The Governing Board of the Regional Centre on Urban Water Management (RCUWM) under auspices of UNESCO held its 10th Ministerial Meeting on Thursday 5 December 2019 in Tehran. During the meeting, ministers and senior officials responsible for water from 16 Member States of the Center, including Afghanistan, Armenia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Germany, India, Iraq, Iran Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon Oman, Pakistan, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, and Turkey, discussed various urban water-related issues and expansion of water cooperation between the countries in the region. The meeting was also attended by the representatives of UN Agencies present in Iran and by other regional organizations.
The chairman of the Governing Board, the Iranian Minister of Energy Dr. Reza Ardakanian reflected on the philosophy behind the mandate of the Regional Centre saying: “We have done things together and helped each other, as well as inviting developing countries and research centers from different corners of the world to come to this region to help us tackle challenges we have in urban water management, wastewater management and reusing and many other issues”. In their respective discussions, the representatives of Member States raised issues such as climate change and water scarcity, transboundary water management cooperation, water quality, wastewater management in cities, ethics in water management, etc.
Speaking as the keynote speaker on behalf of UN Country Team in Iran, Mrs. Ugochi Daniels, UN Resident Coordinator, stressed the importance of the UN water-related programs, saying: “We must encourage cooperation to tackle the global water crisis and strengthen our resilience to the effects of climate change to ensure access to water for all, especially for the most vulnerable. These are vital steps towards a more peaceful and prosperous future, and this is why gatherings like this are of utmost importance. The UN stands ready to further support and expand its programs and projects in this field upon the request of the Government”.
“The water crisis unfolding across continents is a global challenge that needs to be addressed through meaningful collaboration and networking”, said the Officer-in-Charge of the UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office, Mr. Cvetan Cvetkovski.
UNCT Iran, including UNESCO, UNDP, FAO, and UN-Habitat, supported and pledged partnerships in several projects proposed by the Centre and approved by the Governing Board.
RCUWM has been established under the auspices of UNESCO since 2002 in Tehran, Iran. RCUWM is guided and overseen by its Governing Board as its highest level of decision-making authority. The Agreement between the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and UNESCO regarding RCUWM has been recently renewed as a platform for its third period of activities as for 2018-2023. RCUWM’s program of activities for this period confirms its leading role in the region in water management issues in both research and policy advice fields.
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