Dr Nair-Bedouelle says that UNESCO is delighted to join the Water ChangeMaker Awards, because UNESCO’s mandate is to “build peace in the minds of men and women” and a shared vision on managing water resources is crucial to achieving sustainable development and avoiding conflict.
“We need sustainable access to water and we also need proper water management strategies. We believe that this particular initiative will provide a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to water management,” she says.
There are many challenges in water resources management, and the current global health crisis has magnified the issues.
“Decisions on water involves a number of different users, and there's a lot of uncertainty related to this, so it's not always easy. We are noticing an increase in water stress from different sectors – today, it's a stress of the health sector that needs increased access to water and sanitation. Informed climate decision-making needs to involve the risk emphasis with a shared vision between all sectoral stakeholders and decision-makers to define flexible solutions.”
UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture. Political and economic arrangements of governments are not enough to secure the lasting and sincere support of the peoples. Peace must be founded upon dialogue and mutual understanding. Peace must be built upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of humanity.