UN-Water Work Progra
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UN-Water Work Programme 2016–2017 Table of Contents Introduction 2 Part 1 Strategic Outlook 3 Setting the stage 3 Maintaining momentum 3 Fit for purpose 3 Focus in 2016–2017 4 Part 2 Results Areas 2016–2017 5 Results Area 1 Informing policy processes and addressing emerging issues 5 Results Area 2 Supporting monitoring and reporting on water and sanitation 5 Results Area 3 Building knowledge and inspiring people to take action 6 Results Area 4 Effective management of efforts aimed at improved coordination and coherence among UN-Water Members and Partners at all levels 7 Part 3 Overview of Governance 8 Brief introduction 8 Terms of Reference 8 Organization and governance 8 Collaboration with other United Nations mechanisms and entities 9 Inter-Agency Trust Fund 9 Further information 9 Annex 1 Results Matrix 2016–2017 10 Annex 2 Indicative Budget 2016–2017 32 Annex 3 UN-Water Members 35 Annex 4 UN-Water Partners 36 Annex 5 Acronyms 37 UN-Water Work Programme 2016-2017 2 Introduction UN-Water is the entity that coordinates the work of the to help Member States implement their ambitious com- United Nations on water and sanitation. It was formally mitments. To ensure that UN-Water is fit for purpose, it established in 2003, building on a long history of collabora- has undergone a major review of its internal structure and tion within the United Nations. UN-Water is comprised of work modalities. the United Nations bodies that have a focus on, or interest in, water-related issues as Members and other international UN-Water’s overarching focus in this 2016–2017 biennium organizations as Partners. is to support Member States as they start implementing the 2030 Agenda. This will be done through three main lines UN-Water fosters cooperation and information-sharing of work, which have been identified as areas where UN- among its Members and Partners, focusing on all aspects Water best complements and adds value to the activities of freshwater and sanitation, including surface water and of its Members and Partners, by facilitating synergies and groundwater resources, the interface between freshwater joint efforts: and seawater and water-related disasters. • Informing policy processes and addressing emerging The coming years will be critical for United Nations Member issues States and the international community to start implement- • Supporting monitoring and reporting on water and ing the many ambitious commitments that were made in sanitation 2015, including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk • Building knowledge and inspiring people to take action Reduction, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and This publication presents UN-Water’s Work Programme in the Paris Agreement. Given the level of ambition of these 2016–2017, and is divided into three parts: commitments, the need for coordination and collaboration across sectors and regions is now greater than ever. • UN-Water’s strategic outlook • UN-Water’s expected results in 2016–2017 The previous biennium 2014–2015 was a particularly suc- • Overview of UN-Water and its governance structure cessful one for UN-Water, where Members and Partners rose to the challenge to ‘deliver as one’ as never before, A Results Matrix, an indicative budget, UN-Water Members to place water and sanitation high up on the international and Partners, and a list of acronyms used in this Work Pro- agenda. This momentum will be continued in the future, gramme are included as annexes. With support from: Part 1. Strategic Outlook 3 Part 1 Strategic Outlook SETTING THE STAGE water and sanitation through to the 2030 deadline. UN- The year 2015 was truly pivotal, not only for sustainable Water also actively contributed to disaster risk reduction development, but also for water and sanitation issues. and climate change processes, for example, by organizing World leaders passed a number of milestone agreements to well-attended side events in both Sendai and Paris, and set the world on a course towards sustainable development supported the financing for development process by pre- by 2030: in March, in Sendai, on disaster risk reduction, paring a compilation of the means of implementation (MOI) in July, in Addis Ababa, on financing for development, in for SDG 6 in July 2015. September, in New York, on the global sustainable develop- ment agenda, and in December, in Paris, on climate change. During the last few years, UN-Water has demonstrated the These agreements are intrinsically connected and mutually strength of working together and successfully speaking reinforcing, with the ultimate goal of a healthy, sustainable, with one voice on water- and sanitation-related matters. prosperous world where no one is left behind. The themes The momentum created will be continued in order to help of water and sanitation run through all of these processes, United Nations Member States deliver on international setting the stage and priorities for United Nations work on agreements. water and sanitation in future years, including for