“Water for Sustainable Development - Water for the Future We Want” was the title of the keynote lecture given by ESCWA Regional Advisor on Water Ralf Klingbeil on the occasion of World Water Day 2015 in Oman. The 2015 World Water Day event in Oman was organized by Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat on 18 March and attended by participants from governmental institutions, universities, Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the private sector. Klingbeil highlighted the many links between water and sustainable development, in line with the theme of this year’s global World Water Day celebrations (22 March): Water and Sustainable Development. He addressed the water challenges in the region with a particular focus on issues related to water in connection to social and inter-generational justice and called for more holistic approaches to water management at national levels as well as locally.
Klingbeil also discussed with the audience the on-going international negotiations as part of the post-2015 development agenda and the current proposals for water within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); the dedicated water SDG, water-related targets and proposed measurable indicators. On the sideline of his visit to Oman, Klingbeil discussed with officials from the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources (MRMWR ) further opportunities for cooperation and assistance from ESCWA related to the capacity development for staff at the ministry in the areas of geographic information system (GIS) applications for groundwater database and regional mapping activities as well as potential joint projects between the Arab Integrated Water Resources Management Network (AWARENET) hosted by ESCWA and the Arab G-WADI initiative hosted by the MRMWR in Oman.
