A statement of priority actions for improving global water security has been agreed between the UK government and attending countries and multilateral organisations following a ministerial roundtable on water security on 13 March convened by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

The UK FCDO convened the high-level roundtable which brought together international Ministers and senior representatives from countries and key multilateral institutions to discuss the key opportunities to drive progress on the global water security crisis.

Discussions highlighted the critical role of water in the interconnected climate-nature-development nexus, and the need for more coordinated action to drive scalable, innovative, climate and nature-positive solutions to the water crisis.

Water resources, sanitation, and freshwater ecosystems were acknowledged as being essential to tackle the triple global crisis. Participants recognised that rising water insecurity and a changing climate threatens our ability to produce food and energy; secure access to clean drinking water; guarantee global health systems; and restore and conserve the fundamental ecosystems and biodiversity on which we are dependent.

Water was recognised as a critical resource that underpins – and catalyses – key sectors of the economy, and that drives growth, and delivers improvements in resilience and in environmental outcomes. Multistakeholder and inclusive partnerships, including across private and public sector, alongside communities and civil society, are required to achieve the governance and market reforms that lead to targeted investments and improvements in water security, sanitation and hygiene.

Building on the discussion of the roundtable, participants agreed collectively to utilise key moments over the year ahead to:

• Build and sustain leadership on water security, sanitation and hygiene, recognising that a water secure world is fundamental to the delivery of all the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Work in multistakeholder partnerships to drive scalable, innovative and inclusive solutions to the water crisis across the climate-nature development nexus, ensuring they reach the most excluded populations.
• Advocate for and work collectively, alongside existing UN processes, to strengthen the integration of water and its values across the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (the Three Rio Conventions), and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
• Integrate water security, sanitation, and hygiene considerations in the design of climate, nature, and development policies, using existing tools such as the Water Resilience Tracker, as appropriate.
• Foster partnerships and build inclusive dialogue across public and private sector partners, alongside communities and civil society, to make water stewardship the global business norm, working with business to comply with the highest standards of water management in their operations and upstream supply chains.
• Collaborate with institutional investors, national, regional, and multilateral development banks, Development Finance Institutions and technical experts to drive market reforms for climate-resilient investments in water.