Ashraf AboArafe
The United Nations Water Commission (UN-Water) has selected the Kingdom as a leading global model for achieving the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) indicator 6-5-1 within Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), in recognition of the Kingdom’s progress in this area.
This came during a preparatory workshop to examine the Kingdom’s success in accelerating the achievement of IWRM within SDG 6 in the Kingdom. The workshop was opened by Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Shaibani, Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture for Water, at the Ministry’s headquarters in Riyadh. The workshop was attended by 40 participants from various stakeholders, including the government sector, relevant international organizations, civil society, academia, and the private sector.
Dr. Al-Shaibani explained that this selection represents international recognition of the progress made by the Kingdom in this regard, in line with Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Water Strategy 2030, particularly in the field of integrated water resources management. The United Nations Water Committee is preparing this success case study to document the Kingdom’s experience and share it with other countries, enabling them to benefit from the Saudi approach to water resources management and encourage continued global efforts to achieve Goal 6. He emphasized that the workshop discussed the preliminary results and key messages of the case study prepared by the United Nations Water Committee on the Kingdom, which will enable the Kingdom to capitalize on successful cases and sound water management practices and leverage them globally to accelerate the achievement of Goal 6, which, according to the index, is experiencing a slowdown in achieving its goals by 2030.
The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Water indicated that the case study adopts a comprehensive approach that reflects the links between various sectors, such as the environment, agriculture, energy, and health. This helps identify opportunities and enhance integration between these sectors, particularly in creating an enabling environment for effective water management, including private sector engagement. The countries included in the studies are selected based on data provided by relevant UN agencies, and the case study reports are launched during the annual event dedicated to Goal 6 within the UN High-Level Political Forum, held in New York in July of each year.
It is noteworthy that the United Nations Water Committee (UN-Water) is a coordinating committee of the United Nations, comprising (36) UN entities (members) and (48) other international organizations (partners), working in the fields of water and sanitation, and aiming to ensure a coordinated and effective response to global water-related challenges.
