it. Step 2 was we divided Malta into a number of regions, districts. We installed master meters in this district to see exactly what each district is consuming. The 3rd step was to reduce the pressure and to manage the pressure, because the more pressure on the network, we were experiencing more losses, because pressure and losses are directly proportional. And step 4 was continuous monitoring of the network for leakages and immediate action to repair any leakages detected.

Okay?

As As I stated earlier, in 1985 we had an ILI of 20, which was around 4,000 cubic meters per hour of water lost in the network. This went down to 1.6 last year in 2025. This 1.6 is roughly 8% of the total water production.

Okay.

Okay.

We are nearing here a level whereby the cost of intervention would not be— would exceed the cost saved, okay, from any losses. This is estimated to be at around 5 or 6%. So obviously there, now we are approaching a saturation point. So, um, as we said earlier, um, we had an issue. More than 75% was not being built, and the issue was to reduce that. So we solved the issue of the network. Now it was— we then installed smart meters on all consumer— consumers, be it commercial or industrial. Okay, this obviously gave us, um, more information of what's happening and what is being consumed. Um, as I said earlier, 8% was— is now real losses, but total unbilled percentage is 20%. Okay, so 20% is the total, 8% is real, so 12% is apparent losses, which is related to metering and thefts. Okay, um, the corporation has embarked on AI solutions to reduce this non-revenue water. In fact, consumption patterns are being monitored both at domestic levels and commercial levels, comparing what is being consumed family with family or else business against business. And obviously, if there are any discrepancies from the average consumption, then obviously we will target that particular sector to ensure that what is being consumed is being built.

Engineering—

we based our solution, long-term solution, on desalination. Okay, that was the only way because we don't have any natural resources. Prior to 1996, all the RO plants were operated by a private, private company. We saw a risk there, okay, because obviously we were dependent on third parties. So WSC decided to take over the operation of the plants to ensure security. Since then, we trained a lot of engineers and technicians. We are now at a point whereby all plants are designed, manufactured, operated by our people. We don't subcontract any part of our operation, and that includes software controls, SCADA, etc. Through desalination, obviously, as mentioned earlier, We now have around 70% of the total water produced from plants. We have reached a very good quality of the water according to standards, and we managed also to increase through better quality the amount of water sales. Okay, in fact, the sales increased by by more than 8.5%. Obviously, the confidence given to the consumers in terms of quality helped also to reduce the dependency on plastic bottles. In fact, more than 2 million plastic bottles were saved last year. We are also now using the experience we gained in desalination and membrane technology to treat wastewater. As mentioned earlier, we now are treating wastewater through RO membranes. We have a multi-stage process whereby secondary class water is processed through ultrafiltration membranes and advanced oxidation. Producing Class A reclaimed water. Class A reclaimed water is water that can be irrigated to crops that can be eaten raw. So this is the highest standard of water that can be produced. We are now also— we also now have a dedicated network for secondary water which uses and distributes water through through intelligent smart dispensers based on cropless. We now have more than 1,500 farmers benefiting from this new source. Of course, we do hope that less water is abstracted from groundwater so that the natural water table will recharge over the next years. So conservation. Initially, the price of water in Malta was quite low, and as one of the laws of economics suggests, if the price is low, then the demand will be quite high because obviously it's more affordable. So we decided to penalize those who consume water irresponsibly. In Malta, we have a 2-tier system whereby the first 33 cubic meters of water consumed by each individual, there is a tariff for it. It's around €1.60. But if that value is exceeded, then the cost, the price will go up to €5. exceeding €5. Okay, um, we do have an issue with, of course, tourism, but we are lucky most of the hotels are located on the shoreline. So, um, we started promoting, um, desalination also on-site production of water in the major hotels. In fact, we do give this service to these hotels. We design and build systems for them and operate them on their behalf, obviously at a cost. And this obviously helped to reduce the peak, especially in summer. So how did we create this self-sustaining utility? Of course, phase 1 was eradicating the losses, reducing the losses. By investing in the network and investing in smart metering. This helped us secure more cash and increase the revenue, which in turn helped us to reinvest in our operation. We are now at a point whereby we are also looking at maximizing on our operation. Also valorizing waste streams. We're looking at valorizing especially the brine stream. Brine is the reject coming out of the RO plant, which is around 60% of what goes in. Okay. We are looking at producing hydrogen from brine, looking at producing magnesium from brine. And also producing chemicals which can be used internally for remineralization. As you may know, desalination removes all minerals from seawater. So we are piloting a system whereby the brine gives us back the minerals to put in the water before it is distributed. So lessons learned: you cannot sell what you lose, you cannot manage what you cannot measure. Okay, so this is very important. Um, quality shifts the markets. We have seen an improvement in the water quality supply to the consumers. This has increased the consumption, obviously yielding more revenue to the corporation. In turn, we can invest more and obviously benefiting also from the single-use plastic waste and of course the circular economy. Every drop here has dual utility. So we produce water, we distribute wastewater, water, would collect wastewater, and that water is then reused for agricultural purposes. So it's very important also to focus on the wastewater network so as to collect, you know, the water consumed by the general public. Thank you.

