UN Water Conference 2026
The 2026 UN Water Conference will take place from 2-4 December, 2026, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Conference, co-hosted by Senegal and the UAE, aims to accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), enhance global water governance, and further elevate water-related issues on the international agenda.
The global water cycle is under unprecedented pressure from climate change, over-extraction, pollution and ecosystem degradation, with accelerating impacts on people, economies and nature. The world is off track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6, while water insecurity is emerging as a systemic risk to food security, energy systems, biodiversity, human health and political stability. Despite the centrality of water to sustainable development, there is no global agreement on water, no regular intergovernmental process, and no coherent international governance architecture to support countries in managing shared water resources.
The six themes for the interactive dialogues for the 2026 UN Water Conference were adopted by consensus following the preparatory meeting in July 2025:
- A. Water for People
- B. Water for Prosperity
- C. Water for Planet
- D. Water for Cooperation
- E. Water for Multilateral processes
- F. Investments for water
The conference will result in a summary by the President of the General Assembly instead of a negotiated outcome document. IUCN considers it essential that the conference results in clear tangible outcomes for water.
