IUCN event 23 Mar, 2023

Freshwater Challenge: Mobilizing action to restore freshwater ecosystems

This high-level side event of the UN Water Conference will officially launch the Freshwater Challenge: a country-driven initiative to leverage the support needed to restore 300,000 km of rivers and 350 million hectares of inland wetlands by 2030 to enhance water security, tackle climate change, and reverse nature loss.

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Photo: Parker Hilton on Unsplash

Based on nationally-identified priorities, the Challenge will take an inclusive and collaborative approach to implementation where governments will develop freshwater restoration targets and co-create solutions with Indigenous people, local communities, and national and international partners.

The side event will focus on the announcement of substantial, innovative, and transformative commitments for the Water Action Agenda and for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

Building on the momentum around the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, governments will present their freshwater restoration priorities to be included in their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and engage to promote their integration in the revisions and updates of the strategies and plans addressing the SDGs, climate change, and disaster risk reduction. 

The event is supported by WWF, IUCN, Wetlands International, TNC, the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and AB InBev.

More information is available at
https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/freshwater_practice/freshwater_news/?7942466%2FLaunch-of-Freshwater-Challenge=

Webcast