UN-Water

17/12/2025

🌱 FAO releases The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture 2025

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has published its flagship report for 2025 under the theme “The potential to produce more and better.”

The report warns that meeting the needs of a growing global population will require producing around 50% more food, feed and fibre by 2050 compared with 2012 levels — putting even greater pressure on the world’s already overstressed land, soil and water systems.

It also highlights practical pathways to build sustainable, resilient and inclusive agrifood systems, including:
▪️ Integrated water resources management
▪️ Drought-resilient practices
▪️ Soil-moisture conservation
▪️ Rainfed water management

📘 Explore the full report

Adopting the theme “The potential to produce more and better”, the FAO flagship report focuses on the hidden and untapped potential of land, soil and water resources with the aim of enhancing sustainable agricultural production. The publication warns that meeting the needs of a growing global po...

17/12/2025

📢 Save the Date!

The High-Level Preparatory Meeting for the 2026 United Nations Water Conference will take place in Dakar on 26–27 January 2026.

Co-hosted by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates, the meeting will lay the groundwork for the 2026 United Nations Water Conference and open discussions on the six interactive dialogues identified for the Conference.

More information: https://unwaterconf.sn/en
Register your participation: https://unwaterconf.sn/en/register

15/12/2025

UNICEF has released the State of the World’s Children 2025 report, revealing that 417 million children in low- and middle-income countries live with severe deprivation in at least two essential areas of wellbeing. Using data from more than 130 countries, the report finds that 118 million children face three or more severe deprivations — with the highest rates in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Notably, sanitation is the most widespread severe deprivation, affecting 65% of children in low-income countries, underscoring the urgent need for investment in safe water and sanitation.

While there has been progress over the past decade, it is slowing due to conflict, climate impacts, demographic pressures and shrinking aid budgets.

UNICEF urges governments to make ending child poverty a national priority by:
▪️ placing child rights at the centre of economic and social policymaking
▪️ expanding access to education, healthcare, water, sanitation, nutrition and housing
▪️ strengthening social protection, including cash support to families
▪️ promoting decent work for parents and caregivers

🔗 Read the full report: https://www.unwater.org/news/unicef-report-state-world%E2%80%99s-children-2025

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Drawing on data from more than 130 countries, the report assesses multidimensional poverty across six areas — education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation and water — and finds that 118 million children face three or more deprivations. The highest rates are in Sub-Saharan Africa and South A...

13/12/2025

The World Bank’s first Global Water Monitoring Report, Continental Drying: A Threat to our Common Future, combines satellite data from NASA and the German Space Agency (2002–2024) — enhanced from a 330 km to a 25 km resolution — enabling detailed analysis of water trends down to individual river basins and counties.

The findings are stark: the planet is losing 324 billion cubic meters of freshwater annually — equivalent to the combined flow of four of Western Europe’s largest rivers — enough to meet the water needs of 280 million people.

Beyond the data, the report outlines a menu of solutions for protecting and restoring freshwater systems amid rising climate pressures.
🔗 Read more: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/continental-drying-a-threat-to-our-common-future

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By combining satellite data with economic and land-use information, Continental Drying: Threat to our Common Future, offers new insight into where and why freshwater is disappearing and what can be done.

12/12/2025

Upcoming Webinar –
Guidance for Water Engineering in a Changing Climate

📅 Wednesday, 17 December 2025
🕚 11:00–12:00 CET

Climate variability and change are transforming the way we design and manage water systems. This webinar will provide guidance for professionals, researchers and policymakers on:
• assessing observed and projected climate impacts on hydro-systems
• adapting engineering design and water resources management to changing conditions
• analysing non-stationary time series
• estimating key variables such as precipitation, floods, droughts, sea-level rise and storm surges

🔗 Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_z5yfAtqgTgyBli94bCzXnQ #/registration

10/12/2025

🏔️ Mountains are the world’s water towers.💧

Around 70% of the planet’s freshwater is stored as snow or ice, and glacier runoff sustains drinking water, biodiversity, agriculture, industry and hydropower.

