World Water Day 2023 - Be the Change!
The United Nations’ 2023 Water Conference will commence in New York on 22 March 2023 - World Water Day. It will be the first UN Conference on water issues since 1977 and has been described as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unite the world around solving the water and sanitation crisis”.
Water is:
at the core of sustainable development.
critical for socio-economic development, energy and food production and healthy ecosystems.
at the heart of adaptation to climate change, serving as the crucial link between society and the environment.
a rights issue - access to water and sanitation are recognised by the United Nations as human rights.
Goal 6 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals is to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all and to tackle the global water crisis of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. However, the United Nations has observed:
“Back in 2015, the world committed to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 as part of the 2030 Agenda – the promise that everyone would have safely managed water and sanitation by 2030. Right now, we are seriously off-track. Billions of people and countless schools, businesses, healthcare centres, farms and factories are being held back because their human rights to water and sanitation have not yet been fulfilled.”
The global campaign “Be the change” encourages us to take action to change how we use, consume and manage water. Promises from individuals and communities will contribute to the Water Action Agenda alongside commitments from governments, companies and organisations: see https://www.unwater.org/bethechange/
As we approach the 75th Anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 2023, we can be reminded of the words of Eleanor Roosevelt in 1958 on the 10th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration:
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. … Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”
“Be the change” draws on the ancient story of the hummingbird to illustrate how we can react in a crisis. In small places and close to home, let us seek to uphold and advance human rights, including for water – one drop at a time!
Dr Nigel Wilson is an Australian lawyer and governance specialist with thirty years’ experience. He is a water rights and environmental, social governance (ESG) expert and has held Executive leadership roles in relation to indigenous water and sea rights, Australian water efficiency programmes and water markets reform.
Australis Chambers is proud to be a Tier 3 Partner in the One Basin Co-operative Research Centre (One Basin CRC) which is a focused collaboration developing policy, technical and financial solutions to support and reduce exposure to climate, water and environmental threats in the Australian Murray-Darling Basin.
Nigel is the author of the international, award-winning book Teaching Professionals and is a professional workplace trainer and educator for corporations, legal practices, governments, critical infrastructures and national judicial colleges on law, cybersecurity and technology, regulation, governance, water rights, native title and indigenous rights, insurance and risk.
Dr Nigel Wilson, Australis Chambers
LLB (Hons), BEc, BCL Oxford, Cybersecurity Harvard, PhD
wilson@australischambers.com www.australischambers.com 0413 807 585
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