The second round of reporting on SDG indicator 6.5.1 took place in 2020. UNEP, as the custodian agency for SDG indicator 6.5.1, sent out an invitation to all UN Member States to update the baseline survey assessment on that SDG indicator.

The SDG 6 IWRM Support Programme actively assisted 61 countries (and provided indirect assistance to many more) in order for the reporting process to be carried out through multi-stakeholder consultations. Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this process was carried out through a mixture of in-person and online methods. An impressive 94% of organisers of the national consultations found the support package good or excellent. How did they work online? This example from Trinidad and Tobago shows how it was possible to bring stakeholders together through virtual means.

For this purpose, the Support Programme developed the Stage 1 Support Package, offering methodological and process guidance, in English, French and Spanish. An online training course aimed at facilitators of these processes, available in the same languages, was taken by 250 participants, and 96% of them expressed that they found the course good or excellent. 

For each country assisted, in addition to the official submission of the SDG 6.5.1 survey, a Stakeholder Consultation Report was produced, to capture the main challenges and opportunities around advancing on IWRM, as input for ongoing programme development aiming to accelerate progress towards the 2030 goals. These Stakeholder Consultation Reports can be viewed on the Interactive SDG Map. You can also see the static map of the 61 countries supported in 2020 below.

The SDG 6 IWRM Support Programme is involved in the drafting of the global progress report on SDG 6.5.1, currently due for release in August 2021.