GWOPA at World Water Week 2024: Scaling Up Global Water and Sanitation Partnerships

Many members of the Alliance participated in the World Water Week in Stockholm, held from 25 to 29 August. This year’s theme was Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future. GWOPA advocated for the importance of cooperation among water and sanitation operators to address the global water management challenges that threaten human well-being and environmental sustainability.

In various events and sessions throughout the week, GWOPA advocated for the role of WOPs and SWOPs in sharing technical expertise, knowledge, and resources. As we know, these partnerships are crucial for enhancing the capacity of operators globally, ensuring equitable access to clean water and sanitation, and promoting sustainable development. At the 34th Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) meeting, the Head of GWOPA, Åsa Jonsson, invited partners to engage in sanitation-focused technical exchanges and explore innovations that address the complex needs of water and sanitation systems, especially through south-south partnerships.

Alliance member ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability on Urban Water Resilience for Future Peace, Security and Social Justice held a session on Urban Water Resilience for Future Peace, Security and Social Justice. This session illustrated the interdependence between urban water resilience, regional peace, security, and social justice. Insights from various African contexts were shared, aiming to enhance peace, inclusivity, and resilience outcomes through multilevel and multistakeholder governance approaches.

Water Operators’ Partnerships (WOPs) were also highlighted as an important tool when UN-Habitat, together with WaterAid and Sweco Architects, convened a live studio talk show on “Strong WASH systems for sustainable cities to prioritize and integrate water and sanitation service planning into wider urban planning and development processes.  The session highlighted the impact of rapid urbanization and the increase in urban population, the slum crisis and growing socio-economic inequalities, the housing crisis and inadequate social housing and climate change on water resources and services. Discussions focused on how innovative urban planning solutions such as smart zoning, ecologically sensitive land use planning, and compact city designs can better integrate with water and sanitation service plans.

In addition to our advocacy efforts, our focus also extended to urgent humanitarian and development needs, particularly in Ukraine, where water supply systems are under significant strain. The ongoing collaboration between GWOPA and UNICEF Ukraine, through our recent call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) for WOPs, aims to strengthen water services in the region. Please check the EOI here (close date: 3 October 2024)

We look forward to hearing and seeing the impact of our membership engagement in the event over the coming months.