...continued from PART 1

“Healthy ecosystems are ‘natural infrastructure’ and vital to clean, plentiful water,” according to WRI. “They filter pollutants, buffer against floods and storms, and regulate water supply. Plants and trees are essential for replenishing groundwater; without them, rainfall will slide across dry land, instead of seeping into the soil. Loss of vegetation from deforestation, overgrazing and urbanization is limiting our natural infrastructure and the benefits that it provides. Forested watersheds around the world are under threat: watersheds have lost up to 22 percent of their forests in the past 14 years.”

Wrapping up the G20

Additionally, the Agriculture and Water Ministers discussed the impact of COVID-19 to food security and water management and the importance of avoiding food loss and waste.

The international community was encouraged to share new technology and sustainability best practices and work closely together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 6, which is to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

The G20 committee further called on countries to prioritize water demand management and conservation and to substantially increase water use efficiency and water productivity.

Conversations about water usage are past due, Sisulu said. She pointed out that G20 came during a globally unprecedented pandemic, and water is at the heart of all interventions.

“This current situation reawakened in us the notion that water is life and is central to all human development,” Sisulu said.

In addition to the United States and South Africa, countries that participated in the G20 Water Dialogue included Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vietnam, and European Union.

https://ehsdailyadvisor.blr.com/2020/09/international-water-issues-highlighted-at-g20-water-dialogue/