Thank you, Ing-Sacko, for sharing some of Malta's lessons learned and best practices through your water crisis, and also for outlining for us very comprehensively Malta's water strategy. I would now like to invite our final speaker for this session, Ms. Asha Challenger from the Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda, one of our esteemed co-organizers. Thank you, Ms. of course, to take the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and greetings to Mr. Samuda. Thank you for joining us, Madam UNEP DSG Marima, Ambassador Mellie, distinguished colleagues. Thank you for this opportunity to present Antigua and Barbuda's perspective on this critically important issue of sustainable sustainable water use. The colleagues from the Antigua Public Utilities Authority, our national water management agency, weren't able to attend today, so I will share some remarks on behalf of the authority. Antigua and Barbuda, like many small island developing states, faces structural constraints in securing sustainable water resources. As mentioned before, limited natural freshwater availability Groundwater salinization in low-lying coastal areas, and the logistical challenges of supplying water across dispersed communities create persistent vulnerabilities. These challenges are compounded by climate change, including prolonged droughts, increasingly variable rainfall, and growing water demand from key sectors such as agriculture and tourism. To address these challenges, Antigua and Barbuda has made substantial investments in modernizing its water infrastructure despite the significant financial burden. The, the authority has been systematically replacing aging transmission lines with high-density polyethylene pipelines, improving network efficiency reducing leakage, and strengthening the resilience of the national water distribution system. Climate change has also had a profound impact on the country's surface water resources. Historically, reservoirs provided up to 9 months of water production annually. Today, that period has declined to between 3 to 5 months, with some years experiencing complete depletion due to prolonged droughts, increased evaporation, and increasingly erratic rainfall. As a result, desalination has become an indispensable component of the national water supply. While it provides a reliable source of fresh water, it is significantly more expensive than surface water and groundwater because of its high energy consumption and operational This growing reliance underscores the importance of integrated water management— integrated water resources management to diversify water sources, improve efficiency, and build long-term climate resilience. Antigua and Barbuda is therefore pleased to participate in this side event to highlight national progress, share lessons learned through technical cooperation with the Republic of Malta, and to identify priority actions to strengthen water resilience in support of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS. So, as said before, Antigua and Barbuda's water sector faces a range of interconnected challenges common to many SIDS. Heavy reliance on desalination ensures a dependable water supply but entails significant energy costs. At the same time, aging transmission and distribution infrastructure contributes to high levels of non-revenue water, which fluctuates between 45% and 65%. Climate change has also undermined water security through saltwater intrusion, which has significantly reduced groundwater production and forced 3 well fields, particularly within the country's highly productive but vulnerable karstic aquifers offline for extended periods. Together with declining surface water availability, these pressures have increased dependence on desalination and reinforced the need for an integrated, climate-resilient approach to water resource management. In this context, reducing non-revenue water is not simply a technical objective, it is an economic imperative. I will now shift to talking more about technical cooperation. Since 2022, Antigua and Barbuda and Malta commenced technical cooperation. In November of that year, a team of 5 technicians traveled to Malta to see firsthand the gains that a similar island country has made through innovative processes to improve their water distribution and reduce non-revenue water. The team learned that Antigua and Barbuda's present challenges were very similar challenges that Malta faced— had to face and have since overcome. This presented an opportunity to learn practices and methods from Malta. This partnership is already producing tangible results. In 2025, Antigua and Barbuda undertook undertook a second technical mission to Malta focused on reducing water losses and improving the efficiency of the water distribution system. Our engineers worked alongside with experts from the Energy and Water Agency and the Water Services Corporation to strengthen our capacity in areas such as leakage detection, pressure management, and network optimization. Beyond technical knowledge exchange, The partnership has also created practical opportunities for cooperation, including support with procurement processes and collaboration on digital mapping of our water network. We see this as an excellent