At the 9th World Water Forum in Dakar, Senegal, a cross-sector coalition of partners from around the world are uniting to celebrate nature’s role in advancing cost-effective, long-term global water security for people and the planet.
Join us at the Nature Hub for a week of engaging programming and social events designed to explore the power of nature to address the growing global water crisis.
Only with the commitment of diverse stakeholders, the coordinated mobilization of local actors, and significant investment in nature at scale can we ensure water security for all.
For peace, development and water security, we need nature now.
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Monday 21 March 2022 (GMT)
12:00-13:30
Welcome Reception and Official Open of Nature Hub
Hosted by All Partners
13:45-14:30Conflicts around Shared Waters
Hosted by International Union for Conservation of Nature
Livestream Link
14:45-15:30Sustainable and Climate Proofed Interventions for Water and Sanitation
Hosted by Water Sector Trust Fund
Livestream Link
15:45-16:30Science for a Water-Secure World
Hosted by International Water Management Institute
Livestream Link
17:00-18:30Nature for Water Facility Launch Party (Cocktail Event)
Hosted by The Nature Conservancy
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Tuesday 22 March 2022 (GMT)
10:00-10:45
African Peatlands for Water Security
Hosted by Conservation International
Livestream Link
11:00-11:45Developing Resilient Infrastructure to Secure Water Supply and Environmental Sustainability
Hosted by Athi Water Works
Livestream Link
12:00-13:30
The Water Benefits Calculator - Developing a farm-scale hydrologic decision support model (Lunch event)
Catholic Relief Services
Livestream Link
13:45-14:30
A Water and Food Secure World
Hosted by Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute
Livestream Link
14:45-15:30Water Funds at 22
Hosted by The Nature Conservancy
Livestream Link
15:45-17:15Establishing Freetown Western Area Peninsula Water Fund
Hosted by Catholic Relief Services
Livestream Link
17:15-18:30Celebrating World Water Day - sponsored by Coca-Cola
Hosted by Catholic Relief Services & The Nature Conservancy
Livestream Link -
Wednesday 23 March 2022 (GMT)
9:45-10:45 | *BY INVITATION ONLY*
How can DFIs invest more in nature-based solutions as part of water security projects? Lessons learned and ways forward.
Hosted by The Nature Conservancy
Livestream Link
11:00-11:45Innovative Financing Models for Water and Sanitation in Kenya
Hosted by Water Sector Trust Fund
Livestream Link
12:00-13:30
Source Water Protection Partnership | By Invitation Only
Hosted by The Nature Conservancy
Livestream Link
13:45-14:30
Restoration of Wetlands in Central and West Africa: What Results?
Hosted by International Union for Conservation of Nature
Livestream Link
14:45-15:30
DIWASA II Exploration / Science
Hosted by International Water Management Institute
Livestream Link
15:45-17:15
Wetlands: a Vital Artery for a Secure Sahel
Hosted by Wetlands International
Livestream Link
17:15-18:30
BLISS Networking Event (Cocktail Event)
Hosted by IWMI & Wetlands International
Livestream Link -
Thursday 24 March 2022 (GMT)
9:00-9:45
Adopting Alternative Solutions to Provide W&S Services to Vulnerable Population in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Hosted by Sabesp
Livestream Link
10:00-10:45Urban River Recovery - SABESP Experience with Pinheiros River
Hosted by Sabesp
Livestream Link
13:45-14:30
A Systems Approach to Developing a Source Water Protection Benchmark and Framework
Hosted by Catholic Relief Services
Livestream Link
14:45-15:30
Dialogue on Innovation in Financial Mechanisms to Support an Inclusive Sustainability Transition in Agriculture
Hosted by International Union for Conservation of Nature
Livestream Link
15:45-16:45Water and Nature Declaration Signing Ceremony
Hosted by OiEua
Livestream Link
17:00-18:30
Quenching Nairobi's Thirst (Cocktail Event)
Hosted by Athi Water Works
Livestream Link
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is working to mainstream the investment of nature-based solutions (NbS) within the water sector as a means to restore watershed health while delivering biodiversity, climate and water security benefits. To date, TNC has helped water users invest over $500 million in watershed conservation—but much more is needed.
Explore the many ways TNC is working to advance watershed conservation on the ground and equipping partners to drive change at scale:
IUCN
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a membership Union composed of both government and civil society organisations. It harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its more than 1,500 Member organisations and the input of more than 18,000 experts. IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.
Catholic Relief Services
Ensuring that all communities live in a water-secure world is foundational to humanitarian and development programs at Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Our strategic vision for 2030 centers on water security as a human right, inalienably tied to our health, dignity and socio-economic development.
Through 2030, CRS will strive to achieve its vision by empowering water stewardship in three principal areas:
- Water and climate-smart agriculture.
- Innovative, scalable, adaptable, resource-neutral and gender-responsive water, sanitation and hygiene, or WASH, services.
- Improved, more equitable and inclusive governance that increases financial investments in water, sanitation and hygiene.
Catholic Relief Services Resources:
OiEau
The International Office for Water (OiEau) is a non-profit association declared under French law to be in the public interest by the Decree of 13 September 1991. OiEau’s core-activities deal with the development of skills for better water management in France, Europe and around the world.
OiEau covers small and large water cycles. It puts its technical, operational, institutional, legal and strategic expertise at the service of all water stakeholders. It works at all levels, from local authorities up to national and transboundary policies.
Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute
For more than 10 years, the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) at the University of Nebraska has worked toward one goal: a water and food secure world. And it is more urgent than ever that we secure more nutritious food with less stress on our scarce water resources. By 2050, there will be nearly 10 billion people to feed and a mounting demand for a wider range of foods. Increasing populations and urbanization will require more water for human and environmental uses.