the UN- Water Work Programme 2016–2017. FIT FOR PURPOSE In view of the needs of the 2030 Agenda, in the previous The next few years will be critical for Member States and biennium, UN-Water went through a major review of its the international community to start implementing the internal structure and work modalities, which evaluated 2030 Agenda. Time is short to take climate action and to its strengths and weaknesses, including which activities it steer today’s societies onto a sustainable and resilient path. should (and should not) engage in. Informed by this review, Given the breadth and depth of these challenges, and their UN-Water adopted changes to streamline its structure and integrated nature, it will be essential to work across sectors further focus its activities, to improve its ability to effectively and regions to ensure that the solution to one challenge and efficiently respond to the needs of Member States. is also the solution to others, understanding and manag- ing synergies and trade-offs between reaching different Building on UN-Water’s overarching mandate of coordinat- development goals. This is particularly true for water- and ing the work of the United Nations on water and sanitation sanitation-related issues, which are commonly managed and its Strategy 2014-2020, three main lines of work have by different sectors and regions in a fragmented manner. been identified, where UN-Water best complements and These challenges call for a United Nations family that is adds value to the activities of its Members and Partners, fit for purpose, and for integrated and inclusive structures by comprehensively facilitating synergies and joint efforts. that can effectively and efficiently respond to the needs of These lines of work have been streamlined in this 2016– Member States. 2017 Work Programme and the associated Results Matrix, to ensure that UN-Water focuses its resources on where it MAINTAINING MOMENTUM has the greatest impact, namely: During the previous biennium, UN-Water successfully con- solidated technical advice on water and sanitation from • Informing policy processes and addressing emerg- across the United Nations family, in addition to a range of ing issues (Results Area 1): for example, by providing organizations outside the United Nations. The result was consolidated and coherent policy advice and technical the recommendation of a coherent goal for sustainable input to inform decision-making at national and inter- development that would expand and improve upon the national levels Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era, to take the • Supporting monitoring and reporting on water entire water cycle into account. This recommendation is and sanitation (Results Area 2): for example, by pro- well reflected in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, viding an integrated and harmonized framework for ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water monitoring and reporting on water and sanitation in and sanitation for all’, and its targets, as well as in the set the 2030 Agenda of indicators that will be used to track global progress on • Building knowledge and inspiring people to UN-Water Work Programme 2016-2017 4 take action (Results Area 3): for example, by raising awareness on the importance of water and sanitation through the World Water Day and World Toilet Day campaigns Within the global water agenda, there are cross-cutting issues in great need of coordination, such as water and climate change, or water quality and wastewater manage- ment, to mention just a few. UN-Water has been working on these issues over many years. To be able to efficiently address them in the future, it was decided to create Expert Groups, gathering technical experts from across the United Nations family and other international organizations. These Expert Groups represent the collective expertise of the United Nations family and beyond on a given issue, for example, to address emerging issues or produce joint policy recommendations to Member States. The Expert Groups also provide a platform for technical experts to exchange information, knowledge and experience, to cross-fertilize activities of individual agencies and to avoid duplication. For specific and time-bound inter-agency collaboration (for example, the production of a report or an event), Task Forces can be created, which are then dismantled when the task is completed. FOCUS IN 2016–2017 UN-Water focuses its interventions at the level of the United Nations family. The main target group is the United Nations bodies that have a focus on, or interest in, water-related issues. Member States gain from increased coordination and coherence, and reduced overlap and duplication of the United Nations family. These include full access to expertise on water, which improves the ability to deliver efficient and sustainable water and sanitation services to people, who are the ultimate beneficiaries of UN-Water interventions. UN-Water’s overarching focus in the 2016–-2017 biennium is to support Member States as they start implementing the 2030 Agenda.