Blue threads: Water resilience, ecosystem restoration and global leadership
The UN Water Conference 2026 represents a rare political opportunity to multilateral architecture dedicated to water. On June 18th, IUCN will gather diplomats, policymakers, academia, NGOs, youth, and the private sector to discuss the importance of a coherent water agenda, at the EU and international level.
There is growing support for strengthening global water governance and for exploring the establishment of an intergovernmental process that could lead to a Global Framework for Water Governance and Action. At the same time, within Europe, water resilience has moved to the centre of political debate through the Water Resilience Strategy. This week, the IUCN Europe, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, and theBelgium Biodiversity Platform will host an high-level event aimed at showcasing that water is no longer a sectoral environmental issue but a systemic risk multiplier for economies and societies.
The day will be structured as follows:
10:00 – 10:15 | Welcoming remarks
Stewart Maginnis – Deputy Director General, IUCN
Nicos Argyrides, Mertens Coordinator for the Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the EU
10:15 – 10:20 Message from the UN Rapporteur (video message)
Pedro Arrojo Agudo - Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
10:20 – 10:30 Keynote Speech by Patrick Child, Deputy Director General, DG Environment, European Commission
10:30 – 11:00 | Women Leadership in Water Diplomacy
Ambassador Tanja Miškova, Ambassador-at-Large for Water Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia.
Paulina Dejmek Hack, Head of Cabinet of Commissioner Roswall, EU Commission
Veronika Hunt-Šafránková, Head of Brussels Office, United Nations Environment Programme
Moderator: Elodie Champseix, Senior Natural Resources Officer, IUCN Europe
11:00 – 11.15 | Coffee Break
11:15 – 12:15 | Europe and the future of global water governance – Rio Trio and the UN Water Conference 2026
H.E. Ambassador Bold Luvsanvandan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, and Head of Mission to the EU and NATO, country host of COP17 of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification
H.E. Ambassador H.E. Mher Margaryan, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia, country host of COP17 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity
Sebastian Lang, Senior Advisor and Coordinator for International Water Policy at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV);
Flore Lafaye de Micheaux, Senior Advisor for Europe, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
Andras Krolop, Head of Policy for Europe, The Nature Conservancy
Moderator: James Dalton, IUCN Global Water and Wetlands Team
12:15 – 12:55: Ecosystem restoration and NbS in Europe as a pillar of water resilience
Gilles Doignon, Team Leader Biodiversity & Nature-Based Solutions; DG-RTD, European Commission
Adam Gono, Deputy Secretary General, Natural Mineral Waters Europe
Ashton Melfor, Generation Climate Europe
Bernard De Potter, General Administrator VVM
Moderator: Natalia Burgos, IUCN European NbS Lead
12:55 – 13.00 | Closing remarks, Boris Erg – IUCN Europe Director
13.00 - 14.00 | Light lunch and networking
Register here: Blue threads: Water resilience, ecosystem restoration and global leadership – Fill in form