ECLAC participates in the Webinar "What does Valuing Water mean in practice and why is it important for the United Nations Water Conference?".

On December 7 and 14, the Webinar "What does Valuing Water mean in practice and why is it important for the United Nations Water Conference?" was organized by Deltares, the Valuing Water Initiative (VWI) promoted by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Global Water Partnership (GWP). This was aimed, through two sessions, the first focused on Latin America and the second on the Caribbean, to relevant actors and stakeholders of the water sector in the region. The two sessions counted on the participation of approximately 200 virtual attendees.

In both sessions, ECLAC participated in the opening speech of the Webinar through the Natural Resources Division. In this, the Economic Affairs Officer of the Water and Energy Unit, Dr Silvia Saravia, presented the regional perspectives on water in Latin America and the Caribbean, presenting data at the regional level and considering social, economic and environmental dimensions. She then shared ECLAC's proposal for a sustainable and inclusive water transition for the region, based on the SDG 6 global acceleration framework and its pillars of governance, financing, innovation, capacity building and data and information. Finally, the upcoming "Regional Water Dialogues" were presented, which will take place in preparation for the United Nations Water Conference 2023.

After the opening by ECLAC, the Valuing Water Initiative introduced the Valuing Water Principles and the interrelationships between SDG 6 and the Accelerating Framework, presented the Valuing Water Initiative and its theory of change, and described the regional process towards the UN Water Conference. Both interventions made visible the synergies between ECLAC's sustainable and inclusive water transition proposal and the Valuing Water Principles, which will be materialized in a joint session within the Regional Water Dialogues on February 3rd. This will take the form of "Brainstorming Solutions" to Valuing Water and accelerate the achievement of SDG 6 in the region.

To conclude the Webinar, ECLAC and the Valuing Water Initiative highlighted the importance of the event, which will take place in February at ECLAC headquarters in Santiago, Chile, and the joint session for the region's preparation for the UN Conference in New York, encouraging attendees to register for the event at the following link.