There will also be the devastating effects of climate change — turning cropland into deserts, intensifying crop water demands and causing wide fluctuations in water supplies. We must expand and accelerate our efforts to develop and deploy solutions; strengthen water and food systems; and reverse the wide-spread trend of water quality degradation.
Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute Resources:
International Water Management Institute
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is a research-for-development organization with offices in 13 countries and a global network of scientists operating in more than 30 countries around the world. Guided by its 2019-2023 Strategy, IWMI works to meet demand for scientifically tested water management solutions that can be deployed quickly and at scale to facilitate sustainable development.
For more than 35 years, IWMI has worked with a wide variety of partners in both the Global North and Global South. Utilizing evidence and knowledge drawn from our science, innovative technologies, and testing of business models, we collaborate with governments, farmers, water managers, development partners, and businesses to lay the foundation for a more water-secure future for all.
Today, as part of the new Water Systems unit at One CGIAR, IWMI continues to combine research with data to build and enhance knowledge, develop information services and products, strengthen capacity, convene dialogue, and deliver actionable policy analysis to strengthen our food systems, build climate resilience, promote social inclusion, and more.
International Water Management Institute Resources:
Athi Water Works
Athi Water Works Development Agency (AWWDA) is one of the nine Water Works Development Agencies (WWDA) in Kenya. The Agency is responsible for the development, maintenance and management of water and sewerage infrastructure in the counties of Nairobi, Kiambu and Muranga Counties, covering 5,800.4Km2 with a total population of 8,012,390 people. Currently, the Agency has a bulk water production capacity of 664,337m3/day and a wastewater treatment capacity of 210,500 m3/day.
Water Sector Trust Fund
The Water Sector Trust Fund (WaterFund) is a Kenyan State Corporation under the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation mandate to provide conditional and unconditional grants to the Counties and to assist in financing the development of and management of water services in the marginalized and underserved areas. Water Sector Trust Fund was established under Water Act 2016, succeeding the Water Services Trust Fund, which was established under the Water Act, 2002.
Conservation International
To address the growing issue of water insecurity worldwide, Conservation International (CI) developed an innovative, science-based tool for gauging the health of freshwater ecosystems: The Freshwater Health Index (FHI). The FHI offers a framework for water managers and decision-makers to analyze the health of their basins, understand the trade-offs and consequences of their actions, and discuss approaches to creating healthy, sustainable watersheds into the future.
CI has applied and continues applying the FHI in water basins across Asia, Latin America, and Africa, strengthening the water supplies of more than 138 million people.
Conservation International Resources:
- Visit us online to learn about the Freshwater Health Index and how to start assessing the health of your basin.
- An Open Source Toolbox for Integrating Freshwater Social-Ecological Indicators in Basin Management
- Video: The Freshwater Health Index
- Video Testimonials:
Wetlands International
Wetlands International is a global non-profit organization headquartered in the Netherlands. With 20 country and project offices around the world, the organization works in more than 100 countries to sustain and restore wetlands and their resources for people and diversity. Wetlands International's work ranges from research and community-based field projects to advocacy and engagement with governments, corporate and international policy fora and conventions. It works through partnerships and is supported by contributions from an extensive specialist network and thousands of volunteers.
Wetlands International, CARE Netherlands, IWMI and International Alert are the core partners behind Blue Lifelines for a Secure Sahel (BLiSS), a long-term, transformative initiative aiming to restore and safeguard Sahelian wetlands, thereby improving the safety and strengthening the resilience of rural communities. BLiSS will be mobilizing a multitude of actors and building a wider alliance in the region of government agencies, private sector and civil society organizations to catalyze change.
Wetlands International Resources:
Sabesp
Sabesp is a mixed capital company that was founded in 1973 and is currently responsible for supplying water and collecting and treating sewage in the 375 municipalities of São Paulo state. It is considered one of the world’s largest sanitation companies in terms of population served. It supplies 28.6 million people with water and provides sewage collection services to 24.9 million people.
Sabesp is responsible for around 30% of the investments in basic sanitation in Brazil. Between 2021 and 2025, it plans to invest approximately R$ 21.0 billion, focused on expanding water availability and security, without jeopardizing the improvements to sewage collection and treatment ratios.
World Water Council
The World Water Council is an international multi-party organization, created in 1996 and headquartered in Marseille. The mission of the World Water Council is to bring together the international community to convince decision-makers that water is a vital political priority for the sustainable and equitable development of the planet.
- Visit the World Water Council website
The Water and Nature Declaration
No water security without ecological security
No ecological security without water security
A virtuous cycle exists between the integrity of our shared water resources and the health of the planet’s natural systems. Without each other, the two cannot exist. Public policies dedicated to improving water security and those focused on ecological security, therefore, must be better coordinated and more thoughtfully integrated by all vested parties.
The Water and Nature Declaration is an initiative of the World Water Council that aims to strengthen the links between water practitioners and the nature community and foster a new level of collaboration.
Only by breaking down barriers and working together can we deliver water security and ecological security for all. Please join us.
View the Declaration in English | French
Sign the Declaration to show your support >
The Declaration
No water security without ecological security
No ecological security without water security
On the initiative of the World Water Council and its partners, the signatories of this declaration
Considering
Commit To
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Support a better integration of ecosystems in the water sector activities, including climate change adaptation strategies, water resources protection and provision, basin level approaches, disaster risk reduction, equitable economic development and livelihoods, with the aim of long-term resilience for rural and urban communities, and food production,
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Promote the implementation of NbS as actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural and modified ecosystems in ways that address societal challenges effectively & adaptively, to provide both human well-being and biodiversity benefits at basin, community, subnational and national levels, clarify and promote their business case, and strengthen the cost effectiveness assessment and financial and governance mechanisms dedicated to their implementation,
Declaration Signatories









































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