Nearly 2 billion people — including many Indigenous Peoples — rely on water from mountains for their daily needs, livelihoods and cultural practices.

Protecting mountain ecosystems means protecting water for communities worldwide.

📅 Join online event on 11 December!
Hosted by FAO, with live translation in your language.
Be part of the conversation on why .


https://www.fao.org/international-mountain-day/event/en/

08/12/2025

📅 Wednesday, 10 December
🕛 12:00–13:00 GMT
💻 Online event

How is agricultural expansion affecting water and food security in the Indus Plain?

UNOOSA’s Space4Water Webinar #5 explores how unsustainable farming, groundwater depletion and climate change are worsening water scarcity and threatening food production. The session highlights how tools like remote sensing, land-use modelling and GIS can guide smarter, climate-resilient agricultural decisions.

Join the conversation and learn more about solutions for sustainable water and food systems.

Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

06/12/2025

UNCCD and FAO call for urgent action on land and water

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) joined forces with one clear message: healthy land and sustainable water management must go hand in hand.

At the World Food Forum 2025 (10–17 October, Rome), their joint session on Indigenous Peoples and rangelands emphasized the importance of land rights and the cultural value of these ecosystems. Meanwhile, at the Rome Water Dialogue 2025, communities shared how restoring soils and protecting water can secure harvests and strengthen resilience to climate change.

With up to 40% of land degraded and 1.8 billion people affected by drought, the world faces growing risks to food, water, and climate security.

On the sidelines of the Forum, FAO and UNCCD renewed their partnership to avoid, reduce, and reverse land and soil degradation, enhance drought resilience, and promote integrated solutions that connect land restoration, agrifood transformation, and climate action.

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https://www.unwater.org/news/unccd-and-fao-call-urgent-action-land-and-water

05/12/2025

💧 Gender equality and water are deeply connected.

None of the gender equality targets in the 2030 Agenda are on track, according to the new Gender Snapshot 2025 from UN Women and UN DESA.

The report warns that 351 million women and girls could still be living in extreme poverty by 2030 if current trends continue. Globally, 1.8 billion people still lack drinking water on premises — and in two out of three households, women are primarily responsible for water collection.

As the world prepares for World Water Day 2026 on 22 March, the campaign — coordinated by UN Women and UNICEF on behalf of UN-Water — will highlight how gender equality is key to progress in water and sanitation, and across all the SDGs.

Launching in January 2026, the campaign will call for women’s equitable representation in water leadership, helping to ensure safe water services meet everyone’s needs and empower women and girls worldwide.

👉 Explore the key findings: https://www.unwater.org/news/un-women/undesa-gender-snapshot-2025

03/12/2025

Agriculture accounts for 70% of global freshwater withdrawals — and with disasters becoming more frequent and intense, the sector is facing unprecedented pressure.

FAO has released its biennial report, The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security 2025, offering a detailed look at how disasters disrupt production, supply chains, financial systems and ecosystem services.

Beyond documenting the challenges, the report highlights the transformative potential of digital solutions to reduce risks and strengthen resilience across agricultural systems.

This is essential reading for those working in water management, climate adaptation, food security and agricultural policy.

🔗 Explore the report: https://www.fao.org/publications/fao-flagship-publications/the-impact-of-disasters-on-agriculture-and-food-security/en
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The FAO flagship report on ‘The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security’ provides a timely and comprehensive overview of how disasters are affec...

03/12/2025

01/12/2025

🏔️ Mountain regions cover nearly a quarter of Earth’s land surface and are home to rich biological and cultural diversity.

These landscapes provide essential resources—water, food, energy, and livelihoods—to billions of people, both in mountain areas and downstream.

Protecting these ecosystems is vital for the resilience of communities and the health of the planet. Let’s safeguard our mountain regions for future generations.

📘 Learn more in the 2025 :
🔗 https://buff.ly/ZwoYmiV