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Water covers more than 70 per cent of the Earth's surface, yet only 1 per cent of it is usable fresh water — vital to uphold life. Access to fresh water, crucial for civilisational growth, is critically monitored. Management of water resources could be key for sustainable water security as well aid in international cooperation. For this, Unesco will organise a conference over May 13-14 at its Paris headquarters.
It will aim to discuss the role of water for driving peace and sustainable development in the world, because "access to water is not only a matter of development. Above all, it is a fundamental right and an instrument of peace and security in the world", Unesco Director-General Audrey Azoulay said in a May 9 statement.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said the conference would involve ministers from 40 countries, experts, researchers, the civil society, the private sector as well as international organisations. They would find innovative solutions to problems related to the governance and management of water resources, Unesco claimed.
The conference will feature:
Topics for the panels will be diverse: technological innovation, ethics, heritage, gender, etc.
It will also launch a call for action to foster, embrace, and adopt trans-sectoral management of water resources for sustainable water security and peace, the UN body said .
Billions of people worldwide lack safe water as human activities including various development works, increasing pollution as well as global warming has threatened the water bodies. The sixth of the 17 United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goals is to provide universal access to safe and affordable drinking water by 2030. This involves reaching over 800 million people who lack basic services and improving accessibility and safety of services for over two billion.