Water Academy
Co-leads: UNITAR & York University
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Partnership
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#SDGAction50807
Description
In line with the UN 2023 Water Conference call to contribute with concrete and measurable commitments that can be implemented immediately, UNITAR’s Water Initiative is comprised with the creation of the “Water Academy”. The Water Academy will bring together leading academic institutions and business Executives from the five largest beverage companies worldwide to form a collaborative partnership focused on delivering innovative training and building human capacities on pressing water related issues at a large scale. Created as a multi-stakeholder collaboration between academic institutions, the “Water Academy”, seeks to innovate with industry partners to: 1.Promote knowledge transfer and capacity sharing 2. Offer a hybrid way of learning: virtual learning, on-demand learning, immersive learning (in a later stage) 3. Develop scientific based water solutions that inform water policies and programmes (taking learnings and best practices from the private sector) 4. Measure and monitor impact and promote replicability of water management practice 5. Facilitate conversations and partnerships to enhance our understanding of water issues 6. Advance SDG 6 - Support capacity building of sustainable management of water especially for Indigenous communities and marginalized/equity deserving groups. The “Water Academy” as an education platform for online, offline, and immersive learning has two-fold objectives: a) Forging skills and knowledge such that water management practices can be replicated and scalable b) Forging awareness and a water culture based on ethics and responsibility that come from a different attitude to how water is perceived and used.
The Water Academy aims to contribute to the global Water Action Agenda through the Agenda’s accelerator: “capacity building”, particularly to the global need for a “global network of education and capacity building on water”. To contribute to this global effort of providing training and capacity building on water related issues, the Water Academy, as a unique collaborative partnership, contributes concretely to accelerate SDG implementation – SDGs 6.a and 17.16 – with interlinkages to the objectives of the Decade, including through the UN Secretary-General’s Action Plan on water. The scope of the Water Academy is global with a particular emphasis on the regions and countries where our partners have presence on. A concrete example of the scope of the water academy may include the different collaborations between the beverage companies and governments and civil society organizations that seek to promote the health of 12 priority river basins around the world (some countries include Kenya, Mexico, India and Scotland). More details of the scope and partners of the Water Academy could be found in the website: https://www.unitar.org/UNITAR-at-UN-2023-water-conference
UNITAR, York University Other partners: Nova School of Business and Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology, AB InBev, Diageo, Danone, Heineken, Pernod Ricard.
For comments and or questions please contact us at: estrella.merlos@unitar.org
SDGS & Targets
Goal 6
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
6.1
By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
6.1.1
Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services
6.2
By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations
6.2.1
Proportion of population using (a) safely managed sanitation services and (b) a hand-washing facility with soap and water
6.3
By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
6.3.1
Proportion of domestic and industrial wastewater flows safely treated
6.3.2
Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality
6.4
6.4.1
Change in water-use efficiency over time
6.4.2
Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources
6.5
By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate
6.5.1
Degree of integrated water resources management
6.5.2
Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation
6.6
6.6.1
Change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time
6.a
6.a.1
Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance that is part of a government-coordinated spending plan
6.b
Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
6.b.1
Proportion of local administrative units with established and operational policies and procedures for participation of local communities in water and sanitation management
Goal 17
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
17.1
Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection
17.1.1
17.1.2
17.2
Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries
17.2.1
17.3
Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources
17.3.1
Additional financial resources mobilized for developing countries from multiple sources
17.3.2
17.4
Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress
17.4.1
17.5
Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries
17.5.1
Number of countries that adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for developing countries, including the least developed countries
17.6
Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism
17.6.1
Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed
17.7
Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed
17.7.1
Total amount of funding for developing countries to promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies
17.8
Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology
17.8.1
17.9
Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the Sustainable Development Goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation
17.9.1
Dollar value of financial and technical assistance (including through North-South, South‑South and triangular cooperation) committed to developing countries
17.10
Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda
17.10.1
17.11
Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020
17.11.1
Developing countries’ and least developed countries’ share of global exports
17.12
Realize timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed countries, consistent with World Trade Organization decisions, including by ensuring that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from least developed countries are transparent and simple, and contribute to facilitating market access
17.12.1
Weighted average tariffs faced by developing countries, least developed countries and small island developing States
17.13
Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence
17.13.1
17.14
Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development
17.14.1
17.15
Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development
17.15.1
17.16
Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
17.16.1
Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks that support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
17.17
Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships
17.17.1
Amount in United States dollars committed to public-private partnerships for infrastructure
17.18
By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts
17.18.1
Statistical capacity indicators
17.18.2
17.18.3
Number of countries with a national statistical plan that is fully funded and under implementation, by source of funding
17.19
By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries
17.19.1
17.19.2
Proportion of countries that (a) have conducted at least one population and housing census in the last 10 years; and (b) have achieved 100 per cent birth registration and 80 per cent death registration
SDG 14 targets covered
| Name | Description |
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Deliverables & Timeline
Development of a methodology (ies) for water management in distressed areas for beverage industries.
Training on water practices to government officials, civil society organizations
Training on water practices to corporate personnel responsible for water strategies
Resources mobilized
Partnership Progress
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Timeline
Entity
Region
- Africa
- Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- West Asia
Other beneficiaries
The Water Academy, as a key outcome of this side-event, will serve a broad audience, including government officials, private sector and civil society representatives – key agents of societal change – on sustainable water management practices.
More information
Countries
Contact Information
Estrella, Ms.