The United Nations 2023 Water Conference and the over 750 commitments in its Water Action Agenda promote the protection, conservation, and restoration of lakes and more freshwater ecosystems up to 2030.

In March 2023 leaders from around the world gathered at the UN General Assembly in New York for the UN 2023 Water Conference. The first gathering of its kind in 46 years, it ended in the adoption of the Water Action Agenda, which included major funding commitments to accelerate progress on Sustainable Development Goal 6 which commits countries to preserve and restore sources of fresh water.

The conference’s Water Action Agenda includes over 750 commitments. Many of these relate to water resources management and freshwater ecosystems and but some relate specifically to lakes, reservoirs and other similar freshwater ecosystems in need of protection and restoration. Find a list of these lake-related commitments below.

Many lakes are shared between two or more countries. Examples include the Caspian Sea, the North American Great Lakes, Lake Victoria and Lake Chad, making international collaboration on their preservation vital. The need for innovative partnerships and greater collaboration was highlighted in the World Water Development Report 2023, the United Nations annual flagship report on water launched at the conference. And the Conference’s Interactive Dialogue 4 highlighted the need for closer, well-financed and inclusive regional collaboration on water.

Sustainable management of lakes is essential to the Water Action Agenda and to ending the triple planetary crisis. Sustainable Lake Management for Ecosystem Restoration is critical to tackle the threats facing lakes, which include over abstraction, and pollution due to run-off from intensive farming systems: indiscriminate use of fertilizer, for example, can cause algal blooms in lakes that kill fish. A major call at the conference was for more accurate and timely data on the changing extent of lakes, as well as their pollution levels.

One of the major outcomes of the Conference was recognition of the fact that sound water data and information are the basis for effective decisions and policymaking in response to climate change impacts, disaster risks, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. This was a core message of UNEP’s engagement at the Conference, including a session specifically dedicated to sustainable lake management as well as the virtual launch of the Measuring Progress on Water-related Ecosystems report.

We know that we are lacking serious amounts of water-related environmental data. Globally, 3 billion people are at health risk due to scarce data on water quality. Without adequate data, decision-makers cannot identify countries, people and sectors that are left behind, or set priorities for increased efforts and investments.

Another major conference outcome was the need to advance progress on monitoring and implementation of SDG 6. From April to September 2023, UNEP will be seeking updates from states on their progress in gathering data for the three environmental SDG 6 indicators for which it acts as the global custodian: ambient water quality (6.3.2), integrated water resources management (6.5.1) and freshwater ecosystems (6.6.1). This effort is part of the UN’s broader 2023 Data Drive on water.



List of lake-related commitments:

Mainstreaming Lakes and other lentic waters more prominently in the Global Water Agenda (ILEC) Focal person: Kazuhiko, Dr: [email protected]

Protecting spring water through a reforestation program on riverbanks to fight against erosion and intoxication of Lake Tanganyika in Burundi (Entity: Agir Pour La Solidarite Et Le Developpement Durable/ Acting For Solidarity And Sustainable Development, a CSO). Focal person: NIYONGABO, Legal Representative: [email protected]

Appeal of the Public and Expert Organizations on Solving the Problems of the Aral Sea Basin (Entity: Regional Water Platform for the Central Asian Countries - 286 experts, officials and NGOs from Central Asia, Caucasus, Russia, Moldova and Ukraine) (Partnership). Focal person: Bulat, Dr: [email protected]

Dakar Action Plan for the basins of lakes, rivers and aquifers (International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO), an NGO). Focal person: Nizar, President of the International Network of Basin Organizations: [email protected]

International Living Lakes Network - We save the lakes of the world. (Global Nature Fund). Focal person: Thomas, Head Living Lakes: [email protected]

Action in support of the UN Freshwater Challenge (Conservation International) – (mainly talks about restoring wetlands, without defining them, but lakes mentioned in parenthesis in one place). Focal person: Maira, Director, Healthy Watersheds, Freshwater Science Program: [email protected]

Sustainable Lake Management (Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Republic of Indonesia). Focal person: Inge, Director of Inland Waters and Mangrove Rehabilitation [email protected]

Monitoring of micropollutants and water quality in the Hydrographic Basin of the Itaipu Reservoir (Itaipu Binacional, an International organization) – Brazil. Focal person: Ligia, International Relations Assistance [email protected]

Protecting the largest drinking water reservoir in Central Europe (Žitný ostrov / Rye Island Slovakia) (Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic). Focal person: Peter, Mr. [email protected]

Global monitoring of actual evapotranspiration, biomass production and water productivity through Remote Sensing (FAO). Focal person: Lifeng Li, Director, Land and Water Division: [email protected]

Committing to Action for the African Great Lakes (African Center for Aquatic Research and Education, NGO)