From the Director's Desk

The latest convening of the UN Water Conference brought together dozens of heads of state and ministers and thousands of water leaders last month to NYC, NY. OSA and Partners at The Nature Conservancy, Precovery Labs, Imagine H2O, WSUP: Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor, Banka Bio, SIWI: Stockholm International Water Institute, FLUSH, and Resilient Cities Network were all active in many discussions. 

I listened to various panels and heard a recurring theme: water is behind in meeting its goals as a result of being underfunded as Climate has taken center stage in global discussions. Below are those takeaways.

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1. Water and Climate are inherently interlinked and need to be considered concurrently. 

There has been much debate about whether or not to speak on and address water challenges as a standalone discipline or to marry the effort with climate actions. It has become increasingly clear that climate change is having the greatest impact on the water cycle resulting in prolonged droughts followed by flooding rains. 

Any infrastructure that does exist was never designed to handle these drastic fluctuations. And it's having disastrous impacts. Looking at the climate challenge through the lens of water will force us to look beyond earlier practices and think bigger as to what is needed for the next generation. 

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2. Silos still need to be broken down. 

The diversity in conversations and panel sessions is one of the things that makes these global events so inspirational and informative. Unfortunately, it also highlights how we continue to perpetuate the siloed nature of water management. 

It is important to learn where the groups you are looking to work with are coming from. I spent some time in sessions that were focused on providing potable water to communities as well as meeting with and listening to those working on sanitation. It has become more and more clear that we have a history of playing a game of water-based “whack-a-mole”. 

First, there is a potable water crisis so a framework is formed to address getting safe potable water to communities. Then a sanitation crisis pops up where all those people with fresh water are now using the bathroom. Again, a new framework is developed to manage the sanitation challenge. Several years may go by and the same community will likely face an environmental challenge due to the chosen sanitation intervention. We need to be more intentional about finding communities on that arc of siloed interventions where we can encourage and assist them to think more holistically. 

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3. Source-to-Sea is gaining momentum.

The “One Water” or “Source-to-Sea” approach, whereby drinking water, sanitation, and environmental health (including the health of the ocean) are fully considered is relatively new. This requires that we break down those siloes. 

By taking this approach, we reduce the probability of generating “waste” in the system where nutrients and water are no longer viewed as single-use products to be used and discarded. We also reduce the risk of missing opportunities that may only arise once in a generation. 

OSA and SIWI led a session, watch the recording below, that brought ocean practitioners into the broader water conversation to express the need to think with a Source-to-Sea mindset and highlight those who have done so in the past. OSA also assisted in the creation of a short film, “Journey of Water,” funded by WWF and SIWI, that was shown as a teaser during a special event during the UN Water Conference and in its full version at a NY Water Week side event.   

4. Technology is not a problem.

One of the more illuminating learnings has been the disconnect and miscommunication between those presenting what the challenges are and those who have innovated on technological interventions. This network has a unique role to play in helping connect these dots and bridge communication gaps. 

There are numerous exciting new approaches to harvesting energy, nutrients, and clean water from our waste streams. Many of these new approaches have the opportunity to create circularity in the water economy ensuring clean water, safe sanitation, a healthy environment, and jobs. The challenge lies with regulators' reluctance to take a chance on a new practice or technology when public health and public funding are involved. 

OSA and its partners can play a critical role in assisting the regulatory community in drafting policies that are protective of public health and funding while creating a clear and fair pathway for new technologies and practices to come to market. We can do this by sharing case studies of how others have overcome these differences and bringing those sectors together so that they can find alignment as to how to break down these barriers.

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5. Gathering of Partners and Opportunities to Engage in New Ones.

Probably the most promising development was the opportunity to be a part of the global discussion and spread the word that OSA as a Partner driven organization has much to offer in moving the water, climate, and ocean health conversations forward. With such a broad reach, we were able to join in many discussions and meet new people with different perspectives. Some of whom will be joining our growing network and adding value through the diversity of experience, perspectives, and relationships. 

As I had mentioned earlier I made an explicit effort to listen to what mattered most to those that we have not engaged in enough, such as those specifically working on sanitation or those specifically working on pumping groundwater in increasingly arid regions, and looked for the entry points to build new relationships and coalitions that had not existed before. I do feel there are ample opportunities to collaborate rather than compete for limited resources and that the “Source-to-Sea” or “One Water” are the answer. 

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WATCH: Source-to-Sea Collaboration: A Game-changer for the Whole Water Cycle, UN 2023 Water Conference

Source-to-sea management is a game changing holistic approach across sectoral and administrative boundaries, aiming to balance social, environmental and economic priorities by recognizing the linkages between land, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems, and bringing together upstream and downstream stakeholders to ensure healthy ecosystems and resilient societies, towards sustainable and lasting solutions.

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