UN: Sustainable water management is essential to feed the population

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 04. 08. 09:39

Access to water is essential for putting food on the table for the people of Europe and Central Asia. Water security can also act as a catalyst for making the region’s food and agricultural sectors more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable. Sustainable water management is therefore a prerequisite for farmers’ resilience to climate challenges and, therefore, for maintaining food security. This is the central message of the 2024 UN Food Security and Nutrition Report for Europe and Central Asia, published today.

The report tracks progress in the Europe and Central Asia region towards ending hunger, food insecurity and nutrition-related problems by 2030 and calls for increased action to achieve this. The main theme of the 2024 edition is water security, highlighting the linkages between the water sector and agriculture, food security and nutrition.

Seven UN organizations have joined forces and capacities to produce the 2024 UN Report on Food Security and Nutrition in Europe and Central Asia: the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

“By promoting collaboration, we aim to accelerate the realization of a hunger-free, healthy and water-secure region. Our organizations are committed to supporting governments and engaging new partners for coherent policies at national and regional levels, and to ensuring sustainable solutions to the region’s challenges.”

This joint statement was made in the foreword to the report by Viorel Gutu, Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative of FAO; Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia; Kornélia Radics, Director of the WMO Regional Office for Europe; Dina Saleh, IFAD Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Europe; Tatiana Molcean, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UNECE; and Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.