example of how partnerships can deliver practical, cost-effective solutions and strengthen water security and advance the implementation of ABAS for SIDS. This cooperation has reinforced several important lessons that are relevant across many other SIDS. We have seen that effective leakage management is one of the most impactful and cost-effective ways to improve water security, while continuous data monitoring and pressure management and GIS-based network mapping are essential for optimizing water water distribution systems. We have also learned that partnerships on procurement can help small island utilities reduce costs and improve access to critical equipment and technologies. These lessons are directly informing Antigua and Barbuda's national priorities. We are now focused on expanding pressure management zones and installing pressure reducing valves, improving metering and adopting new metering technologies, strengthening our hydrological and operational data systems, and reducing non-revenue water through targeted infrastructure upgrades. These investments will help us build a more efficient, resilient, and sustainable water sector while ensuring that our limited water resources are managed as effectively as possible. In conclusion, we call on further collaborations and the international community to continue to support SIDS in scaling integrated water management resources, continue strengthening bilateral and multilateral partnerships that can deliver tangible technical benefits, and finally, expand access to climate finance for water system resilience. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Challenger, for your comprehensive intervention, and of course to all of our speakers, many focusing on the importance of partnerships, investments, financing, as well as on getting the regulation, policy, and governance-related issues right. We will now move on to our final session, and we'll invite— we will invite our respondents to add additional national perspectives as well as to look ahead. In that context, I would ask the respondents to provide their perspectives as concisely as possible, please, on what is the current landscape for bilateral, regional, and international partnerships for SIDS on sustainable water management, and what are the current gaps for the implementation of ABAS in the context of sustainable water management. Now I would like to give the floor to our first speaker, Ms. Rhoda Roko Tui-Bau. I hope I pronounced that correctly. From the Permanent Mission of Fiji, who is also one of our co-organizers, so thank you very much for that. The floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam Chair, Honorable Minister, distinguished Excellencies and representatives. Allow me to thank Malta, Antigua and Barbuda, Thank you, OHRLLS, for convening us this afternoon. Also, to our fellow panelists for their valuable insights. For Fiji and many Pacific Small Island Developing States, water security is climate security. This challenge is not one of water availability alone, but of ensuring reliable, safe, and climate-resilient access to water across geographically dispersed islands and vulnerable coastal communities. I will speak on 3 of Fiji's national experiences. One on governance. Fiji's transition from a fragmented infrastructure-focused approach towards an integrated water resource management has allowed endorsement of a national resource management and sanitation policy which sets our strategic direction. Our new integrated water resource management plan that has provided practical vision action across water, sanitation, agriculture, health, and disaster risk management. Second, on efficiency, close to half of the water we extract is some way 49% and is lost in distribution that reaches households. For small island states, reducing these losses can drive— can deliver more water quickly and more affordably rather than building new dams and desalination plants. Managing what we already have in itself is an adaptation strategy. And third, partnerships and people. We are grounded in traditional stewardships, women's leadership, and locally led adaptation with the support of Australian partnerships while looking to the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund, as well as regional partners, to finance resilient infrastructure. Yet these mechanisms remain slow and are limited to capacity and disproportionately burdensome. This then brings me to the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Seeds, ABUS, that's rightly called for the support for integrated water management. Therefore, the gap is of implementation, which turns commitments into predictable and accessible finance, targeted technology transfer, and sustainable capacity building to enable reaching our community level and sustainably the ultimately determined. I conclude in saying Fiji stands ready to work with all partners to close this gap and to turn water insecurity into shared opportunity, a water-resilient future, and an achievement towards SDG 6.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Ms. Roko Tuibau, for your perspectives from Fiji. Our next speaker is Ms. Jocelyn Kroes, Director of Department of Foreign Affairs of Aruba. Jocelyn, you have the floor.

