2nd High-Level International Conference
on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”,

2018-2028, June 2022

Side-event “Groundwater: making the invisible visible”

Convened by: UN-WATER, IAEA, UNESCO-IHP, IGRAC, UNESCO WWAP, University College London, IAH

Concept note

The UN World Water Day (WWD) 2022 campaign, entitled “Groundwater: making the invisible visible”, is coordinated by UNESCO and IGRAC on behalf of a dedicated UN-Water Task Force. The WWD campaign will remain active throughout the year 2022 and will culminate with the UN-Water Summit on Groundwater, to be held at UNESCO HQs, 7-8 December 2022. The session is conceived as a contribution to the campaign and aims to make aware policy and decision makers, as well as the general public, of the importance of groundwater for water security. It is expected that this side event will contribute to making groundwater visible in the agenda of the Water Action Decade for Sustainable Development and to sending an unified message on groundwater to the UN 2023 Water Conference.

The proposed session will first take stock of the status of the world groundwater resources, as presented in the UN World Water Development Report (WWDR) 2022, entitled “Groundwater: making the invisible visible”. The main findings of the WWDR will be presented during the event.

The session will then focus on links between groundwater and climate change, explicitly considering how groundwater contributes to climate change adaptation and mitigation, and to resilience of communities to climate extreme events. Special attention will be given to interactions between the cryosphere and groundwater/aquifers.

Provisional programme/List of speakers

7 or 8 June 2022 (TBC), 13:00 – 14:30 pm