(Oranjestad)—From March 22nd to the 24th, the Aruban delegacion will be representing the island’s nature during the water conference in New York. This year, the United Nations Water Conference is being co-organized by the Netherlands and Tajikistan.
The goal of this conference is to gather stakeholders from different sectors to accelerate the implementation of water policies and to improve the impact of the challenges surrounding water around the world. The three principles that guide the conference is inclusivity, taking action and intersectoral collaborations.
We survive on water. It is an essential resource that is crucial for the well-being of people, energy and food production, a healthy ecosystem, climate adaptation, reduction of poverty etc. Water is central when it comes to sustainable developments, but contamination and excessive use of our water resources has brought negative consequences for people’s health, ecosystems and economic activity. Access to clean water is a basic human right. Even so, there all millions of people around the world that still do not have access to water. This requires urgent action from leaders around the world to guaranty sustainable distribution of water for all basic human needs.
In Aruba, we have to remember that our water resource is our ocean; the ocean that not only surrounds us, but that also connects us with the world around us. That is why it is important to know and understand the challenges that other countries face and to also establish collaborative goals, especially with the other islands in the Caribbean. That way, responsible actions can be taken to bring sustainable solutions.
Minister Ursell Arends (Nature), along with Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes is currently participating in the different sessions, where they will discuss the compromises Aruba made with the UN for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