Thank you, Chair.

As a small island with extremely limited natural freshwater resources, Aruba's experience demonstrates that sustainable water management requires long-term vision, innovation, and enduring partnerships. Aruba has relied on seawater desalination for nearly a century, making it one of the pioneers in large-scale desalination. The nation among small island states. Over the decades, continuous investments in technology, infrastructure, and human capital has allowed us to provide safe and reliable drinking water while adapting to growing demands, climate variability, and the needs of a highly tourism-dependent economy. We have worked with many, many actors along the way. Our approach is guided by the RAS framework: reliability, affordability, and sustainability. Reliability means for us ensuring uninterrupted access to safe drinking water. Affordability ensures services remain accessible while financially viable. And sustainability drives investments in efficiency, water reuse, and environmental stewardship for future generations. Yes, partnerships have been central to this success. We are bound by a common ocean in the region, and thus at this level we benefit from cooperation through UNEP's Caribbean Environmental Program, including the PROCARIBE+ Ocean Coordination Mechanism, UNESCO's IOC, IHP, and MAB programs, the Association of Caribbean States, AEOSIS, regional universities, and bilateral partnerships. These collaborations support integrated water resource management, ocean governance, climate resilience, scientific cooperation, and sustainable development. This approach, strengthened by Aruba's recent designation as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, has led to an international recognition of areas that seek to reconcile biodiversity Conservation. Conservation with sustainable development by integrating environmental protection, scientific research, education, and community, community participation, and recognizes the interconnectedness of our terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems and provides a framework for managing them in integrated manners. It also offers an opportunity for Aruba to serve as a living laboratory where ecosystem-based and nature-based solutions can be tested and shared, strengthening water security, climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable tourism. It is this way that a biosphere reserve supports integrated approach for our water management as espoused in the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS. We also rely on data for informed decision-making, and like one of the key challenges identified in the implementation of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS is indeed strengthening capacity to collect and manage and share long-term environmental data, we are also in our case, very much challenged in this area. Finally, Aruba wishes to emphasize that while short-term project partnerships may often be the norm in larger countries, SIDS benefit most from long-term partnerships built on trust, continuity, and institutional memory. Water security is a long-term endeavor that requires sustained investment, knowledge sharing, capacity building, and collaboration. Aruba stands ready to continue working with fellow SIDS and partners to transform water scarcity into lasting water security and resilience.

