UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub Manager Gerd Trogemann yesterday emphasized the importance of water related education in consolidating global efforts to adapt to climate change and to eradicate poverty, as he spoke at the action panel on capacity building organized by UNDP and UNESCO within the High-Level International Conference on International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” 2018-2028.
According to UNDP Tajikistan, Gilbert Houngbo, President of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and Mahmoud Saikal, Permanent Representative of Afghanistan in the United Nations in New York, co-chaired the panel.
“Clean, accessible water is critical for sustainable development and the eradication of poverty and hunger, and it is indispensable for human development, health and well-being… In the integrated 2030 Agenda, it is important that we do not look at capacity development as merely a technical process, as a transfer of knowledge or institutions. Capacity development to achieve the SDGs is about country ownership and leadership, it is about adaptive, integrated, whole of society approaches that consider the broader socio-political context,” Trogemann said.
The panelists strongly advocate for creation and development of programs targeting decision makers and water professionals to raise awareness about the importance of investing in capacity building and strong international cooperation on the highest political level.
Theу highlighted some existing programs, including the UNDP Water and Ocean Governance Programme, specifically Cap-Net, and UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP), already working in this direction on all levels.
UNDP has a number of projects in Tajikistan, working to help the population make a more efficient and sustainable use of the country’s water resources, to better deal with water-related natural calamities and to increase adaptation capacity to climate change.
