Background
Following the Rio + 20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012, the United Nations started an open consultation process to identify priorities from citizens around the world for the post-2015 development agenda, as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reach their target date in 2015.
The global consultation process is organized around 11 thematic areas. Water was chosen as one of the thematic areas. Given the importance of water, especially due to the fact that water underpins most of the other MDGs and any future goals, it is critical that there is an insightful and informative debate on the role of water in the post-2015 development agenda.
The Thematic Consultation on Water, led by UN-Water, UNICEF and UN DESA, with the support of the Governments of the Netherlands and Switzerland, began through the website http://www.worldwewant2015.org/water in November 2012. Through a post/response system, people worldwide participate in a discussion on the post-2015 agenda on water-specific issues. Starting on 14 January 2013, sub-consultations will start on the three “streams” under the water theme, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Wastewater Management & Water Quality (WWQWM) and Water Resources Management (WRM). Under each “stream”, weekly discussions will focus on specific areas related to water. These discussions will be synthesized into recommendations for how to move forward in the post-2015 development agenda.
Meeting on the Post-2015 Development Agenda Consultation on Water: Water Resources Management and Wastewater Management & Water Quality, 27-28 February 2013, GenevaA part of the water consultation, a meeting on the Post-2015 Development Agenda Consultation on Water: Water Resources Management and Wastewater Management & Water Quality will be held in Geneva on 27-28 February 2013, at the invitation of the Government of Switzerland, Attended by invited representatives of governments, international organizations, civil society and business, the objective for the meeting ,is to allow for more profound technical and political debate and synthesize the discussions of two of the three streams of the water consultation: Water Resources Management and Wastewater Management & Water Quality, facilitated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and UN-Habitat/Aquafed, respectively.
The meeting will facilitate the development of a short document that reflects the discussions that have taken place both online and during this meeting and,, possibly, highlights potential targets and indicators for a potential future water goal and the reasoning/arguments behind them, thereby providing a basis, both technically sound and politically strong, for the future negotiations in the Open Working Group as well as an input for the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
The consultation meeting will include high-level plenary discussions to reflect on the consultation process and frame the issues related to the two streams, including sub-themes. This will be followed by a series of parallel working group meetings to go into depth in these areas. A concluding plenary discussion will address the prioritization of targets and indicators for a potential future water goal to be considered as recommendations for the final outcome of the Water Resources Management and Wastewater Management & Water Quality streams.