I thank you. Thank you very much, Ms. Cruz, for offering Aruba's perspectives. And now our final speaker for Our next speaker for this session is Mr. Ho Chian Kai from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore. Mr. Ho, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam Chair. My thanks also to the distinguished panelists for their very informative presentations on the challenges and approaches to water management. Allow me to say a few brief words from Singapore's perspective. As a small and densely populated island city-state with limited natural resources, Singapore is among the world's most water-stressed countries. Despite this, decades of long-term planning by PUB, our national water agency, have given us a diversified water portfolio that positions us to adapt to the challenges of climate change while ensuring universal and predictable access to water. We have progressively expanded our water sources beyond rainwater to include climate-resilient alternatives such as recycled and desalinated water, while consistently treating conservation as a core pillar of water security. But sustainable water management requires more than just a one-time investment. It needs continuous financing and innovation. Just last month, we committed close to $100 million in research funding to advance municipal and industrial water solutions. This year will also mark the completion of Phase 2 of our deep tunnel sewerage system, which will enable large-scale recycling of used water for decades to come. Singapore's approach has been underpinned by sustained efforts to secure public buy-in on treating water use responsibly and efficiently. Community education initiatives to build trust in our water management system systems, together with consistent water conservation messaging, have instilled in our people a strong sense of the necessity of sustainable water practices. But of course, no country can achieve sustainable water management alone. Singapore has drawn on international partnerships to address challenges posed by population growth and the impact of climate change. We have shared our experiences and best practices through capacity-building programmes, for fellow developing countries and are proud to host the flagship biennial Singapore International Water Week to create an open marketplace for knowledge, technology, capacity building, and partnerships between governments, businesses, academia, and civil society. I thank you.

Thank you very much. Unfortunately, we will not have enough time for an open discussion, but I would like to thank all of our speakers for providing such rich interventions, which will definitely inform our collective efforts going forward towards effective water management in SIDS and Small Island States. I would also like to thank all of our co-organizers for bringing us together today to discuss these important issues. And with that, I would like to give the floor to Ambassador Natasha Melly, Permanent Representative of Malta, for closing remarks and to give us some reflections on the way forward, and of course to close our meeting. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

It's okay, it's working. It works with delayed action. Thank you very much, Madam Moderator, Minister, ESG colleagues. Thank you very much for being here with us this afternoon, and it gives me great pleasure to close this side event which brought 2 very important issues that are very close to heart to Malta, um, around the table. They are water and cooperation and partnerships with other other small island states. I wish to thank, of course, our co-organizers, Antigua and Barbuda, Fiji, and OHRLLS, and of course our distinguished speakers and panelists. Thank you so much for delivering informative interventions and highlighting the breadth of experiences spanning from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, the South China Sea, and the Pacific. Thank you so much for being with us. We wanted to convene this side event to contribute to the emerging water agenda at the UN, and there have been several important developments in recent years, including a dedicated Sustainable Development Goal for water and the first UN Water Conference convened in nearly 50 years, and that was way back in 2023. However, work and attention must be sustained. Sustained, in no small part because the challenges are evolving, and we heard about so many of them this afternoon. The World Meteorological Organization has indicated there are conditions for a strong El Niño to develop this year, influencing global temperature and rainfall patterns, and we have also heard how this is already affecting some of the countries with us today. So progress on SDG 6 accelerates progress on all the SDGs. Water accessibility has implications for international peace and security and human dignity. And colleagues throughout the HLPF, which concluded yesterday, we have heard this repeatedly: implementation, investment, and impact on the ground are the only ways how we can close the gap. So with Agenda 2030 and ABAS, we have our heading. We should just keep this conversation going with new and strengthened bilateral partnerships, ongoing regional dialogues, and new entry points at relevant international fora, starting with the 2026 UN Water Conference. And I will not lengthen any further because I know that we will went beyond the time, but it would be remiss of me if I would not say a special thanks to our moderator, Ms. Tishka Francis from the UNOHRLLS, and Alberta and Devika, who are behind me from my team, who have made this possible. To those from capitals who are traveling back, I wish you all a safe journey back. Congratulations to the colleagues who have presented VNRs, and wishing us all a productive end to this year's HLPF. Thank you so much. And with that— usually we do this— I close the meeting.

Thank you.