- At the UN 2023 Water Conference, Mexico emphasized the need to recognize the human right to water, sanitation and access to land tenure
- Together with Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, Gabon and Zambia, Mexico launched the largest initiative in history to restore rivers, lakes and freshwater wetlands to address the increasingly acute global water, climate and ecosystem crises.
Forty-five years after the last UN conference dedicated to water, the UN 2023 Water Conference was held from March 22-24 to assess the progress made in implementing the UN Water Action Decade (2018 -2028).
The Mexican delegation, headed by the Foreign Ministry's Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, Martha Delgado, was made up of officials from the National Water Commission (Conagua), the Mexico-U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC-Mexico section), local authorities, legislators, Foreign Ministry officials and representatives from the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the U.N.
At the Conference, Mexico, together with Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, Gabon and Zambia, joined the Freshwater Challenge, the largest in history, that aims to restore 300,000 km of rivers and 350 million hectares of wetlands by 2030, in recognition of the importance of ecosystems for combating the many environmental crises. Joining this initiative is consistent with Mexico's commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, recently adopted by the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
In the general debate and on behalf of Mexico, Undersecretary Delgado emphasized that water resources management (WRM) must address the needs of urban and rural users and those engaged in economic activities. Mexico believes that integral WRM must include, first of all, preservation of the water cycle to ensure the availability of water for all uses.
Undersecretary Delgado said that Mexico is very concerned about the progressive land degradation and worsening droughts throughout the world. For example, Mexico ended 2022 with abnormally severe drought conditions (in 34% of the national territory), which has serious environmental, social and economic repercussions. For these reasons, Mexico has sought alternatives to address the emergency.
At the Water Conference, the undersecretary accompanied the local governments that presented alternatives and good practices for resolving the current challenges. Some initiatives are already receiving funding from nations such as the Netherlands, an international leader in WRM and a promoter of the Conference itself.
Undersecretary Delgado met with the civil society organizations that make up the Water Network Initiative (WNI), which seeks to raise awareness of local WRM. The meeting addressed the need to promote a constitutional reform to recognize and include community water management.
Mexico is investing in and developing technological innovation programs in renewable energy to increase food and water security by making water use in agriculture more efficient, while ensuring respect for indigenous peoples sand local communities, youth and especially women.
Undersecretary Delgado also participated in a side event on the contributions of the Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean to the sustainable use and management of water, which highlighted the development of a special policy to guarantee access to justice for indigenous peoples. Finally, Mexico expressed its support for the proposal to designate a Special Envoy for Water, which would help achieve the 2030 Agenda.
The 2023 World Water Conference was co-sponsored by the governments of Tajikistan and the Netherlands. Its outcome document will summarize the proceedings of the conference and the new commitments, promises and actions of the governments and all stakeholders to achieve SDG 6 and other water-related goals and targets, compiled in the Water Action Agenda.
