Access to water, in sufficient quantity and quality and at an affordable rate, should be a guaranteed human right for all, by using, if necessary, social measures or appropriate solidarity mechanisms for disadvantaged populations”
Extract of the Final Declaration of the Founding Congress of UCLG held in Paris in May 2004
Access to basic services is a human right that must be guaranteed for all!
Water is a fundamental right, and guaranteeing access to drinking water and sanitation is one of local and regional governments’ key priorities.
Our Action Agenda, adopted in Bogotá in October 2016, establishes a series of recommendations on “local action” and explains how local and regional governments can contribute to achieving the SDGs.
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Sustainable Development Goal 6
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 on water and sanitation aims to guarantee access to clean drinking water and sanitation facilities for all. Local and regional governments play an essential role in its achievement, which can only be realized through good local governance and the efficient and technical management of natural resources.
Why does SDG6 matter to local governments?
Ensuring access to clean water and sanitation is usually the responsibility of local governments, and depends on effective local governance, natural resource management and urban planning. The challenges involved can vary hugely at sub-national level, particularly between urban and rural areas.
In urban areas, the main challenge is often a lack of access to basic services in informal settlements, or high prices and a lack of quality control of water from private vendors. In rural areas, water may be free, but it may involve long journeys to and from the source, and may be contaminated.
Since its foundation, UCLG has supported the actions of its members in relation to water provision and, above all, has raised awareness on the key role played by local and regional governments in this matter among the international community.
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Participation in the World Water Forum
Since 2006, UCLG has participated in all World Water Forums together with partner organizations such as ICLEI and the World Water Council, and more recently GWOPA
Partnership with UN-Water
Since 2015 our organization has reinforced its work in the field of water through the partnership with UN-Water. UN-Water is the United Nations inter-agency coordination mechanism for all freshwater-related issues.
