On 28 May 2020, UNESCO Division of Water Sciences and the International Secretariat of Water Future co-organized a 90-minute online webinar on the subject of “Water security in the age of COVID?19”. The webinar gathered experts to discuss and debate water-related challenges and opportunities paused by the current global crisis, and to reflect the future of water security in a post-COVID-19 era.
The discussion focused around understanding the current water crisis, and the health and economic risks associated with COVID-19. The speakers also deliberated on how to predict and imagine the future of global water security and the needs for adaptation mechanisms in the post-COVID era, and discussed the role of digitization, global science initiatives, communication and international organizations in dealing with water security during COVID-19 and beyond.
The wide-ranging discussion focused on finding equitable and innovative solutions though the holistic and proactive rethinking of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). More than 500 people across the globe participated in the UNESCO-Water Future Public Discussion webinar sharing views on the global water crisis in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.