Adequate, accessible, and affordable supply of clean water and sanitation for all is critical to achieving sustainable development. Yet, many countries in South and South-West Asia are struggling to achieve this goal. Urban centers in particular, face the compounded challenges of unplanned and uncoordinated development, inadequate infrastructure, and restricted financial capacity, resulting in social, ecological, and economic losses.
Recognizing the impact of local decisions on overall national progress, national as well as local governments must collaborate to apply inclusive and integrated approaches for urban water and sanitation management.
It is for this purpose that ESCAP is organizing the “Sub-regional Workshop on Urban Water and Sanitation Services in South and South-West Asia” jointly with the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority (KVDA), the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) of Nepal, and the Ministry of Water Supply and Sewerage (MoWSS) of Nepal.
The two-day workshop will bring together representatives of national and local governments and experts from nine countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) to provide insights and share lessons on effective strategies and inclusive solutions for improving urban water and sanitation services – through leveraging resources and partnerships, building local and national capacities and increasing resource conservation and use efficiencies. The workshop will also solicit inputs from participants on a strategy paper for “Improving Urban Water and Sanitation Services in the Kathmandu Valley.”
By facilitating South-South cooperation, and enhancing capacity among key national and local level policy makers from South and South-West Asian countries, the workshop aims to ensure the integrated implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (particularly SDG 6 and 11), and the New Urban Agenda, in the context of growing urbanization.